A

Micro project report On

“Transmission Media & Its types”

SUBMITTED TO M.S.B.T.E., Mumbai

For the Award of
DIPLOMA IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING BY

Roll no Name of Student Enrollment no

17 Atharv Maruti Khadatare 2212140111
52 Sham Babasaheb Gawade 23212710184
18 Laxman Nagnath Khandekar 2212140131
35 Rushiraj Nathaji Kengar 2212140128

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Mrs.Waghmare P.S .
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING

SVP’s Swami Vivekanand Institute of Technology(Poly),Solapur

Khed Solapur-413255

2023-24
AFFILIATED TO

M.S.B.T.E.
Evolution sheet for Micro Project

Academic Year:- 2023-24 Name of Faculty:-Mrs.Waghmare P.S .

Course:- Computer Engineering Course code:- CO4I
Subject:- Data Communication And Subject Code:- 22414
Computer Networking
Semester:- 4th Scheme:- I

Title of Project:- Transmission Media & Its types

COs addressed by the Micro Project:

CO 1 The transmission media is mainly of two types: Wired Media and Wireless Media
through which data is transmitted.
CO 2 To measure the quality of data that is transmitted, and its characteristics can be
calculated by the characteristics of medium and signal.
Comments/Suggestions about team work/leadership/inter-personal communication (if any)

Marks out of 4
Marks out of 6 Total
for
for mars
Roll No Name of students performance
performance in out
in oral/
group activity of 10
Presentation

17 Atharv Maruti Khadatare 2212140111

52 Sham Babasaheb Gawade 23212710184
18 Laxman Nagnath Khandekar 2212140131
35 Rushiraj Nathaji Kengar 2212140128

Name and
Signature of Mrs.Waghmare P.S .
faculty
 SVP’s Swami Vivekanand Institute of Technology(Polytechnic),
Solapur
.

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Project report entitled

“Transmission Media & Its types”
Submitted by

Roll no Name of Student Enrollment no

17 Atharv Maruti Khadatare 2212140111
52 Sham Babasaheb Gawade 23212710184
18 Laxman Nagnath Khandekar 2212140131
35 Rushiraj Nathaji Kengar 2212140128

is a bonafide work carried out by above students, under the guidance of Mrs.Waghmare P.S . and it
is submitted towards the fulfillment of requirement of MSBTE, Mumbai for the award of Diploma in
Computer Engineering at SVP’s COE (Polytechnic), Solapur during the academic year 2023-2024.

(Mrs.Waghmare P.S .)
Guide
(Mrs.Waghmare P.S .) (Dr. Patil S. S.)
HOD Principal

Place: Solapur

Date: / /
 Acknowledgement

“Transmission Media & Its types” has been developed successfully with a great
contribution of two students in a period of two months. We like to appreciate their
guidance, encouragement and willingness since without their support the project would
not have been a success. We would like to give our heartfelt gratitude to Principal Dr.
S.S.Patil, Guide & HOD Mrs. P.S. Waghmare who is the supervisor of our project for
helping and encouraging us in many ways to make our project a success. We would never
been able to finish our work without great support and enthusiasm from friends and
support from our family. We would like to thank the department of Computer Engineering,
for giving us permission to initiate this project and successfully finish it.
 INDEX

Sr.No. Title

1. Introduction

2. Resources Used

3. Transmission Media

4. Guided Media

5. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

6. Types of UTP cables

7. Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

8. Coaxial Cable

9. Optical Fiber

10. Catogories of Fiber Optic Cables

11. Advantages

12. Disadvantages

13. Conclusion

14. References
 Introduction:-

A transmission medium is a system or substance that can mediate the propagation of signals
for the purposes of telecommunication. Signals are typically imposed on a wave of some
kind suitable for the chosen medium.

Resources Used :-
Sr. No. Specification Remark
1 Intel Core i3/ i5, RAM 4GB As per requirement
2 Operating System – Windows 10 As per requirement
3 Application – Microsoft Word 2016 As per requirement

 Transmission Media :-
The first layer (physical layer) of Communication networks the OSI Seven layer model is
dedicated to the transmission media. Due to the variety of transmission media and
network wiring methods, selecting the most appropriate media can be confusing - what is
the optimal cost-effective solution.

