A radio communication system comprises a communication channel for the transmission of data packets from a primary station having a plurality of antennas to a secondary station having at least one antenna. The channel comprises a plurality of paths, and the primary station transmits a plurality of packets substantially simultaneously. Each of the plurality of packets is transmitted via a different subset of the plurality of paths, for example by arranging for each packet to be transmitted via a different antenna or antenna beam. The secondary station receives the plurality of data packets, determines whether each packet is received correctly and signals this determination (typically as an acknowledgement or a negative acknowledgement to the primary station for each of the plurality of packets. The signalling may be by any convenient means, for example transmitting each acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement via a different subset of available uplink paths.