In this article, analysis for the recently considered photon number state optical channel [1–3] is presented. Under atmospheric turbulence conditions, the channel performance is highly affected and deteriorated. Therefore, coding‐in particular Reed‐Solomon block codes [4]‐becomes a must. In this presentation, the optimal threshold performance conditions are calculated and are shown to prove their strong control on the channel turbulence, yielding reliable communication. Other channel measures such as channel transparency, information efficiency, and transmission rate are investigated. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.