Patent ID: 7197050

Claim:
A transmitting unit for transmitting data blocks on a communications channel featuring a radio link between two stations including a mobile station, comprising: means for obtaining a sequence of data blocks to be transmitted on said channel; means for receiving acknowledgement information for the blocks of the sequence from an addressee unit; and means for controlling transmission of the blocks of the sequence on the channel on the basis of transmission control information including the acknowledgement information received from the addressee unit and a fade indicator derived from said acknowledgement information and from an estimated quantity relating to a speed of movement of the mobile station, wherein the control means comprises means for determining a channel fade duration as a function of said estimated quantity relating to the speed of the mobile station, and means for detecting channel fades each covering one or more blocks transmitted consecutively, the start and the end of a fade being detected on the basis of the acknowledgement information received from the addressee unit, and wherein the control means are arranged to control the transmission of the blocks by taking account of each fade detected over a duration less than the determined channel fade duration, whose start was detected after the reception of acknowledgement information but whose end has not yet been detected.