We develop a model for a noisy communication channel in which the noise
affecting consecutive transmissions is correlated. This model is motivated by
fluctuating birefringence of fiber optic links. We analyze the role of
entanglement of the input states in optimizing the classical capacity of such a
channel. Assuming a general form of an ensemble for two consecutive
transmissions, we derive tight bounds on the classical channel capacity
depending on whether the input states used for communication are separable or
entangled across different temporal slots. This result demonstrates that by an
appropriate choice, the channel capacity may be notably enhanced by exploiting
entanglement.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure