Chapter 4

Transmission Media

7.1 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Figure 4.1 Transmission medium and physical layer

4.2
 Figure 4.2 Classes of transmission media

form of electric current form of light

4.3
 4-1 GUIDED MEDIA

Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit

from one device to another, include twisted-pair cable,
coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.

Topics discussed in this section:

Twisted-Pair Cable
Coaxial Cable
Fiber-Optic Cable

4.4
 Figure 4.3 Twisted-pair cable

It consists of two conductors, each with its own plastic insulation, twisted
together.

One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver and the other is used
only as a ground reference.

4.5
 Twisted-pair cable Application

1. Twisted pair cables are used in telephone lines to provide voice

and data channels

2. The DSL lines that are used by the telephone companies to

provide high-data-rate connections also use the high-bandwidth
capability of unshielded twisted-pair cables.

3. Local area networks such as 10Base-T, also use twisted–pair

cables.

4.6
 Figure 4.4 UTP and STP cables

4.7
 Table 4.1 Categories of unshielded twisted-pair cables

4.8
 Figure 7.5 UTP connector

The most common UTP connector is RJ45 (RJ stands for registered jack)

4.9
 Twisted-pair cable Performance

• One way to measure the performance of twisted pair

cable is to compare attenuation versus frequency and
distance.
• A twisted pair cable can pass a wide range of
frequencies.

• Gauge is a measure of the thickness of the wire.

4.10
 Figure 4.6 UTP performance

4.11
 Coaxial cable

• Coaxial cable carries signal of higher frequency ranges than those in

twisted pair cable.
• Instead of having two wires, coax has central core conductor of solid or
stranded wire enclosed in an insulating sheath, which is in turn, encased in
an outer conductor of metal foil, braid, or a combination of the two.
• The outer metallic wrapping serves both as shield against noise and as the
second conductor, which completes the circuit. This outer conductor is also
enclosed in an insulating sheath, and the whole cable is protected by a
plastic cover.

4.12
 Figure 4.7 Coaxial cable

4.13
 Table 4.2 Categories of coaxial cables

4.14
 Coaxial cable Application

1. Coaxial cable is widely used in analog telephone networks where a single

coaxial network could carry 10,000 voice signals.

2. Cable TV networks also use coaxial cables.

3. Common application of coaxial cable is in traditional Ethernet LANs

4.15
 Figure 4.8 BNC connectors

4.16
 Coaxial cable performance

The attenuation is much higher in coaxial cables than in twisted-pair

cable. In other words although coaxial cable has a much higher
bandwidth.

4.17
 Figure 4.9 Coaxial cable performance

4.18
 Fiber optics cable

• A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmits

signals in the form of light.
• A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a cladding of less dense
glass or plastic. The difference in density of the two materials
must be such that a beam of light moving through the core is
reflected off the cladding.

4.19
 Fiber optics cable composition

• The outer jacket made of a typical fiber-optic cable.

• The outer jacket is made od either PVC or Teflon.
• Inside the jacket are Kevlar strands to strengthen the cable.
• Kevlar is a strong material used in the fabrication of bulletproof
vests.
• Below the Kevlar is another plastic coating to cushion the fiber.
The fiber is at the center of the cable, and it consists of cladding
and core.

4.20
 Figure 4.10 Fiber construction

4.21
 Figure 4.11 Fiber optics: Bending of light ray

4.22
 Figure 4.12 Optical fiber

4.23
 Fiber optics cable connector

There are three types of connectors for fiber-optic cables

1. The subscriber channel (SC) connector is used for cable TV.
2. The straight-tip (ST) connectors is used for connecting cable to
networking devices
3. MT-RJ is a connector that is the same size as RJ45.

4.24
 Figure 4.13 Fiber-optic cable connectors

4.25
 Fiber optics cable application

1. Fiber optic cable is often found in backbone networks because

its wide bandwidth is cost effective.
2. Some cable TV companies use a combination of optical fiber and
coaxial cable.
3. Local area network such as 100 Base and 1000 Base also use
fiber optic cable.

