Data and Computer

Communications
Chapter 4 –Transmission Media

Ninth Edition
by William Stallings

Data and Computer Communications, Ninth

Edition by William Stallings, (c) Pearson
Education - Prentice Hall, 2011
 Overview
 transmission medium is the physical path
between transmitter and receiver
 guided media – guided along a solid medium
 unguided media – atmosphere, space, water
 characteristics and quality determined by
medium and signal
 guided media - medium is more important
 unguided media - bandwidth produced by the
antenna is more important
 key concerns are data rate and distance
Design Factors Determining
Data Rate and Distance
bandwidth

• higher bandwidth gives higher data rate

transmission impairments

• impairments, such as attenuation, limit the distance

interference

• overlapping frequency bands can distort or wipe out a signal

number of receivers

• more receivers introduces more attenuation

 Transmission Characteristics
 
of Guided Media
  Frequency Typical Typical Repeater
Range Attenuation Delay Spacing
Twisted pair 0 to 3.5 kHz 0.2 dB/km @ 50 µs/km 2 km
(with loading) 1 kHz

Twisted pairs 0 to 1 MHz 0.7 dB/km @ 5 µs/km 2 km

(multi-pair 1 kHz
cables)
Coaxial cable 0 to 500 MHz 7 dB/km @ 10 4 µs/km 1 to 9 km
MHz
Optical fiber 186 to 370 0.2 to 0.5 5 µs/km 40 km
THz dB/km
Guided Transmission Media
 Twisted Pair

https://www.123rf.com/photo_56909633_stock-vector-twisted-pair-cable-with-symbols-foil-shielded-cable-.html
 Twisted Pair

Twisted pair is the least expensive and most widely used

guided transmission medium.

 It consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in a regular spiral

pattern
 a wire pair acts as a single communication link
 pairs are bundled together into a cable
 most commonly used in the telephone network and for communications
within buildings
Twisted Pair - Transmission
Characteristics
limited
analog digital
:
needs
can use either
amplifiers
analog or distance
every 5km to
digital signals
6km

needs a
bandwidth
repeater every
(1MHz)
2km to 3km
susceptible to
interference and data rate
(100MHz)
noise
 Unshielded vs. Shielded
Twisted Pair

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

• ordinary telephone wire
• cheapest
• easiest to install
• suffers from external electromagnetic interference
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
• has metal braid or sheathing that reduces interference
• provides better performance at higher data rates
• more expensive
• harder to handle (thick, heavy)
 Near-End Crosstalk
 Also know as NEXT
 coupling of signal from one pair of
conductors to another.
 occurs when “transmit signal” entering the
link couples back to the “receiving pair”.
 Meaning, near transmitted signal is picked
up by near receiving pair.
Signal Power Relationships

https://www.newark.com/pdfs/techarticles/megger/StructuredCableCertifi
cationTests.pdf
 Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable can be used over longer distances and support more
stations on a shared line than twisted pair.
 It consists of a hollow outer cylindrical conductor that surrounds a single
inner wire conductor
 It is a versatile transmission medium used in a wide variety of
applications
Coaxial Cable - Transmission
Characteristics
analog digital
frequency
signals signals
characteristics
superior to • amplifiers • repeater
twisted pair needed every 1km -
every few closer for
kilometers - higher data
closer if rates
higher
performance frequency
limited by • usable
attenuation & spectrum
noise extends up
to 500MHz
 Optical Fiber

Optical fiber is a thin flexible medium capable of

guiding an optical ray.
 various glasses and plastics can be used to make optical fibers
 has a cylindrical shape with three sections – core, cladding, jacket
 widely used in long distance telecommunications
 performance, price and advantages have made it popular to use
 Optical Fiber - Benefits
 greater capacity
 data rates of hundreds of Gbps
 smaller size and lighter weight
 considerably thinner than coaxial or twisted pair cable
 reduces structural support requirements
 lower attenuation
 electromagnetic isolation
 not vulnerable to interference, impulse noise, or crosstalk
 high degree of security from eavesdropping
 greater repeater spacing
 lower cost and fewer sources of error
 Optical Fiber - Transmission
Characteristics
 uses total internal reflection to transmit light
 effectively acts as wave guide for 1014 to 1015 Hz (this
covers portions of infrared & visible spectra)
 light sources used:
 Light Emitting Diode (LED)
• cheaper, operates over a greater temperature range,
lasts longer
 Injection Laser Diode (ILD)
• more efficient, has greater data rates
Optical Fiber Transmission
Modes
 Optical Fiber Transmission
Modes
A question previously asked by your classmate: Which one is better?
• When selecting single mode fiber or multimode fiber, the most important
thing to consider is the distance requirement.
 Within a data center, it’s typical to use multimode fibers which can
get you 300-400 meters.
 Connecting longer distance, single mode fiber can get you 10km,
40km, 80km, and even farther.
• Meanwhile, the prices go up accordingly.
 The transmission costs of multimode fiber, including both transmitter
and receiver sides, will be in the range of $ 500 to $ 800.
 The transmission systems designed for use with single mode fiber will
typically cost more than $ 1000.

• Note: single mode fiber and multimode fiber are not compatible. You
cannot mix multimode and single mode fiber between two endpoints. The
optics are not compatible either.

