Communication systems and methods in accordance with various embodiments of the invention employ a rateless coding strategy in which an encoder utilizes codewords located within a restricted subset of a multi-dimensional sphere. In one embodiment, a transmitter is configured to encode message data as symbols using a rateless code until an end of epoch message is received, where the rateless code comprises a set of codewords characterized in that they are located within a restricted subset of a multi-dimensional sphere. A receiver receives observed symbols and at each of a predetermined set of decode times, determines whether a decoding rule is satisfied. When the decoding rule is satisfied, the receiver decodes at least one message using the rateless code and transmits an end of epoch message.