When choosing the transmission media, what are the factors to be considered?
• Transmission Rate
• Distances
• Cost and Ease of Installation
• Resistance to Environmental Conditions

There are two types of transmission media :

1.Guided
2. Unguided

1.Guided Media :

• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

• Shielded Twisted Pair
• Coaxial Cable
• Optical Fiber

 Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

UTP is the copper media, inherited from telephony, which is being used for increasingly
higher data rates, and is rapidly becoming the de facto standard for horizontal wiring, the
connection between, and including, the outlet and the termination in the communication
closet. A Twisted Pair is a pair of copper wires, with diameters of 0.4-0.8 mm, twisted
together and wrapped with a plastic coating. The twisting increases the electrical noise
immunity, and reduces the bit error rate (BER) of the data transmission. A UTP cable
contains from 2 to 4200 twisted pairs.

UTP is a very flexible, low cost media, and can be used for either voice or data
communications. Its greatest disadvantage is the limited bandwidth, which restricts long
distance transmission with low error rates.

Types of UTP cables

Category 1
o CAT 1, or Category 1, cable is best suited for telephone communications. It is not suitable
for data transmission or Ethernet data work usage. It is mostly used for on-premises wiring.

Category 2

o Category 2, or CAT 2, cables are capable of data transmission of up to 4 Mbps. It is a Level

2 cable and was used on ARCnet and token ring networks sometime ago. Like CAT 1, CAT 2
is not suitable for Ethernet data work usage.

Category 3
o Category 3, or CAT 3, is a twisted, unshielded pair that is capable of carrying 100BASE-T
networking and can aid data transmission up to 16MHz with up to 10 Mbps speed. It is not
recommended for usage with new network installations.

Category 4
o Category 4, or CAT 4, is an unshielded, twisted pair that supports transmission up to 20MHz.
It is reliable for transporting data over CAT 3 and can transmit data up to a speed of 16 Mbps.
It is mostly used in token ring networks.

Category 5
o Category 5, or CAT 5, helps transmission up to 100MHz at speeds up to 1000 Mbps. It is a
 very common UTP cable and is suitable for 100BASET performance. It can be used for ATM,
1000BASE-T, 10BASE-T, 100BASE-T and token ring networking. These cables are used for
connecting computers hooked up to LANs.

Category 6
o Category 5e, or CAT 5e, is an enhanced version of the fifth level. Its characteristics are
similar to CAT 5 and it supports transmission up to 10MHz. It is best suited for Gigabit
Ethernet operations and is an excellent choice for 1000BASE-T networking.

Category 7
o Category 6, or CAT 6, is a proposed unshielded twisted pair that can support up to 250MHz
transmission. It is a sixth generation Ethernet cable. This copper-wired cable can support
1GB speed. CAT 6 is backward compatible with CAT 5e, CAT 6 and CAT 3. It is suitable for
1000BASE-T, 100BASE-T and 10BASE-T networking and has stringent rules for system
noise and cross talk.

Category8
o Category 7, or CAT 7, is another proposed standard that supports transmission up to
600MHz. CAT 7 is a standard 10G Ethernet copper cable that is over 100 meters. It is
backward compatible with CAT 5 and CAT 6 and has more stringent rules than CAT 6 for
system noise and cross talk.

 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

STP is heavier and more difficult to manufacture, but it can greatly improve the signaling
rate in a given transmission scheme Twisting provides cancellation of magnetically induced
fields and currents on a pair of conductors. Magnetic fields arise around other heavy current-
carrying conductors and around large electric motors. Various grades of copper cables are
available, with Grade 5 being the best and most expensive
Grade 5 copper, appropriate for use in 100-Mbps applications, has more twists per inch
than lower grades. More twists per inch means more linear feet of copper wire used to
make up a cable run, and more copper means more money.

