What characteristic of FM communication systems is primarily affected by interference?

The characteristic of FM communication systems that is primarily affected by interference is intelligibility. Intelligibility refers to the clarity and comprehensibility of the transmitted message, which can be significantly impacted by interference from external signals. In FM systems, while the modulation technique is designed to provide high resistance to noise compared to amplitude modulation, strong interference can still degrade the clarity of the received signal.

This means that if there is interference present, it can obscure parts of the message or introduce additional noise, making it more difficult for the receiver to discern the intended content of the transmission. Intelligibility matters particularly in communication scenarios where precise understanding is essential, such as in broadcasting or emergency communications. When interference affects the system, it may lead to misunderstandings or require repetitions of the message, thereby demonstrating its impact on intelligibility specifically.

Other characteristics, such as fidelity (the accuracy of sound reproduction) and signal quality (which encompasses various aspects of the signal's performance), may also be affected, but they do not directly address the listener's ability to understand the transmitted message as intelligibility does. Purity refers to the absence of unwanted signals or noise and while it plays a role, it doesn't address the comprehensibility of the content as clearly as intelligibility