Systems, methods, and computer program products for controlling the error rate in a communication device by adjusting the distance between signal constellation points

A method of controlling an error rate in a communication device, comprising the steps of:

• requesting a data rate slow-down based on the error rate;
• generating a linear penalty if the data rate slow-down is requested;
• and
• determining a minimum distance between constellation points based on the linear penalty if the data rate slow-down is requested, wherein determining the minimum distance comprises:
• setting the minimum distance to one of a lower bound and a current minimum distance between constellation points;
• and
• multiplying the minimum distance by the linear penalty.

A computer program product for controlling an error rate in a communication device, comprising:

• a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code comprising:
• computer readable program code for requesting a data rate slow-down based on the error rate;
• computer readable program code for generating a linear penalty if the data rate slow-down is requested;
• and
• computer readable program code for determining a minimum distance between constellation points based on the linear penalty if the data rate slow-down is requested, the computer readable program code for determining the minimum distance comprising:
• computer readable program code for setting the minimum distance to one of a lower bound and a current minimum distance between constellation points;
• and
• computer readable program code for multiplying the minimum distance by the linear penalty.