Chapter 7

Transmission Media
Signals (that represent data) are transmitted from
one device to another in the form of electromagnetic
energy
Electromagnetic signals travel through transmission
media (metal cables, air/space, fiber-optic, etc).

Guided Media
cables that provide a conduit from one device
to another.

Guided Media
Twisted-Pair Cable
two conductors each surrounded by an insulator
the most common type of telecommunication
medium in use.
e.g. telephone system
suitable for voice and
data
color-banded for
identification

Guided Media
Twisted-Pair Cable effect of noise if on parallel line
the wire closest to the source of noise gets more
interference (high voltage level) uneven load and
damaged signals

Guided Media
Twisted-Pair Cable noise on twisted-pair line
twisted wires at regular intervals (2-12 twists/foot),
the cumulative effect of the interference is equal on
both wires
significantly reduce
the impact of noise

Guided Media
Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP) Cable

cheap, flexible, easy to install

Guided Media
Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP) Cable

EIA categories of UTP Cables

Cat. 1 used in old telephone system, fine for voice and

low-speed data transmission.
Cat. 2 suitable for voice, data transmission up to 4 Mbps.
Cat. 3 now standard cable for most telephone systems,
data transmission up to 10 Mbps.
Cat. 4 data transmission up to 16 Mbps.
Cat. 5 data transmission up to 100 Mbps.

Guided Media
UTP Cable Connectors

snap-in plug like telephone jacks

male (plug), female (receptacle)
popular, RJ45
(4 twisted pairs
8 conductors)
RJ11
(2 pairs
4 conductors)

Guided Media
Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP) Cable

has a metal foil or braided mesh covering each pair of

insulated conductors
prevents penetration of electromagnetic noise and crosstalk
(undesired effect of one circuit on another circuit).
more expensive
than UTP but
less susceptible
to noise

Guided Media
Coaxial (Coax) Cable

has a central core conductor of solid or stranded wire

(copper) enclosed in an insulating sheath, which is in turn,
encased in an outer
conductor of metal foil,
braid or combination.
The outer conductor
serves as a shield
against noise and the
second conductor.

Guided Media
Coax Cable
Radio Government (RG) ratings for coax cables
RG-8, RG-9, RG11 used in thick Ethernet
RG-58 used in thin Ethernet
RG-59 used for TV

Guided Media
Coax Cable Connectors

BNC (bayonet network connector) pushes on

and lock into place with a half turn

T-connectors allow cables to branch from a main

line

the most popular

used in thin Ethernet

Terminators required for bus topologies to

absorb the wave at the end and eliminate echoback.

Guided Media
Fiber-optic Cable

made of glass or plastic and transmits signals in the form of

light.
Information is encoded onto a beam of light as a series of
on-off flashes that represent 1 and 0 bits.
Propagation modes

multimode
single mode

Guided Media
Fiber-optic Cable Multimode Step-Index

multiple beams from a light source move through the core in

different path.
the density of the core remains constant from the center to
the edges.
some beams in the
middle travel in
straight lines through
the core and reach
the destination.

Guided Media
Fiber-optic Cable Multimode Step-Index (cont)

some beams strike the interface of the core bouncing back and
forth until they reach destination.
as these different beams are recombined at the receiver, they
result in a signal that is no longer an exact replica of the signal
that was transmitted.
The distortion limits the
available data rate.

Guided Media
Fiber-optic Cable Multimode Graded-Index

multiple beams from a light source move through the core in

different path.
variable core density density is highest at the center and
decrease gradually to its lowest at the edge.
a series of constantly
changing density
causes each beam
to refract into a curve
the reconstructed
signal allows
greater precision.

Guided Media
Fiber-optic Cable Single Mode

a highly focused source of light that limits beams close to

horizontal
smaller diameter than multimode fibers
all beams arrive
together and can
be recombined
without distortion
to the signal

Guided Media
Fiber-optic Cable sizes
Fiber Type

Core (microns)

Cladding (microns)

62.5/125
50/125
100/140
8.3/125 *

62.5
50.0
100.0
8.3

125
125
140
125

* single mode

Guided Media
Fiber-optic Cable Cable Construction

fiber made of either glass or plastic of different densities,

ultrapure (material, size, shape).
buffer protects from moisture.
outer jacket teflon coating, plastic coating, fibrous plastic,
etc, choice depends on
where the cable is to be
installed

Guided Media
Fiber-optic Cable Light Sources

LED (light emitting diode)

cheaper, unfocused light, short distance use

ILD (injection laser diode)

focused, preserve signal over considerable distance

Fiber-optic Cable Connectors

precise and easy to use

(popular) barrel shape in male and female versions

Guided Media
Advantages of Optical Fiber

noise resistance
less signal attenuation (loss of energy) can run miles
without requiring regenaration
higher bandwidth (and data rates)

Disadvantages of Optical Fiber

cost
installation/maintenance
fragility glass fiber is easily broken

Unguided Media
wireless communication transport electromagnetic
wave without using physical conductor; e.g. air.

