A communication system for transmitting encoded signals over a communication channel is disclosed. The system includes a transmitter, which has a source that is configured to output a message signal, and an encoder that is configured to generate a code word in response to the message signal. The code word is based upon a stacking construction that is generalized for the communication channel. The communication channel is characterized as a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) block fading channel. The transmitter also includes a modulator that is configured to modulate the code word for transmission over the communication channel. Further, the transmitter includes a plurality of transmit antennas that are configured to transmit the modulated code word over the communication channel. The system also includes a receiver, which has a plurality of receive antennas. The receiver is configured to receive the transmitted code word via the plurality of receive antennas.