Shielding provides a means to reflect or absorb electric fields that are present around
cables. Shielding comes in a variety of forms from copperbraiding or copper meshes to
aluminized.

Mylar tape wrapped around each conductor and again around the twisted pair.

 Coaxial Cable

A coaxial cable consists of many small cables in a protective cover. The cover shields the
cable from physical dangers as well as from electromagnetic interference. Within the cover,
the various cables are shielded from interference with one another. Coaxial cables
are used in communication networks that require many simultaneous communication
links. Each coaxial cable can provide more than 5000 links.Coaxial

cable is a two-conductor cable in which one conductor forms an electromagnetic shield around
the other. The two conductors are separated by insulation. It is a constant impedance
transmission cable. This media is used in base band and broadband transmission. Coaxial
cables do not produce external electric and magnetic fields and are not affected by them. This
makes them ideally suited, although more expensive, for transmitting signals.

There are two types of coaxial cables: baseband and broadband. A baseband coaxial cable
transmits a single signal at a time at very high speed. A broadband coaxial cable can transmit
many simultaneous signals using different frequencies. A baseband cable is mainly used for
LANs. A broadband coaxial cable can carry only an analog signal. So it must be used with a
modem.
Baseband coaxial cables are 50 ohm cables used for 'digital transmission'. For 1Km cables the
bandwidth is 1-2 Gbps. Longer cables can be used with low data rates or periodic amplifiers.
Broadband coaxial cables are 75 ohm cables used for analog transmission. They use standard
cable television technology. To transmit digital signals on an analog network, each interface
must have converters i.e. analog to digital for outgoing bit stream n vice versa another
difference b/w baseband and broadband is that broadband systems have developed dual cables.
Since broadband is used for large area, it requires amplifiers which are unidirectional. In dual
band systems two identical cables run together, one used for outgoing data, one for incoming
data. Different bandwidths are given for inbound and outbound cables. Eg: for 300MHz, 5-
30MHz for inbound and 40- 300MHz for outbound.

Features of twisted pair:

1. It provides better immunity than twisted pair.

2. This cable is able to transmit data at higher rates.

Limitations of twisted pair:

1.High installation cost

2.High maintenance cost.

Types Of Coaxial Cable

RG-6

o RG-6 (radio grade-6) cable is the most frequently used and distributed coaxial cable around.
It is also known as home cable, since it is used in connecting a television set to a cable
television (CATV) signal distributor. This cable has a single copper conductor surrounded by a
copper braided dielectric insulator contained within an outer protective covering. With a
standard impedance of 75 ohms, RG-6 is a successor to RG-59 cable, which was used in
applications like audio and video transmission.

RG-8

o RG-8 cable, also called 10Base5 Thicknet cable, has a very rugged design, carrying several
layers of dielectric material and shielding over its core conductor. RG-8 cables are available
with a standard characteristic impedance of 50 to 52 ohms. The central copper conductor has a
core diameter of 2.17 mm and frequency response range as high as 500 MHz, making it
suitable for radio applications. Compared with RG-6 and RG-59 coaxes, RG-8 cables are not
ideal for carrying audio and video signals. RG-8 coaxial cables were succeeded by RG-58 or
10Base2 Thin-net cables, which served as a standard medium in local area networks for a long
time.
Twinaxial

o This type of coaxial cable has two copper or aluminum braids parted by an insulating
material. In addition to that, a twinaxial cable has a pair of plastic-coated solid conducting
wires at the core, which carry two differential electric voltages in order to fulfill maximum
transmission and reception requirements. Different manufacturers have their own standardized
twinaxial cables for their particular devices. Twinaxial cables are commonly used in computer
networking environments.

Triaxial

o Triaxial or triax is a form of coaxial cable which has three protecting shields for a single
copper conductor contained at the core. These shields include two copper or aluminum layered
meshes, parted from each other through a dielectric insulator. This set of coverings increases
the cable's efficiency and effectively decreases the amount of signal leakage and external noise
interference. Triaxial cables come in different varieties with respect to impedance and gauges,
which makes them highly suitable for electronic applications requiring minimum
electromagnetic interference in transmission.

