Patent ID: 8626081

Claim:
A method in a second communication device for signalling control information associated with transmission of data over a wireless channel comprising the steps of: receiving feedback data from a first communication device, wherein the feedback data comprises an indication of one or more recommended precoders and a recommendation of a first transmission rank to optionally use during transmission; determining a second transmission rank to use for transmitting data; selecting a message number from among a plurality of predetermined message numbers, wherein each of the predetermined message numbers is associated with one of a plurality of predetermined messages that indicates a precoder to use, wherein the plurality of predetermined messages include: a first group of messages, wherein each of the first group of messages is associated with a different precoder and wherein each of the first group of messages indicates that the associated precoder is to be used instead of the recommended precoders in precoding all subbands; and a second group of messages, wherein each of the second group of messages is associated with a different column number, and wherein each of the second group of messages indicates that a column of each recommended precoder corresponding to the associated column number is to be used in precoding a subband corresponding to that recommended precoder; and transmitting the selected message number to the first communication device.