Bitratei

Bitratei is a term used in some theoretical and pedagogical discussions to denote the average data rate achieved per channel in a multi-channel communication system. It is intended to be a per-channel analogue of the overall bitrate, emphasizing how much information is delivered on each channel rather than across the entire system. The term is not an established standard in industry practice and is not widely adopted in formal specifications.

Bitratei is calculated by taking the total number of correctly received bits over a measurement interval, then dividing by the number of active channels and by the elapsed time. Mathematically: bitratei = N / (T · C), where N is good bits, T is seconds, and C is the number of active channels. For example, if a system transmits 1,000,000 bits that are correctly received in 2 seconds over 4 channels, the bitratei would be 1,000,000 / (2 × 4) = 125,000 bits per second per channel.

In practice, bitratei helps compare per-channel efficiency in multiplexed or multi-antenna systems and can be used in education to illustrate how per-channel performance scales with channel count and coding overhead. It is related to but distinct from the total bitrate, throughput, and spectral efficiency. Total system bitrate equals bitratei multiplied by the number of active channels when per-channel conditions are uniform.

Limitations: depends on channel equivalence, coding, and error correction overhead; not standardized; depends on how "correctly received" is defined; sensitive to instantaneous variation; not meaningful if channels differ widely.

See also: Bitrate, Throughput, Spectral efficiency, Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO).