Forward Error Correction (FEC) Explained

This page describes forward error correction and its application, and mentions MATLAB codes for different forward error correction techniques. Forward Error Correction is a module used in wireless communication to correct errors at the receiver end.

These errors occur due to interference, noise, or various impairments in the medium between the transmitter and receiver. It is also referred to as FEC for short. As the name suggests, this module avoids retransmission of corrupted data by helping to correct errors at the receiver.

FEC is not bandwidth efficient because it adds some data as overhead at the transmitter end. However, FEC is power efficient compared to its non-FEC counterpart. With the same transmit power, one can achieve a better Bit Error Rate (BER) in an FEC-based communication system.

Many techniques have been invented to be used as forward error correction techniques, such as Convolution coding, Turbo coding, and BCH coding, among others.