Newswise — In 1993, two obscure engineers solved one of the most formidable mysteries in telecommunications: how to send error-free data at the theoretical limit. Such a limit--the absolute maximum data rate of a communications channel--had been first calculated in 1948 by the famed Claude Shannon, renowned as the father of information theory. But until the two engineers, Claude Berriou and Alain Glavieux, both professors at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications de Bretagne, in Brest, France, made their discovery in 1993, no communications system could attain this so-called channel capacity. Now, their highly efficient coding scheme, dubbed turbo codes, is about to go mainstream.
Turbo codes can outperform all other existing coding technologies, providing virtually error-free communications at unprecedented data rates and transmitting power efficiencies. As turbo codes are incorporated into the next-generation mobile phone system, millions of people will soon have them literally in their hands. This coding scheme will let cellphones and other portable devices handle multimedia data, such as video and graphics-rich imagery, over the noisy channels typical of cellular communications. And researchers are studying the use of turbo codes for digital and video broadcasting, as well as for increasing data speeds in enhanced versions of Wi-Fi technology.
With possibilities like these, turbo codes have jumped to the forefront of communications research, with hundreds of groups working on them in companies and universities all over the world. The list includes telecommunications giants like France Telecom and NTT DoCoMo, and high-tech heavyweights like Sony, NEC, Lucent Technologies, Samsung, Ericsson, Nokia, Motorola, and Qualcomm.
Turbo codes put an end to a search that lasted for more than 40 years. Shannon's channel capacity can finally be attained, and now, thanks to turbo codes, mobile devices and other systems can make the best possible use of bandwidth and power--a tremendous gain that is worth a fortune to telecommunications and electronics companies.
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