packet - based communication methods and systems are provided which improve data throughput and which respond to different error - rate conditions with modifications appropriate for those conditions . in method embodiments , data frames are initially formed to each have n data packets and a frame error code . data frames are then transmitted and checked . in response to the check , data packets of error - free data frames are routed through the system and data frames that are in error are retransmitted . the checking , processing and retransmitting steps are repeated until all data packets are routed through the communication system . in another method embodiment , data packets of each data frame found to be in error in the checking step are inserted into a data frame of the forming step . in a feedback feature , a system error rate is determined and , in response , n is periodically updated to a value that realizes the best throughput under the current noise condition of the transmission link .