Reference:
http://www.fiberopticshare.com/single-mode-fiber-vs-multimode-fiber-choose-2.html
 Wireless Transmission
Frequencies
• referred to as microwave frequencies
• highly directional beams are possible
1GHz to • suitable for point to point transmissions
40GHz • also used for satellite

• suitable for omnidirectional (all directions) applications

30MHz to • referred to as the radio range
1GHz

• Infrared portion of the spectrum.

• useful to local point-to-point and multipoint applications within
3 x 1011 Hz to confined areas. E.g. binoculars and Infrared detector (detect
2 x 1014 Hz motions).
 Antennas
 electrical conductors used to radiate or collect
electromagnetic energy
 same antenna is often used for both purposes.
 For a transmission of a signal:
 Radio-frequency electrical energy from the transmitter is converted
into electromagnetic energy by the antenna and radiated into the
surrounding environment (atmosphere, space, water).
 For a reception of a signal:
 Electromagnetic energy impinging on the antenna is converted into
radio-frequency electrical energy and fed into the receiver.
 Antennas

http://cdn.mikroe.com/ebooks/sites/10/2016/02/04100718/radio-receivers-chapter-02-6a.gif
 Radiation Pattern
 Power radiated in all directions
 does not perform equally well in all directions
 an isotropic antenna is a point in space that
radiates power
 in all directions equally
 with a spherical radiation pattern
 Antenna Gain
 It is the measure of the directionality of an antenna.
 power output in particular direction verses that
produced by an isotropic antenna.
 measured in decibels (dB).
 In effect, increased power is radiated in one
direction by reducing the power radiated in other
directions.
 It is important to note that antenna gain does not

refer to obtaining more output power than input

power but rather to directionality.
 effective area relates to physical size of the antenna
and its shape.
 Terrestrial Microwave
Applications
 It is used for long haul telecommunications,
short point-to-point links between buildings
and cellular systems.
 used for both voice and TV transmission
 fewer repeaters but requires line of sight
transmission
 1-40GHz frequencies, with higher frequencies
having higher data rates
 main source of loss is attenuation caused
mostly by distance, rainfall and interference
 Satellite Microwave
 a communication satellite is in effect a
microwave relay station
 used to link two or more ground stations.
 It receives on one frequency, amplifies or
repeats signal and transmits on another
frequency.
 frequency bands are called transponder channels
 requires geo-stationary orbit
 rotation match occurs at a height of 35,863km at the
equator
 need to be spaced at least 3°- 4° apart to avoid
interfering with each other
 spacing limits the number of possible satellites
Satellite Point-to-Point Link
Satellite Broadcast Link
 Satellite Microwave
Applications
 uses:
private business networks
• satellite providers can divide capacity into channels to lease
to individual business users
television distribution
• programs are transmitted to the satellite then broadcast
down to a number of stations which then distributes the
programs to individual viewers
• Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) transmits video signals
directly to the home user
global positioning
• Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS)
Transmission Characteristics
 the optimum frequency range for satellite
transmission is 1 to 10 GHz
• lower has significant noise from natural sources
• higher is attenuated by atmospheric absorption and
precipitation
 satellites use a frequency bandwidth range of
5.925 to 6.425 GHz from earth to satellite (uplink)
and a range of 3.7 to 4.2 GHz from satellite to
earth (downlink)
• this is referred to as the 4/6-GHz band
• because of saturation the 12/14-GHz band has been developed
(uplink: 14 - 14.5 GHz; downlink: 11.7 - 12.2 GH
 Broadcast Radio
 Radio is the term used to encompass
frequencies in the range of 3kHz to 300GHz
 broadcast radio (30MHz - 1GHz) covers
• FM radio
• UHF and VHF television
• data networking applications
 omnidirectional
 limited to line of sight
 suffers from multipath interference
 reflections from land, water, man-made objects
 Infrared
 achieved using transceivers that modulate
noncoherent infrared light
 transceivers must be within line of sight of
each other directly or via reflection
 does not penetrate walls
 no licenses required
 no frequency allocation issues
 typical uses:
• TV remote control
 Wireless Propagation
Ground Wave

 Ground wave propagation follows the contour of the earth

and can propagate distances well over the visible horizon
 this effect is found in frequencies up to 2MHz
 the best known example of ground wave communication
is AM radio
 Wireless Propagation
Sky Wave

 A signal from an earth based antenna is reflected from the

ionized layer of the upper atmosphere back down to earth
 Sky wave signals can travel through a number of hops, bouncing
back and for the between the ionosphere and the earth’s surface
 Sky wave propagation is used for amateur radio, CB radio, and
international broadcasts such as BBC and Voice of America
 Wireless Propagation
Line of Sight

 Line of site operates above 30 MHz.

 Ground and sky wave propagation modes do not operate above 30
MHz - - communication must be by line of sight.
 Examples: FM radio, microwave and satellite transmission.
 Summary
 transmission Media
• physical path between transmitter and receiver
• bandwidth, transmission impairments, interference,
number of receivers
 guided Media
• twisted pair, coaxial cable, optical fiber
 wireless Transmission
• microwave frequencies
• antennas, terrestrial microwave, satellite
microwave, broadcast radio
 wireless Propagation
• ground wave, sky wave, line of sight