Generation of code words for error correction coding (ECC) of a channel with a non-uniform signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is provided. A channel SNR profile is accessed, which can also include determining the channel profile. The channel profile characterizes sections of the channel having like SNR values. Each section of the channel is partitioned into a number of partitions. The number of partitions of each section equals a number of code words for the channel. The code words are generated by interleaving the partitions from each section such that an average SNR of each code word is made substantially the same as an average SNR of the channel.