Embodiments describe efficient tradeoff of latencies with processing times. A single control field can be placed within a frame to tradeoff encoding time with decoding time. Alternatively, a control field can be split into two portions to achieve good latency performance while maintaining sufficient processing time for scheduling, encoding and decoding. In accordance with some embodiments, a ACK/NACK field on one hop can serve the dual purpose of being a request for resources on the next hop in a multi-hop system. Also described is implicit acknowledgment monitoring that can improve latency performance.