Statistical Methods for Testing Quality of Communication Channels

The reliable transmission of information over communication channels depends greatly on the adequacy of the maintenance program provided for the transmission medium. An integral part of such a program is the procedure used for determining the quality of a communication link. In this concise paper, we discuss several statistical methods for ascertaining those impairments-and their respective levels-which reveal the most information about the fidelity of the channel in signal transmission. For the purpose of illustration, an example is presented which demonstrates how a testing program could implement each particular statistical method.