A decoder was developed that decodes a serial concatenated pulse position modulation (SCPPM) encoded information sequence. The decoder takes as input a sequence of four bit loglikelihood ratios (LLR) for each PPM slot in a codeword via a XAUI 10-Gb/s quad optical fiber interface. If the decoder is unavailable, it passes the LLRs on to the next decoder via a XAUI 10-Gb/s quad optical fiber interface. Otherwise, it decodes the sequence and outputs information bits through a 1- GB/s Ethernet UDP/IP (User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol) interface.