What is the definition of symbol rate in a digital transmission?
The number of control characters in a message packet
The maximum rate at which the forward error correction code can make corrections
The rate at which the waveform changes to convey information✓Correct answer
The number of characters carried per second by the station-to-station link
Explanation
Symbol rate is the number of symbols transmitted per second, Rs = 1/Ts, where Ts is the duration of one symbol — the rate at which the waveform is updated to convey information. It counts symbol intervals rather than visible transitions, since a repeated symbol produces no change in the waveform yet still counts, and it is not the bit rate, because a symbol drawn from more than two states carries several bits.