gap is in a fixed place in the frame and is referred to as the "stuffable bit". If it does not contain data (i.e. it's a gap) it is "stuffed". The data from the 4 data streams in now contained in 4 data streams of 2.112 Mbit/s which are synchronous and can easily be multiplexed to give a single stream of 8.448 Mbit/s by taking 1 bit from stream #1, followed by 1 bit from stream #2, then #3, then #4 etc. Some of the fixed gaps accommodate a synchronisation word which allows the demultiplexer to identify the start of each frame and others contain control bits for each stream which say whether or not the stuffable bit is stuffed or not (i.e. contains data or not). The process can then be reversed by the demultiplexer and 4 data streams produced with exactly the same bit rate as previous. The timing irregularity is ironed out using a phase locked loop. This scheme does not allow the addition of a stuffed bit as soon as it is required because the stuffable bit is in a fixed point in the frame so it is necessary to wait until the stuffable bit time slot. This wait results in "waiting time jitter" which can be arbitrarily low in frequency (i.e. down to zero) so cannot be entirely eliminated by the filtering effects of the phase lock loop. The worst possible stuffing ratio would be 1 frame in 2 as this gives a theoretical 0.5 bit of jitter so the stuffing ratio is carefully chosen to give theoretical minimum jitter. In a practical system however, the actual decision to stuff or not may be made by comparing the read address and write address of the input buffer store so the position in the frame when the decision is made varies and adds a second variable dependent on the length of the store. The process is sometimes called "pulse justification" because "justification" in printing is adding gaps so that each line takes up a full column width. It is believed that this term was preferred because "...... stuffing stuffable bits", and "waiting time jitter is the jitter you get while waiting to stuff a stuffable bit", though technically correct, does sound like a pleonasm! Similar techniques are used to combine four × 8 Mbit/s together, plus bit stuffing and frame alignment, giving 34 Mbit/s. Four ×