AbstractThe problem of pulse code modulation (PCM) bit errors causing voice frequency (VF) modem errors has been studied in detail. The error mechanism consists of the addition of an impulse response type error signal added to the reconstructed VF data signal waveform at the digital‐to‐analogue (D/A) output of the PCM decoder. This error signal may cause a burst of errors registering in the VF modem receiver, depending on which PCM bit is in error.Numerous data have been collected in a laboratory experiment and analysed in various ways. The average bit error rate (BER) enhancement factor of VF data over PCM is between 10 and 20. For each PCM bit in error, an average of two VF data bits are in error. The analysis leads to suggestions for possible solutions to the prob