Radio
communication
bands

Unguided Media
Types of Propagation
Atmosphere:

troposphere about
30 miles from earth
surface, air
ionosphere above
troposphere

Unguided Media
Types of Propagation Surface

radio waves travel through the lowest portion of the

atmosphere
signals emanate in all directions follow the curvature of the
planet
VLF (very low frequency) wave do not suffer
much attenuation in transmission but susceptible
to the high levels of atmospheric noise; used
mostly for long-range radio and submarine
communication
LF (low frequency) wave similar to VLF;
attenuation is greater during daytime

Unguided Media
Types of Propagation Tropospheric

signal can be directed in a straight line from antenna to

antenna (line-of-sight)

also signal can be broadcast at an angle into

the upper layers of troposphere where it is
reflected back to earth

requires placement of the receiver and the transmitter within

line of sight distance

greater distance covered

MF (middle frequency) transmission;

for AM radio, etc.

Unguided Media
Types of Propagation Ionospheric

waves radiate upward into ionosphere where there are

reflected back to the earth
even greater distance than tropospheric propagation with
lower power output
HF (high frequency) transmission;
for aircraft comm., military comm.,
telephone

Unguided Media
Types of Propagation Line-of-sight

signals are transmitted in straight line directly from antenna

to antenna
VHF (very high frequency); for VHF television, FM radio, etc.
UHF (ultra high frequency); UHF television,
mobile telephone, paging, etc.

Unguided Media
Types of Propagation Space

utilize satellite relays

a broadcast signal is received by an orbiting satellite, which
rebroadcasts the signal to the intended receiver back on
earth
the satellite is like super-high-gain antenna and dramatically
increases the distance covered
SHF (super high frequency)
EHF (extremely high frequency);
predominantly for scientific, radar,
satellite, experimental comm.

Satellite Communication
satellite acting acting as a supertall antenna and repeater
Malaysian MEASAT

Satellite Communication
Geosynchronous Satellites

it takes a minimum of three satellites equidistant to provide

full global transmission
remain fixed above a
certain spot

Satellite Communication
Frequency bands for satellite communications

uplink transmission from the earth to the satellite

downlink transmission from the satellite to the earth

Band

Downlink

Uplink

C
Ku
Ka

3.7 to 4.2 GHz

11.7 to 12.2 GHz
17.7 to 21 GHz

5.925 to 6.425 GHz

14 to 14.5 GHz
27.5 to 31 GHz

MEASAT Technical Specifications

Cellular Telephony
the service provider must
be able to locate and track
the caller, assign a channel
to the call, and transfer the
signal from channel to
channel as the caller
moves out of the range of
one channel into the range
of another

Transmission
Impairment
The imperfection of transmission medium cause
impairment in the signal

what is sent is not what is received

Transmission
Impairment
Attenuation
loss of energy during transmission due to
resistance of the medium.
amplifiers are used to compensate the lost.

Transmission
Impairment
Distortion
signal changes its form or shape.
occurs in a composite signal which made of
different frequencies.

Transmission
Impairment
Noise

thermal noise (random motion of electrons creates an

extra signal), induced noise (comes from outside
source), crosstalk (effect on one wire on the other)

Performance
Transmission media performance can be
measured

Performance
Throughput
the time - how fast data can pass through a point
bits per second

Performance
Propagation Speed

the distance how far a signal (or a bit) can travel

through a medium

e.g. light in a vacuum & twisted pair = 3 x 108 m/s

coaxial & fiber optic = 2 x 108 m/s

Performance
Propagation Time

time required for a signal (or a bit) to travel from

one point of the transmission medium to another

Propagation time = Distance/Propagation speed

Wavelength
The distance a simple signal can travel in one period

wavelength = propagation speed x period

= propagation speed x (1 / frequency)
= propagation speed / frequency

Media Comparison
Medium

Cost

Speed

Attenuation

EMI

Security

UTP
STP
Coax
Optical fiber
Radio
Microwave
Satellite
Cellular

Low
Moderate
Moderate
High
Moderate
High
High
High

1-100 Mbps
1-150 Mbps
1 Mbps 1Gbps
10 Mbps 2 Gbps
1-10 Mbps
1 Mbps 10 Gbps
1 Mbps 10 Gbps
9.6-19.2 kbps

High
High
Moderate
Low
Low-High
Variable
Variable
Low

High
Moderate
Moderate
Low
High
High
High
Moderate

Low
Low
Low
High
Low
Moderate
Moderate
Low