Irish Interdisciplinary Journal of Science & Research (IIJSR) Volume 7, Issue 2, Pages 34-41, April-June 2023 ISSN: 2582-3981 https://iijsr.com 34 A MATLAB Simulink Study on the Performance of QAM Modulation Scheme in AWGN, Rayleigh, and Rician Fading Channels: BER Analysis Amit Halder 1* , Mst. Naila Akter 2 , Jayanta Roy 3 , Md. Riyad Tanshen 4 & Mir Afzal Hossain 5 1-5 Department of EEE, World University of Bangladesh, Dhaka-1230, Bangladesh. Corresponding Author (Amit Halder) E-mail: amit.rueten@gmail.com* DOI: https://doi.org/10.46759/IIJSR.2023.7205 Copyright © 2023 Amit Halder et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Article Received: 17 March 2023 Article Accepted: 24 April 2023 Article Published: 30 April 2023 ░ 1. Introduction Wireless communication has witnessed significant growth over the past few years, with mobile communication being the most widely used [1]. However, the transmission of wireless signals is prone to various technical challenges such as fading, shadowing, interference, and propagation path loss, which have a detrimental impact on signal quality [2]. To address these challenges and ensure high-quality service, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has emerged as a suitable technique for high-bandwidth data transmission. OFDM converts wideband signals into narrowband signals for transmission using orthogonal carriers. One critical aspect of wireless communication is bit error rate (BER) performance [3]. In this context, this paper presents a study on BER performance using Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) model under different communication channels, including additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and fading channels (Rayleigh and Rician), using MATLAB. The study aimed to investigate the reduction of noise and bit error rate in communication channels. In 2012, Vineet Sharma et al., conducted a study to determine the performance of OFDM-8PSK and QAM systems using direct error correction codes in the AWGN channel. The study aimed to encode the data stream for wireless communication without wire [4]. In 2013, Sharif Nasr Abdel-Razek et al., modelled the QAM modulator and demodulator using MATLAB Simulink. They highlighted the widespread use of QAM modulation in digital communication systems due to its high bandwidth utilization [5]. Sanjeev Kumar et al. (2013) compared the performance of Rayleigh and Rician channel models using MATLAB modelling. They developed algorithms to calculate the envelope and the likelihood of failure in the fading channels, considering parameters such as source speed and interruption probability. This analysis is crucial in designing efficient digital communication systems that can withstand multipath blurring [6]. Singya et al. (2020) analyzed the ABSTRACT Wireless communication is the fastest-growing segment in the communication industry, with mobile communication being the most widely used. However, it faces several technical challenges, such as Fading, Shadowing, Interference, and Propagation path loss. Meeting the higher demand for capacity with high-quality service is crucial. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a technique that converts wideband signals into narrowband signals for transmission, making it a suitable option for high bandwidth data transmission. The transmission of these narrowband signals is executed with an orthogonal carrier. This paper focuses on building a QAM model using MATLAB to simulate Bit Error Rate (BER) performance for real data communication under different communication channels, including AWGN and fading channels (Rayleigh and Rician). The aim is to investigate the reduction of noise and bit error rate in communication channels. The simulation model built for this research work demonstrates that QAM scheme performs better in AWGN channels than Rayleigh or Rician fading channels. Keywords: Digital modulation; Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM); AWGN; Rayleigh fading; Rician fading.