Rateless DeepJSCC for Broadcast Channels: a Rate-Distortion-Complexity Tradeoff
Abstract
In recent years, numerous data-intensive broadcasting applications have emerged at the wireless edge, calling for a flexible tradeoff between distortion, transmission rate, and processing complexity. While deep learning-based joint source-channel coding (DeepJSCC) has been identified as a potential solution to data-intensive communications, most of these schemes are confined to worst-case solutions, lack adaptive complexity, and are inefficient in broadcast settings. To overcome these limitations, this paper introduces nonlinear transform rateless source-channel coding (NTRSCC), a variable-length JSCC framework for broadcast channels based on rateless codes. In particular, we integrate learned source transformations with physical-layer LT codes, develop unequal protection schemes that exploit decoder side information, and devise approximations to enable end-to-end optimization of rateless parameters. Our framework enables heterogeneous receivers to adaptively adjust their received number of rateless symbols and decoding iterations in belief propagation, thereby achieving a controllable tradeoff between distortion, rate, and decoding complexity. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method enhances image broadcast quality under stringent communication and processing budgets over heterogeneous edge devices.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2603.21616,
title = {Rateless DeepJSCC for Broadcast Channels: a Rate-Distortion-Complexity Tradeoff},
author = {Zijun Qin and Jingxuan Huang and Zesong Fei and Haichuan Ding and Yulin Shao and Xianhao Chen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.21616},
year = {2026}
}