Channel estimation and fixed thresholds for multi-threshold decoding of low-density parity check codes

A method and apparatus are provided for error correction of a communication signal. A multiple fixed threshold scheme for iteratively decoding a received codeword includes making a comparison with a threshold to generate a reconstructed version of the received codeword. The threshold has at least two different values that at used during different iterations. The values of the threshold are fixed having been determined prior to decoding. In an embodiment, the fixed thresholds may be based on values for channel parameters and may be selected by a decoder that receives information regarding the channel parameter from a channel estimation unit monitoring the communication channel. Embodiments include decoding methods and apparatus using a threshold having two of more fixed values during the iterative decoding.