Scribd
Upload
144 views1 page

Bit Error Rate Vs Symbol Error Rate: Ratio Bits

Bit error rate (BER) measures errors in transmission as a ratio of error bits to total bits sent, while symbol error rate (SER) measures erroneously decoded symbols as a ratio of total symbols transmitted. For binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) modulation, BER equals SER, but for quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), the relationship depends on the number of bits per symbol. At high signal-to-noise ratios and low BERs, the SER can be estimated as the number of bits per symbol multiplied by the BER, since the probability of multiple bit errors per symbol is small. BER and SER curves can thus be used to analyze

Uploaded by

Nguyen Ptolemy
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
144 views1 page

Bit Error Rate Vs Symbol Error Rate: Ratio Bits

Bit error rate (BER) measures errors in transmission as a ratio of error bits to total bits sent, while symbol error rate (SER) measures erroneously decoded symbols as a ratio of total symbols transmitted. For binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) modulation, BER equals SER, but for quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), the relationship depends on the number of bits per symbol. At high signal-to-noise ratios and low BERs, the SER can be estimated as the number of bits per symbol multiplied by the BER, since the probability of multiple bit errors per symbol is small. BER and SER curves can thus be used to analyze

Uploaded by

Nguyen Ptolemy
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 1

Bit Error Rate Vs Symbol Error Rate

Dr. Michael Erlihson Bit Error Rate (BER) is defined as the rate at which errors occur in a transmission system. BER is the ratio of error-bits received to the total bits sent. Symbol Error Rate (SER) is defined as a number erroneously decoder information symbols (=constellation points) divided by total number of transmitted symbols. In this short note we discuss the relationship between BER and SER. Clearly this relationship depends on what modulation was used for the transmission. For the BPSK-modulated signal the BER is evidently equal to the SER. For QPSK and QAM modulations the situation is more complicated. Denote by R the number of bits forming one constellation point (2 for QPSK, 4 for 16QAM and 6 for 64QA).

The SER value in this case may vary from R*BER (one erroneous bit in each transmitted symbol) to BER (R erroneous bits in each transmitted symbol). As the BER and SER performance analysis are usually performed for high SNR range (=low BERs), a common assumption made here is that the event of having two or more erroneous bits in one symbols is very unlikely. Hence for low BERs the corresponding SER is given by R*BER. Thus the performances of various transmission/reception schemes can be studied through analysis of their BER and SER curves.

You might also like