An apparatus encodes an input information bit stream comprised of 5 bits into
a (11,5) codeword comprised of 11 coded symbols. The apparatus comprises a Reed-Muller
encoder for encoding the input information bit stream into a first order Reed-Muller
codeword comprised of 16 coded symbols; and a puncturer for selecting a second
coded symbol position or a third coded symbol position out of the 16 coded symbols
constituting the first order Reed-Muller codeword, puncturing the coded symbols
at intervals of 3 symbols beginning at the selected position, and thus outputting
an optimal (11,5) codeword.