4.26
 Advantages of optical fiber

1. Higher bandwidth: Fiber-optic cable can support dramatically higher

bandwidths than either twisted-pair or coaxial cable.
2. Less signal attenuation: Fiber-optic transmission distance is significantly
greater than that of other guided media.
3. Immunity to electromagnetic interference: Electromagnetic noise cannot
affect fiber-optic cables.
4. Resistance to corrosive materials: Glass is more resistant to corrosive
materials than copper.
5. Light weight: Fiber-optic cables are much lighter than copper cables.
6. Greater immunity to tapping: Fiber-optic cables are more immune to
tapping than copper cables.

4.27
 Disadvantages of optical fiber

1. Installation and maintenance: Fiber-optic cable is a relatively new

technology. Its installation and maintenance require expertise that is not yet
available everywhere.
2. Unidirectional light propagation: Propagation of light is unidirectional. If we
need bidirectional communication, two fibers are needed.
3. Cost: The cable and the interfaces are relatively more expensive than those
of other guided media.

4.28
 Figure 4.14 Propagation modes

4.29
 Multimode step-index fiber

The density of the core remains constant from the center to the edges. A
beam of light moves through this constant density in a straight line until it
reaches the interface of the core and the cladding. At the interface, there is
an abrupt change due to a lower density, this alters the angle of the beam’s
motion. The term step index refers to the suddenness of this change.

4.30
 Multimode graded index fiber

It decreases the distortion of the signal through the cable. The word index
here refers to the index of refraction. The index of refraction is related to
density. A graded index fiber therefore, is one with varying densities. Density
is highest at the center of the core and decreases gradually to its lowest at
the edge.

4.31
 Single mode

Uses step index fiber and a highly focused source of light that limits beams
to a small range of angles, all close to the horizontal.

4.32
 Figure 4.15 Modes

4.33
 Table 4.3 Fiber types

4.34
 Figure 4.16 Optical fiber performance

4.35
 4-2 UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves

without using a physical conductor. This type of
communication is often referred to as wireless
communication.

Topics discussed in this section:

Radio Waves
Microwaves
Infrared

4.36
 Figure 4.17 Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication

4.37
 Propagation methods

1. Ground propagation: Radio waves travel through the lowest portion of

the atmosphere. These low frequency signals emanate in all directions
from the transmitting antenna and follow the curvature of the planet.
Distance depends on the amount of power in the signal. The greater the
power, the greater the distance.
2. Sky propagation: Higher frequency radio waves radiate.
3. Line of sight propagation: In line of sight propagation, very high
frequency signals are transmitted in sight lines directly from antenna to
antenna. Antennas must be directional facing each other.

4.38
 Figure 4.18 Propagation methods

4.39
 Table 4.4 Bands

4.40
 Figure 4.19 Wireless transmission waves

4.41
 Note

Radio waves are used for multicast

communications, such as radio and
television, and paging systems. They
can penetrate through walls.
Highly regulated. Use omni directional
antennas

4.42
 Figure 4.20 Omnidirectional antenna

• The omnidirectional characteristics of radio waves make them useful for

multicasting, in which there is one sender but many receivers.
• Electromagnetic waves ranging in frequencies between 3kHz and 1GHz

4.43
 Note

Microwaves are used for unicast

communication such as cellular
telephones, satellite networks,
and wireless LANs.
Higher frequency ranges cannot
penetrate walls.
Use directional antennas - point to point
line of sight communications.
4.44
 Figure 4.21 Unidirectional antennas

• Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz are called
microwaves.
• Microwaves need unidirectional antennas that send out signals in one direction.
Two types of antennas are used for microwave communication. The parabolic
dish and the horn.

4.45
 Note

Infrared signals can be used for short-

range communication in a closed area
using line-of-sight propagation.

4.46
 Infrared signals characteristics

• Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from 1
mm to 770 nm), can be used for short-range communication.
• Infrared waves, having high frequencies, cannot penetrate walls.
• This advantageous characteristic prevents interference between one system and
another (a short-range communication system in one room cannot be affected by
another system in the next room).

we cannot use infrared waves outside a building because the sun's rays
contain infrared waves that can interfere with the communication

4.47