Semi-Rigid

o As their name indicates, semi-rigid coaxial cables are inflexible cables with solid conductor
covering over the insulator-packed internal conductor. This solid covering provides an
additional benefit at higher frequencies, especially on microwave frequencies where skin effect
takes place. Skin effect is the quality of electrical signal to flow at the outer levels of a
conductor on high frequencies. Semi-rigid coaxial cables are widely used in applications like
long-haul data links, which require collection of microwave signals on a physical medium.

 Optical Fiber
Optical fiber consists of thin glass fibers that can carry information at frequencies in the visible
light spectrum and beyond. The typical optical fiber consists of a very narrow strand of glass
called the core. Around the core is a concentric layer of glass called the cladding. A typical
core diameter is 62.5 microns .Typically cladding has a diameter of 125 microns. Coating the
cladding is a protective coating consisting of plastic, it is called the Jacket. An important
characteristic of fiber optics is refraction. Refraction is the characteristic of a material to either
pass or reflect light. When light passes through a medium, it “bends” as it passes from one
medium to the other. An example of this is when we look into a pond of water If the angle of
incidence is small, the light rays are reflected and do not pass into the water. If the angle of
incident is great, light passes through the media but is bent or refracted. Optical fibers work on
the principle that the core refracts the light and the cladding reflects the light. The core refracts
the light and guides the light along its path. The cladding reflects any light back into the core
and stops light from escaping through it - it bounds the medium

Catogories of Fiber Optic Cables

Multimode Fiber

Multimode fiber, the first to be manufactured and commercialized, simply refers to the fact
that numerous modes or light rays are carried simultaneously through the waveguide. Modes
result from the fact that light will only propagate in the fiber core at discrete angles within the
cone of acceptance. This fiber type has a much larger core diameter, compared to single-mode
fiber, allowing for the larger number of modes, and multimode fiber is easier to couple than
single-mode optical fiber. Multimode fiber may be categorized as step-index or graded-index
fiber. Multimode Step-index Fiber Figure 2 shows how the principle of total internal reflection
applies to multimode stepindex fiber. Because the core's index of refraction is higher than the
cladding's index of refraction, the light that enters at less than the critical angle is guided along
the fiber.

Figure 2 - Total Internal Reflection in Multimode Step-index fiber

Three different lightwaves travel down the fiber. One mode travels straight down the center of
the core. A second mode travels at a steep angle and bounces back and forth by total internal
reflection. The third mode exceeds the critical angle and refracts into the cladding. Intuitively,
it can be seen that the second mode travels a longer distance than the first mode, causing the
two modes to arrive at separate times. This disparity between arrival times of the different light
rays is known as dispersion, and the result is a muddied signal at the receiving end. For a more
detailed discussion of dispersion, see "Dispersion in Fiber Optic Systems" however, it is
important to note that high dispersion is an unavoidable characteristic of multimode step-index
fiber. Multimode Graded-index Fiber Graded-index refers to the fact that the refractive index
of the core gradually decreases farther from the center of the core. The increased refraction in
the center of the core slows the speed of some light rays, allowing all the light rays to reach the
receiving end at approximately the same time, reducing dispersion.

Figure 3 - Multimode Graded-index Fiber

Figure 3 shows the principle of multimode graded-index fiber. The core's central refractive
index, nA, is greater than that of the outer core's refractive index, nB. As discussed earlier, the
core's refractive index is parabolic, being higher at the center. As Figure 3 shows, the light rays
no longer follow straight lines; they follow a serpentine path being gradually bent back toward
the center by the continuously declining refractive index. This reduces the arrival time
disparity because all modes arrive at about the same time. The modes traveling in a straight
line are in a higher refractive index, so they travel slower than the serpentine modes. These
travel farther but move faster in the lower refractive index of the outer core region.

