The performance of general binary block codes on an unquantized additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel at low signal-to-noise ratios is considered. Expressions are derived for both the block error and the bit error probabilities near the point where the bit signal-to-noise ratio is zero. These expressions depend on the global geometric structure of the code, although the minimum distance still seems to play a crucial role. Examples of codes such as orthogonal codes, biorthogonal codes, the (24,12) extended Golay code, and the (15,6) expurgated BCH code are discussed. The asymptotic coding gain at low signal-to-noise ratios is also studied.
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