Operation of a forward link acknowledgement channel for the reverse link data

A base station for a wireless communication system, the base station comprising:

• a receiver for receiving a reverse link traffic channel data frame from a mobile terminal;
• and
• a transmitter to transmit an acknowledgement (ACK) signal providing that a reverse link pilot signal includes sufficient energy to permit correct decoding of the data frame, and to transmit a negative acknowledgement (NAK) signal providing that the reverse link pilot signal includes insufficient energy to permit correct decoding of the data frame, but has enough energy such that if combined with energy from a retransmission of the data frame, it would be sufficient to permit correct decoding of the data frame.

A wireless remote terminal for a communications system, the remote terminal comprising:

• a transmitter to transmit a reverse link traffic channel data frame to a base station;
• and
• a receiver for receiving an acknowledgement (ACK) signal from the base station providing that a reverse link pilot signal includes sufficient energy to permit correct decoding of the data frame, and to receive a negative acknowledgement (NAK) signal from the base station providing that the reverse link pilot signal includes insufficient energy to permit correct decoding of the data frame, but has enough energy such that if combined with energy from a retransmission of the data frame, it would be sufficient to permit correct decoding of the data frame.