FORWARD ERROR CORRECTION CODE SYSTEM

In accordance with an inventive FEC code, data is transmitted in codewords comprising n m-bit symbols. Of the n symbols, k symbols are known information symbols and h symbols are parity symbols for erasure correction. All of the symbols of the codeword are elements of a field of 2.sup.m integers which is closed with respect to addition and multiplication such as a Galois field. To determine the h parity symbols, an encoder circuit derives a matrix corresponding to a set of simultaneous equations in terms of the k known information symbols and the h parity symbols. This set of equations is then solved for the h parity symbols so that a codeword is transmitted comprising k known information symbols and h known parity symbols. At a decoder, the values of up to h erased symbols in the codeword may be reconstructed using a similar set of simultaneous equations.