  Errors in realistic channels contain not only substitution errors, but
synchronisation errors as well. Moreover, these errors are rarely statistically
independent in nature. By extending on the idea of the Fritchman channel model,
a novel error category-based methodology in determining channel characteristics
is described for memory channels which contain insertion, deletion, and
substitution errors. The practicality of such a methodology is reinforced by
making use of real communication data from a visible light communication
system. Simulation results show that the error-free and error runs using this
new method of defining the channel clearly deviates from the Davey-Mackay
synchronisation model which is memoryless in nature. This further emphasises
the inherent memory in these synchronisation channels which we are now able to
characterise. Additionally, a new method to determine the parameters of a
synchronisation memory channel using the Levenshtein distance metric is
detailed. This method of channel modelling allows for more realistic
communication models to be simulated and can easily extend to other areas of
research such as DNA barcoding in the medical domain.