Single-mode Fiber

Single-mode fiber allows for a higher capacity to transmit information because it can retain the
fidelity of each light pulse over longer distances, and it exhibits no dispersion caused by
multiple modes. Single-mode fiber also enjoys lower fiber attenuation than multimode fiber.
Thus, more information can be transmitted per unit of time. Like multimode fiber, early single-
mode fiber was generally characterized as step-index fiber meaning the refractive index of the
fiber core is a step above that of the cladding rather than graduated as it is in graded-index
fiber. Modern single-mode fibers have evolved into more complex designs such as matched
clad, depressed clad and other exotic structures.

Figure 4

Single-mode fiber has disadvantages. The smaller core diameter makes coupling light into the
core more difficult. The tolerances for single-mode connectors and splices are also much more
demanding. Single-mode fiber has gone through a continuing evolution for several decades
now. As a result, there are three basic classes of single-mode fiber used in modern
telecommunications systems. The oldest and most widely deployed type is non dispersion-
shifted fiber(NDSF). These fibers were initially intended for use near 1310 nm. Later, 1550 nm
systems made NDSF fiber undesirable due to its very high dispersion at the 1550 nm
wavelength. To address this shortcoming, fiber manufacturers developed, dispersion-shifted
fiber(DSF), that moved the zero-dispersion point to the 1550 nm region. Years later, scientists
would discover that while DSF worked extremely well with a single 1550 nm wavelength, it
exhibits serious nonlinearities when multiple, closely-spaced wavelengths in the 1550 nm were
transmitted in DWDM systems. Recently, to address the problem of nonlinearities, a new class
of fibers were introduced. These are classified as non zero-dispersion-shifted fibers (NZ-DSF).
The fiber is available in both positive and negative dispersion varieties and is rapidly
becoming the fiber of choice in new fiber deployment. For more information on this loss
mechanism, see the article "Fiber Dispersion."

Figure 6 - Dispersion for Alternating 20 km Lengths of (+D) NZ-DSF and (-D) NZ-DSF
Fiber

Figure 7 -

One additional important variety of single-mode fiber is polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber.

All other single-mode fibers discussed so far have been capable of carrying randomly
polarized light. PM fiber is designed to propagate only one polarization of the input light. This
is important for components such as external modulators that require a polarized light input.
Figure 7 shows the cross-section of a type of PM fiber. This fiber contains a feature not seen in
other fiber types. Besides the core, there are two additional circles called stress rods. As their
name implies, these stress rods create stress in the core of the fiber such that the transmission
of only one polarization plane of light is favored. Single-mode fibers experience nonlinearities
that can greatly affect system performance. For complete information, see "Fiber
Nonlinearities."
Connectors for Fiber optic Cables

Fiber optic connectors are unique. Fiber cables transmit pulses of light instead of electrical
signals, so the terminations must be much more precise. Instead of merely allowing pins to
make metal-to-metal contact, fiber optic connectors must align microscopic glass fibers
perfectly in order to allow for communication. While there are many different types of fiber
connectors, they share similar design characteristics. Simplex vs. duplex: Simplex means 1
connector per end while duplex means 2
connectors per end. There are three major components of a fiber connector: the ferrule, the
connector body, and the coupling mechanism.

Ferrule — this is a thin structure (often cylindrical) that actually holds the glass fiber. It has a
hollowed-out center that forms a tight grip on the fiber. Ferrules are usually made from
ceramic, metal, or high-quality plastic, and typically will hold one strand of fiber.

Connector body — this is a plastic or metal structure that holds the ferrule and attaches to the
jacket and strengthens members of the fiber cable itself.

Coupling mechanism — this is a part of the connector body that holds the connector in
place when it gets attached to another device (a switch, NIC, bulkhead coupler, etc.). It
may be a latch clip, a bayonet-style nut, or similar device.

Straight Tip (ST)

The ST connector was one of the first connector types widely implemented in fiber optic
networking applications. Originally developed by AT&T, it stands for Straight Tip
connector. ST connections use a 2.5mm ferrule with a round plastic or metal body. The
connector stays in place with a "twist-on/twist-off" bayonet-style mechanism. Although
extremely popular for many years, the ST connector is slowly being supplanted by
smaller, denser connections in many installations.

