A wireless communication infrastructure entity including a transceiver coupled to a controller configured to generate parity bits based on an information word. The controller is also configured to encode the parity bits based on a communication configuration, e.g., symbol information, wherein the encoded parity bits are combined with the information word for transmission by the transceiver. A user terminal in receipt of the information word includes a controller configured to determine the communication configuration based on a set of configuration indicator bits used to encode the parity bits.