Chapter 4 Transmission Media
Overview
Guided wire (twisted pair, coaxial cable, optical fiber) Unguided wireless (broadcast radio, terrestrial microwave, satellite) Characteristics & quality of data transmission is determined by
medium & signal
Design Factors
Bandwidth:
Higher bandwidth (HZ) gives higher data rate (bps)
Transmission impairments: e.g. Attenuation
Limits the transmission distance Twisted pair -> coaxial cable -> optical fiber
For guided medium, the medium itself is more important in determining
the transmission limitations
Interference: from competing signals in overlapping
frequency bands can distort or wipe out a signal.
For unguided medium, the bandwidth produced by the antenna is more
important
Number of receivers: In guided media
Point-to-point link or share link with multiple attachment: each attachment introduce some attenuation & distortion on the line, limiting distance and/or data rate
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Key concerns are data rate and distance in the design of trans. sys.
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Electromagnetic Spectrum for Telecom
Guided Transmission Media
Twisted Pair Coaxial cable Optical fiber
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Twisted Pair & Applications
Twisted Pair - Transmission Characteristics
Pros and Cons
Cheap; Easy to work with Low data rate; Short distance <- bigger attenuation
Most common medium: least expensive Telephone network
Between house and local exchange (subscriber loop)
Within buildings
To private branch exchange (PBX)
For local area networks (LAN)
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Analog Signal: Amplifiers every 5km to 6km Digital Transmission: repeater every 2km or 3km Limited distance Limited bandwidth (1MHz) Limited data rate (100Mbp) Susceptible to interference and noise
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10Mbps or 100Mbps
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Unshielded and Shielded TP
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Ordinary telephone wire Cheapest Easiest to install Suffers from external EM interference
UTP Categories
Cat 3
up to 16MHz Voice-grade cable found in most offices Twist length of 7.5 cm to 10 cm
Cat 4
up to 20 MHz
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
Metal braid or sheathing that reduces interference More expensive Harder to handle (thick, heavy)
Cat 5
up to 100MHz Commonly pre-installed in new office buildings Twist length 0.6 cm to 0.85 cm
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Coaxial Cable
Applications & Transmission Characteristics
Applications: Television distribution : Cable TV Long distance telephone transmission
Can carry 10,000 voice calls simultaneously (via FDM) Being replaced by fiber optic
Short distance links between computer devices Transmission Characteristics: Analog
Amplifiers every few km; Closer if higher frequency Up to 500MHz Digital: Repeater every 1km; Closer for higher data rates
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Optical Fiber - Transmission Characteristics
Optical Fiber: transmit a signal-encoded beam of light by means
of total internal reflection
Optical Fiber Transmission Modes
Act as waveguide for freq. of 1014 to 1015 Hz
Portions of infrared and visible spectrum
Three Transmission Modes:
Step-index multimode; Graded-index multimode; Single-mode
Two Type of Light Sources:
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
Cheaper; Wider operating temp range; Last longer
Injection Laser Diode (ILD): More efficient; Greater data rate
WDM: multiple beams of light at different freq. are transmitted
on the same fiber. This is a form of FDM.
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Optical Fiber - Properties & Applications
Properties: Greater capacity: in the unit of Gbps, Tbps Smaller size & lighter weight Lower Attenuation EM Isolation: not affected by external EM interference Greater Repeater Spacing: every hundreds of km Applications: Long-haul trunks ; Metropolitan trunks; LANs Rural exchange trunks Subscriber loops
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Wireless Transmission
Unguided media Transmission & reception via antenna Directional
Focused beam Careful alignment required
Omnidirectional
Signal spreads in all directions Can be received by many antennae
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3 Frequency Ranges
30MHz to 1GHz:
Suitable to Omnidirectional app. Refer to as broadcast radio range
Terrestrial Microwave
Physical Description: the most common type of antenna is the
parabolic dish
Focuses a narrow beam: to achieve line-of-sight trans. to the
receiving antenna
2GHz to 40GHz: Microwave frequency
Highly directional beams are possible Suitable to point- to-point transmission Can also be used for satellite comm.
Apps.: Long haul telecommunications Higher frequencies give higher data rates
common freq : 2 40 GHZ
3 x 1011 to 2 x 1014
Infrared portion of the spectrum Local apps. Within confined areas, e.g. a single room
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Satellite Microwave
Satellite is a microwave relay station Satellite receives on one frequency, amplifies or repeats signal and transmits on another frequency Requires geo-stationary orbit
Height of 35,784km
Broadcast Radio
Omnidirectional Freq: 30 MHZ to 1GHZ
FM radio UHF and VHF television
Applications:
Television Long distance telephone Private business networks
Trans. is limited to the line of sight Suffers from multipath interference
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Infrared
Transceivers modulate noncoherent infrared light Two parties must be within line of sight (or reflection) Blocked by walls e.g. TV remote control
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