Sub Miniature Type A(SMA)

Difines a connectors that uses two individual connectors for each fiber strand .SMA looks
similar to the ST but uses a threaded outer shell.This type of connection is more
rugged,particularly under the stress of vibrations.SMA’s are available in two versions
namely:905and906.

Subscriber/Standard Connector(SC)

SC connectors also use a round 2.5mm ferrule to hold a single fiber. They use a pushon/pull-
off mating mechanism which is generally easier to use than the twist-style ST connector when
in tight spaces. The connector body of an SC connector is squarish, and two SC connectors are
usually held together with a plastic clip (this is referred to as a duplex connection). The SC
connector was developed in Japan by NTT (the Japanese telecommunications company), and is
believed to be an abbreviation for Subscriber Connector, or possibly Standard Connector.

FDDI

FDDI stands for Fiber Distributed Data Interface, and it actually refers to a local area network
standard such as Ethernet or Token Ring. The termination on the fiber optic cable itself is
called an FDDI connector, or is also known as a MIC (Media Interface Connector) connector.
It contains two ferrules in a large, bulky plastic housing that uses a squeeze-tab retention
mechanism.

MTP®

MTP® is a special type of fiber optic connector. Made by US Conec, it is an improvement of

the original MPO (Multi-fiber Push-On) connector designed by NTT. The MTP® connector is
designed to terminate several fibers—up to 12 strands—in a single ferrule. MTP® connections
are held in place by a push-on/pull-off latch, and can also be distinguished by a pair of metal
guide pins that protrude from the front of the connector. Because of the high number of fiber
strands available in a small connection, MTP® assemblies are used for backbone, cross-
connect, and breakout applications.

Small Form Factor Connectors (SFF)

SFF connectors grew from the effort to make fiber connections smaller. In a rack or closet
environment, space for several connections is limited, and thus manufacturers sought a way to
increase port density. A standard was developed for smaller connectors called SFF (Small
Form Factor). There are many different types of SFF connectors, but they are all smaller than
normal ST or SC connections.

LC

One popular Small Form Factor (SFF) connector is the LC type. This interface was developed
by Lucent Technologies (hence, Lucent Connector). It uses a retaining tab mechanism, similar
to a phone or RJ45 connector, and the connector body resembles the squarish shape of SC
connector. LC connectors are normally held together in a duplex configuration with a plastic
clip. The ferrule of an LC connector is 1.25mm.

MTRJ

This is another popular SFF connector. Based on a specification by NTT, it was developed by
AMP/Tyco and Corning, and stands for Mechanical Transfer-Registered Jack. The MTRJ
connector closely resembles an RJ-style modular plug, even getting part of its name from the
resemblance. MTRJ connectors are always duplex in that they hold two fibers. The body and
ferrule are normally made from plastic or plastic composite, and lock into place with a tab (just
like a modular RJ-style plug).

RJ-45

An 8-position, 8-conductor modular connector that is most often used for data networks such
as Ethernet. RJ-45 connectors are physically wider than the RJ-11/12 connectors used for
telephone. In network applications, RJ-45 cable assemblies are used to connect from a patch
panel to a network switch, and also to connect a computer's NIC to a data port.

10G-CX4

10G-CX4 was the first 10G copper standard published. The connector used is similar to that of
the Infiniband connector. The 10G-CX4 specification is designed to work up to a distance of
15 meters. Each of the 4 lanes carries 3.125 G baud of signaling bandwidth. 10G-CX4 gives
the advantage of low power, low cost, and low latency.

Infiniband™ (4x)

Infiniband is a high-bandwidth I/O communication technology that is typically deployed in

data centers, server clusters, and HPC (High Performance Computing) applications. Infiniband
cables use a connector based on the Micro GigaCN series developed by Fujitsu. The most
common type of connector in use is the "4X", named because it supports four aggregated data
links. The cable assembly will apear identical to the 10GCX4 cables; however, the 10G-CX4
cables are tested for a different set of standards. Infiniband cables cannot be used in 10G-CX4
applications.

