Merit criteria for communication systems

Merit criteria are presented for the transmission of information through noisy channels. The operational problem is formulated in such a way as to permit the minimum communication cost required to transmit a message over a communication system with a specified degree of reliability for given noise and loading (traffic density) conditions to be determined. The better system transmits the information at less cost. Cost values are shown to be functions of the basic merit parameters power, bandwidth and time, and the operational loading conditions. The formulation is general and can be applied to the evaluation of any modulation or coding system. Comparative evaluation of systems should result in performance indices which would permit judicious choice of systems for use in various operational situations.