The following thesis developed in the area of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications is aimed at improving current CDMA wireless network capabilities specifically targeting the transmission of JPEG compressed data with the possibility of a continued investigation in the transmission of MPEG video format. The aim or objective is to generate a solution to current transmission problems faced in 3rd generation CDMA networks where band limited transmission limits the capabilities of the network in delivering large data files such as image or video adequately. The rising importance in expanding network capabilities for CDMA networks, in this case for image transmission, is evident because of several factors including the following: � One of these factors is the increasing popularity of CDMA since its creation in 1995. In the cellular branch alone, there are over an estimates 106 million users utilizing a CDMA based network. This rapid increase is due to the fact that CDMA is able to support multiple users on one frequency channel, as will be discussed later. � Secondly and more importantly, the growing demand for image and video transmission generated by increasing multimedia usage has created the recent need to transmit video data over this and other types of wireless networks. In particular, the following thesis is thus aimed at improving the JPEG image compression algorithm for an 800MHz CDMA Cellular wireless network. In order to increase the efficiency of current image transmission over CDMA networks this thesis proposes jointly designing the source and channel code to generate an enhanced image compression algorithm. In order to accomplish this, we will utilize a Rayleigh Fading Model to simulate the channel over which we will be transmitting and then include this information into the compression algorithm; our goal being to manipulate the image compression algorithm to improve image transmission over a specific channel and medium (i.e. An 800MHz wireless network). Furthermore, given that our expected results are met, we can also review the efficiency (bit compression) of our algorithm for transmission and hence review new possibilities for increased error correction in the transmission of image and video data. In addition, as mentioned before, an ongoing investigation in this area using the ideas presented in this paper applied to the MPEG compression algorithm could lead to an enhanced algorithm for video transmission over the same medium.