Comparative BER Performance Analysis of OFDM System Using M-PSK and M-QAM Modulation Schemes over AWGN Channel

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is becoming the chosen modulation technique for wireless communications. It can provide large data rates and is sufficiently robust in the face of radio channel impairments. Digital modulation techniques contribute to the evolution of our mobile wireless communications by increasing the capacity, speed and quality of wireless networks. In this paper, I concentrate on digital modulation schemes, such as M-PSK (M-ary Phase Shift keying) and M-QAM (M-ary Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) over an additive white Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel to analyse the performance of an OFDM system in terms of bit error rate (BER). This is evaluated through a computer simulation, the results from which make it clear that, for high-capacity data rate transmission, the M-QAM modulation is better than the M-PSK modulation.