1. The full form of FEC is Forward Error Correction

FEC is an acronym that stands for forward error correction. With regards to audio/telecommunications, it’s a capability that some systems employ to help mitigate errors when unstable transmissions occur. While implementation and handling algorithms can differ, an Opus encoder can embed redundant data about the preceding packet in-band in the current packet. This extra information can be crucial on the receiving side when a packet has been lost. For instance, when a packet of audio has been dropped an Opus decoder can rebuild that lost packet from the FEC data it obtains in the next packet it receives. This of course can help alleviate gaps in the audio stream.

In this method, the sender sends a redundant error-correcting code along with the data frame. The receiver performs necessary checks based upon the additional redundant bits. If it finds that the data is free from errors, it executes error-correcting code that generates the actual frame. It then removes the redundant bits before passing the message to the upper layers.

Advantages and Disadvantages

• Because FEC does not require handshaking between the source and the destination, it can be used for broadcasting of data to many destinations simultaneously from a single source.
• Another advantage is that FEC saves bandwidth required for retransmission. So, it is used in real time systems.
• Its main limitation is that if there are too many errors, the frames need to be retransmitted.

Error Correction Codes for FEC

Error correcting codes for forward error corrections can be broadly categorized into two types, namely, block codes and convolution codes.

• Block codes − The message is divided into fixed-sized blocks of bits to which redundant bits are added for error correction.
• Convolutional codes − The message comprises of data streams of arbitrary length and parity symbols are generated by the sliding application of a Boolean function to the data stream.

2. The full form of FEC is Federal Election Commission

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, the commission describes its duties as “to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections.”

The commission has not functioned since July 2020 due to lack of a quorum. In the absence of a quorum, the commission cannot vote on complaints or give guidance through advisory opinions. As at May 19, 2020, there were 350 outstanding matters on the agency’s enforcement docket and 227 items waiting for action