Method and apparatus for conveying antenna configuration information via masking

A apparatus comprising a processor and a memory including computer program code, the memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to:

• select a bit mask associated with an antenna configuration and a transmission diversity scheme, the bit mask being selected from a set of bit masks, the set of bit masks including a first bit mask associated with a single antenna configuration, a second bit mask associated with a two antenna configuration, and a third bit mask associated with a four antenna configuration, wherein a hamming distance between the first bit mask and the second bit mask is larger than the hamming distances between any other pair of the first, second and third bit masks;
• and
• apply the bit mask associated with the antenna configuration and the transmission diversity scheme to cyclic redundancy check bits.

A non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer, the computer program code comprising:

• code for selecting a bit mask associated with an antenna configuration and a transmission diversity scheme, the bit mask being selected from a set of bit masks, the set of bit masks including a first bit mask associated with a single antenna configuration, a second bit mask associated with a two antenna configuration, and a third bit mask associated with a four antenna configuration, wherein a hamming distance between the first bit mask and the second bit mask is larger than the hamming distances between any other pair of the first, second and third bit masks;
• and
• code for applying the bit mask associated with the antenna configuration and the transmission diversity scheme to cyclic redundancy check bits.