A transmitter adds packet transmission order information to transmitted packets using a forward error device (416) and a masking device (420). The masking device (420) receives ordering masks (610) from a mask store (424). The ordering masks (610) are maintained in a known order, and the ordering masks (610) and the known order are known to both the transmitter and the receiver. The receiver includes an unmasking device (504) that applies ordering masks to unmask the packets, and then an error detection device checks for errors. The ordering masks (610) are applied in the known order until errors are below an acceptable limit. When errors are below an acceptable limit, the relative packet order is determined from the known order of the ordering masks.