Summary: A multiple turbo code (MTC) that consists of a parallel concatenation of four two-state component encoders is also investigated. Due to the reduced number of states, the MTC supports larger block sizes than the eight-state 3GPP turbo code with the same decoder hardware. First, using EXIT chart analysis, puncturing patterns for code rates ranging from 1/4 to 3/4 are found. Next, IWS interleavers to facilitate high throughput decoding are designed based on a summary distance approach. Simulation results indicate that the MTC has a better error floor performance than the 3GPP turbo code. A fixed point model for the decoder is obtained using simulation and analytical methods. A technique to resolve a hardware re-use problem in the decoders is proposed, which leads to a further reduction in complexity. Using computational complexity comparisons, it is shown that the MTC can support four times the block length supported by the 3GPP turbo code. A fair comparison framework is adopted to compare the two codes for equal throughput/complexity, and it is shown that the MTC outperforms the 3GPP turbo code. Therefore, the MTC is proposed as an advanced solution for next generation wireless systems.