Features of Optic fibre cable:

• Huge bandwidth.
• Optical fiber systems are not affected by external noise.
• The error rate for the data transmitted across fiber optic cable is very low.

Limitations of Optic fibre cable:

• Cost is high.
• Fibers fragility makes it more difficult to handle.

2.Unguided:-

Transmission media then looking at analysis of using them unguided transmission media
is data signals that flow through the air. They are not guided or bound to a channel to follow.
Following are unguided media used for data communication :

• Radio Transmission
• Microwave
• Satellite Communication

. RF Propagation : There are three types of RF (radio frequency) propagation :

• Ground Wave
• Ionospheric
• Line of Sight (LOS)

Ground wave propagation follows the curvature of the Earth. Ground waves have carrier
frequencies up to 2 MHz. AM radio is an example of ground wave propagation. Ionospheric
propagation bounces off of the Earth’s ionospheric layer in the upper atmosphere. It is
sometimes called double hop propagation. It operates in the frequency range of 30 - 85 MHz.
Because it depends on the Earth’s ionosphere, it changes with the weather and time of day.
The signal bounces off of the ionosphere and back to earth. Ham radios operate in this range.

Line of sight propagation transmits exactly in the line of sight. The receive station must be in
the view of the transmit station. It is sometimes called space waves or tropospheric
propagation. It is limited by the curvature of the Earth for ground-based stations (100 km, from
horizon to horizon). Reflected waves can cause problems. Examples of line of sight
propagation are: FM radio, microwave and satellite.

Radio Frequencies : The frequency spectrum operates from 0 Hz (DC) to gamma rays (1019
Hz). Radio frequencies are in the range of 300 kHz to 10 GHz. We are seeing an emerging
technology called wireless LANs. Some use radio frequencies to connect the workstations
together, some use infrared technology.

Microwave : Microwave transmission is line of sight transmission. The transmit station must
be in visible contact with the receive station. This sets a limit on the distance between stations
depending on the local geography. Typically the line of sight due to the Earth’s curvature is
only 50 km to the horizon! Repeater stations must be placed so the data signal can hop, skip
and jump across the country.

Microwaves operate at high operating frequencies of 3 to 10 GHz. This allows them to carry
large quantities of data due to their large bandwidth.
 Advantages :-

(a) They require no right of way acquisition between towers.

(b) They can carry high quantities of information due to their high operating frequencies.
(c) Low cost land purchase: each tower occupies only a small area.
(d) High frequency/short wavelength signals require small antennae.

 Disadvantages :-

(a) Attenuation by solid objects: birds, rain, snow and fog.

(b) Reflected from flat surfaces like water and metal.
(c) Diffracted (split) around solid objects.
(d) Reflected by atmosphere, thus causing beam to be projected away from receiver.

Satellite : Satellites are transponders (units that receive on one frequency and retransmit on
another) that are set in geostationary orbits directly over the equator. These geostationary
orbits are 36,000 km from the Earth’s surface. At this point, the gravitational pull of the Earth
and the centrifugal force of Earth’s rotation are balanced and cancel each other out. Centrifugal
force is the rotational f0000000orce placed on the satellite that wants to fling it out into space.

The uplink is the transmitter of data to the satellite. The downlink is the receiver of data.
Uplinks and downlinks are also called Earth stations because they are located on the
Earth. The footprint is the “shadow” that the satellite can transmit to, the shadow being
the area that can receive the satellite’s transmitted signal.
 Conclusion :-

The transmission media is mainly of two types: Wired Media and

Wireless Media through which data is transmitted. To measure the quality
of data that is transmitted, and its characteristics can be calculated by the
characteristics of medium and signal

 References :-

1. https://www.prepbytes.com/blog/computer-network/transmission-media-in-computer-
networks/

2. https://www.pynetlabs.com/transmission-media-and-its-types/

3. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/types-transmission-media/