Abstract: The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a method of encoding bit error rates using a two-tiered system. If the bit error rate is less than a threshold value, the bit error rate is directly encoded in binary into substantially equal portions. However, if the error rate is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the error rate is encoded into equal valued amounts using a common step value. A remainder amount is also formulated to account for any remainders. Multiplying the equal valued amounts that are scaled by a common base value and then adding it all up along with the remainder amount results in a value which is at worst, within 0.2% of the original bit error rate value.