BER (Bit Error Rate) – the rate of occurrence of errors (10xx – 1 error per 1000 bits).
In digital data transmission systems, errors may occur due to noise, interference, distortion, or bit desynchronization. The number of bit errors refers to the count of received bits in a data stream over a communication channel that have been altered.
BER (Bit Error Rate) is the measure of bit errors per unit of time. The bit error ratio (also denoted as BER) is the number of bit errors divided by the total number of transmitted bits during the observation period. The error ratio is a dimensionless quantity and is often expressed as a percentage.
The bit error probability is the expected value of the bit error ratio. Thus, the bit error ratio can be considered an approximate value of the bit error probability. The accuracy of this estimate increases with a longer observation interval and a larger volume of transmitted data.
Factors affecting BER
In a communication system, within the data transmission channel, noise, interference, distortions, synchronization problems, as well as interference caused by multipath reception of reflected signals may occur, manifesting as fading, etc.
BER can be improved by increasing the level of the received signal through raising the transmitter power or enhancing antenna system parameters, reducing the data transmission rate, selecting a more interference-resistant type of modulation, or by employing more interference-resistant coding protocols, such as the use of redundant forward error correction codes.
Related sections:
bps
Baud
Sampling rate