A Comparative Study of Channel Coding Schemes in Wireless Communication: Turbo, LDPC, and Polar Codes

Zhengxu Li

doi:10.54254/2755-2721/2026.TJ30140

Applied and Computational EngineeringOpen access

A Comparative Study of Channel Coding Schemes in Wireless Communication: Turbo, LDPC, and Polar Codes

Research Article

Open Access

A Comparative Study of Channel Coding Schemes in Wireless Communication: Turbo, LDPC, and Polar Codes

Zhengxu Li ^1*

¹ International School, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, 100876, China

^*Corresponding author: lizhengxu@bupt.edu.cn

Published on 3 December 2025

ACE Vol.211

ISSN (Print): 2755-273X

ISSN (Online): 2755-2721

ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-579-0

ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-580-6

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Abstract

The fast growth of wireless communication means we need to send data reliably, even with noise and interference, which therefore makes channel coding indispensable. This paper looks at three landmark schemes that shaped modern wireless communications: Turbo codes, Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes, and Polar codes. Specifically, it explains the basic ideas of channel coding, and it discusses methods to approach the Shannon limit. After that, this paper describes the structure and decoding steps for each code. Turbo codes use parallel concatenation and iterative decoding. LDPC codes need sparse parity-check matrices and belief propagation. Also, Polar codes get reliability using channel polarization. Moreover, the codes are also compared based on their error performance, how complex they are to decode, the delay they introduce, and whether they are used in standards. The results reveal that Turbo codes work best for medium to long blocks but have problems with delay and error floors. LDPC codes perform well with long blocks and high throughput. Polar codes are useful for short blocks, even though they are harder to decode. This comparison shows that the codes complement each other and suggests that adaptive, AI-assisted coding could be a promising approach for 6G.

Keywords:

Channel Coding, Turbo Codes, Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) Codes, Polar Codes, Wireless Communication

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