likelihood ratio llr of a bit is generally defined as the logarithm of the ratio of probabilities therefore it carries some information about the reliability of the bit decision the sign of the llr represents the bit decision for example u2018 u2212 u2019 equals 1 and u2018 u2019 equals 0 the absolute value of a llr may represent the reliability of the bit decision if the bit decision for example is not very confident the absolute value of the llr is very small furthermore the reception quality may for example also be measured using a received signal strength value a signal to interference ratio sir or a combination of possible measurement parameters so far the embodiments outlined above discussed the ease that node b or the receiving harq protocol entity restricts the maximum amount of information bits provided in the retransmission in case the additional information transmitted in the retransmission is not sufficient for a successful decoding further retransmissions may be required which may hence lead to an increased delay therefore according to another embodiment of the present invention it may be useful if the receiving entity also signals to the transmitting entity the minimum amount of information which may be transmitted in the retransmission hence the transmitting entity may decide for example depending on the current transmission buffer status and the available transmit power whether to transmit more than the indicated minimum amount of.