As the number of symbol states M increases, the ability of the receiver to distinguish between symbols in the presence of noise and/or interference/distortion decreases. Hence the ratio of signal power S to noise power N will be a crucial factor in determining how many symbol states can be utilized and still achieve error-free communication. |
The 'duration' of each symbol is also key in determining the noise tolerance of a receiver
system, with longer symbols giving the receiver more time to average out the effects of
noise than shorter symbols.
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The ShannonHartley capacity limit for error-free communication is given by:Channel capacity C = B.log2(S / N + 1) bits/second |