Electromagnetic Spectrum

Unguided Media
1.2GHz to 40GHz
 microwave
 highly directional
 point to point
 satellite
2.30MHz to 1GHz
 omnidirectional
 broadcast radio
3.3 x 1011 to 2 x 1014
 infrared
 local
Wireless Transmission Frequencies
• Unguided transmission techniques commonly used for
information communications include broadcast radio,
terrestrial microwave, and satellite.
• Infrared transmission is used in some LAN applications.
Three general ranges of frequencies are of interest in
our discussion of wireless transmission.
• Frequencies in the range of about 1 to 40 GHz are
referred to as microwave frequencies. At these
frequencies, highly directional beams are possible, and
microwave is quite suitable for point-to-point
transmission.
• Microwave is also used for satellite communications.
•
• Frequencies in the range of 30 MHz to 1 GHz
are suitable for omnidirectional applications.
We refer to this range as the radio range.
• Another important frequency range is the
infrared portion of the spectrum, roughly
from 3  1011 to 2  1014 Hz. Infrared is useful
to local point-to-point and multipoint
applications within confined areas, such as a
single room.
Propagation Methods
BANDS
Wireless transmission waves
 Radio Waves
Omnidirectional Antenna

 Frequencies between 3 KHz and

1 GHz.
 are used for multicasts
communications, such as radio and
television, and paging system.
• Radio is a general term used to encompass
frequencies in the range of 3 kHz to 300 GHz.
We are using the informal term broadcast
radio to cover the VHF and part of the UHF
band: 30 MHz to 1 GHz. This range covers FM
radio and UHF and VHF television.
• This range is also used for a number of data
networking applications.
• The principal difference between broadcast
radio and microwave is that the former is
omnidirectional and the latter is directional.
Thus broadcast radio does not require dish-
shaped antennas, and the antennas need not
be rigidly mounted to a precise alignment.
• The range 30 MHz to 1 GHz is an effective one for
broadcast communications.
• Unlike the case for lower-frequency electromagnetic
waves, the ionosphere is transparent to radio waves
above 30 MHz.
• Thus transmission is limited to the line of sight, and
distant transmitters will not interfere with each other
due to reflection from the atmosphere.
• Unlike the higher frequencies of the microwave
region, broadcast radio waves are less sensitive to
attenuation from rainfall.
• A prime source of impairment for broadcast radio
waves is multipath interference.
• Reflection from land, water, and natural or human-
made objects can create multiple paths between
antennas, e.g ghosting on TV pictures.
 Terrestrial Microwave
• The primary use for terrestrial microwave systems is in long
haul telecommunications service, as an alternative to
coaxial cable or optical fiber. The microwave facility
requires far fewer amplifiers or repeaters than coaxial cable
over the same distance, (typically every 10-100 km) but
requires line-of-sight transmission.

• Microwave is commonly used for both voice and television

transmission. Another increasingly common use of
microwave is for short point-to-point links between
buildings, for closed-circuit TV or as a data link between
local area networks.

• The most common type of microwave antenna is the

parabolic "dish”, fixed rigidly to focus a narrow beam on a
receiving antenna A typical size is about 3 m in diameter.
• Microwave antennas are usually located at substantial heights
above ground level to extend the range between antennas and to
be able to transmit over intervening obstacles.
• To achieve long-distance transmission, a series of microwave
relay towers is used, and point-to-point microwave links are
strung together over the desired distance.
• Microwave transmission covers a substantial portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum, typically in the range 1 to 40 GHz,
with 4-6 GHz and now 12 GHz bands the most common.
• The higher the frequency used, the higher the potential
bandwidth and therefore the higher the potential data rate. As
with any transmission system, a main source of loss is
attenuation, related to the square of distance.
• The effects of rainfall become especially noticeable above 10
GHz. Another source of impairment is interference.
 Frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz.
Used for unicast communication such as cellular
phones, satellite networks and wireless LANs.
• satellite is relay station
• typically requires geo-stationary orbit
– height of 35,784km
– spaced at least 3-4° apart
• typical uses
– television
– long distance telephone
– private business networks
– global positioning
 Infrared
• Infrared communications is achieved using
transmitters/receivers (transceivers) that
modulate noncoherent infrared light.
 Frequencies between 300 GHz to 400 THz.
 Can not penetrate walls.
 Used for short-range communication in a closed area
using line-of-sight propagation.
• Transceivers must be within the line of sight of each
other either directly or via reflection from a light-
colored surface such as the ceiling of a room.

• One important difference between infrared and

microwave transmission is that the former does not
penetrate walls.

• Thus the security and interference problems

encountered in microwave systems are not present.

• Furthermore, there is no frequency allocation issue

with infrared, because no licensing is required.
 Antennas
• For unguided media, transmission and reception are achieved by
means of an antenna.
• An antenna can be defined as an electrical conductor or system
of conductors used either for radiating electromagnetic energy
or for collecting electromagnetic energy.

• For 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.

• For reception of a signal, electromagnetic energy impinging on the

antenna is converted into radio-frequency electrical energy and
fed into the receiver.

• In two-way communication, the same antenna can be and often is

used for both transmission and reception. This is possible
because antenna characteristics are essentially the same whether
an antenna is sending or receiving electromagnetic energy.
• An antenna will radiate power in all directions but,
typically, does not perform equally well in all
directions.

• A common way to characterize the performance of

an antenna is the radiation pattern, which is a
graphical representation of the radiation properties
of an antenna as a function of space coordinates.

• The simplest pattern is produced by an idealized

antenna known as the isotropic antenna. An
isotropic antenna is a point in space that
radiates power in all directions equally.

• The actual radiation pattern for the isotropic

antenna is a sphere with the antenna at the center.
 Satellite Point to Point Link

A general way two common configurations for satellite communication. In the first,
the satellite is being used to provide a point-to-point link between two distant ground-
based antennas.
 Satellite Broadcast Link

A general way two common configurations for satellite communication. In the

second, the satellite provides communications between one ground-based
transmitter and a number of ground-based receivers.
 Line of Sight Transmission
• Free space loss
– loss of signal with distance
• Atmospheric Absorption
– from water vapour and oxygen absorption
• Multipath
– multiple interfering signals from reflections
• Refraction
– bending signal away from receiver
 Comparison of Media
• Medium Cost Speed Atten Interfere Security
• UTP Low 1-100M High High Low
• STP Medium 1-150M High Medium Low
• Coax Medium 1M–1G Medium Medium Low
• Fibre High 10M–2G Low Low High
• Radio Medium 1-10M Varies High Low
• Microw High 1M–10G Varies High Medium
• Satellite High 1 M–10G Varies High Medium
• Cellular High 9.6–19.2K Low Medium Low