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C7 TRANSMISSION MEDIA
Signals are transmitted from one device to another in the form of
electromagnetic energy.
Can be divided into two categories:
Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit from one
Guided Media device to another

Unguided Media
or wireless media transport electromagnetic waves
without using a physical conductor; signals are broadcast
through air.

7.1 Guided Media

v Parallel wires
v Twisted-pair cable
v Coaxial Cable
v Fiber-optic cable

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7.1.1 Parallel wires

Effect of Noise on Parallel Lines

d B d E
 E  dl   dt  B  dl  0 0 dt

7.1.1 Parallel wires

v Advantages v Disadvantages
- Simplest - Electromagnetic interference
- Cheap - Crosstalk

- High attenuation

- Short distance
Crosstalk is the undesired effect of one circuit (or channel)
on another circuit (or channel); magnetic field

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7.1.2
7.1.1 Twisted-pair cable

v UTP – Unshielded Twisted Pair cable

v STP – Shielded Twisted Pair cable

q Most common type of telecommunication medium in use today

q Although is common in telephone systems, its frequency is
capable of transmitting both data and voice

Unshielded
7.1.2 Twisted Pair Cable – UTP
BW ≈ 5MHz

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Unshielded
7.1.2 Twisted Pair Cable – UTP
BW ≈ 5MHz

Twisted-Pair Cable
• Two conductors surrounded by insulating material
• One wire used to carry signals; other used as a ground reference.
• Twisting wires reduces the effect of noise interference or crosstalk since
both wires will likely be equally affected.
• More twists = better quality

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Unshielded
7.1.2 Twisted Pair Cable – UTP
Unshielded Twisted-Pair Cable

Unshielded
7.1.2 Twisted Pair Cable – UTP
Five categories of UTP cable developed by EIA
(Electronic Industries Association):
- Category 1: Twisted-pair cabling used in
telephone systems, inadequate for high-speed data
communication
- Category 2: Suitable for voice and for data
transmission of up to 4 Mbps

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Unshielded
7.1.2 Twisted Pair Cable – UTP
- Category 3: Required to have at least three 3
twists per foot (0.3048 m), can be used for data
transmission of up to 10 Mbps
- Category 4: Transmission rate up to 16Mbps
- Category 5: Used for data transmission up to
100 Mbps

Unshielded
1.3 Twisted Pair Cable – UTP
- UTP Connectors: RJ11, RJ 45

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Shielded
7.1.2 Twisted Pair Cable – UTP
metal foil

vHas a metal foilmetal foil covering each pair of insulated conductors

vEliminate electromagnetic noise and crosstalk

Shielded
7.1.2 Twisted Pair Cable – UTP
Shielded (STP)
o Has a metal foil covering that encases each pair of insulated conductors
o The metal casing which is connected to the ground prevents the penetration of
electromagnetic noise
o It can also eliminate crosstalk
n Crosstalk occurs when one line picks up some of the signal travelling down
another line

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UnShielded
7.1.2 Twisted Pair Cable – UTP

Advantages of UTP and UTP connectors

o Advantages:
n Cheap
n Flexible and easy to install
o Higher grades of UTP are used in many LANs technologies (Ethernet and
Token Ring)

Coaxial Cable
o Can carry higher frequency ranges than twisted pair cable
n Coaxial: 100KHz to 500MHz
n Twister pair: 100Hz to 5MHz
o Rated by adio overnment ratings

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7.1.3 Coaxial Cable

BW ≈ 500MHz

7.1.3 Coaxial Cable

vDifferent coaxial cable designs are categorized

by their Radio Government (RG)
v Each RG points out a specification function about:
- The wire gauge
- The thickness and type of the inner insulator
- The construction of shield
- The size and type of the outer casting

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7.1.3 Coaxial Cable

o Can carry higher frequency ranges than twisted pair cable

n Coaxial: 100KHz to 500MHz
n Twister pair: 100Hz to 5MHz
o Rated by adio overnment ratings

7.1.3 Coaxial Cable

o Barrel connectors:
n Bayonet network connector (BNC) is the most popular, which pushes on and
locks into place with a half turn
n Other types includes screw on, push on without locking
n Are familiar from cable TV and VCR hookups

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Coaxial Cable
7.1.3
o T-connectors used in Ethernet that allows a secondary cable or cables to T-connector and Terminators
branch off from a main line
o Terminators are needed where one main cable acts as a backbone with
branches to several devices but does not terminate itself; absorbs the wave at the
end and eliminates echo-back

7.1.4 Optical Fiber

q Made of glass or plastic and transmits signals in the form of light.
q Signal propagates along the inner core by reflection

qNoise resistance: noise is not a factor as it uses light instead of electricity

qLess signal attenuation: transmission distance is greater than other guide media
q Higher bandwidth: currently the limit is govern by the signal generation and reception
technology available
q Disadvantages
q Cost: is expensive as manufacturing must be very precise and thus difficult to manufacture
q Installation/maintenance: any roughness or cracking in the core will diffuse the light and
alter the signal, therefore care has to be taken when dealing with optical fiber
q Fragility: glass fiber is more easily broken than wire
q Signal propagation can be in 2 modes
q Multi mode: multiple beams from a light source
q Single Mode: one beam of light

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7.1.4 Optical Fiber

Fiber-Optic Cable
o Made of glass or plastic; signals are transmitted as light pulses from an LED
or laser
o Light is also a form of electromagnetic energy
o Speed depends on density of medium it is traveling through; fastest when in
a vacuum, 186,000 miles/second

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7.1.4 Optical Fiber

Fiber Construction

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Refraction and Reflection
o Refraction often occurs when light bends as it passes from one medium to
another less dense medium
o When this angle results in a refraction great enough, reflection occurs and the
light no longer passes into the less dense medium
Critical Angle
Refraction

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
• Therefore, if angle of incidence > C,
the light ray is totally reflected inside.
air
glass

incident ray reflected ray

• This is called total internal reflection.

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Reflection if angle of incidence > C
o Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel
o Information is encoded onto a beam of light as a series of on-off pulses
representing 1s and 0s

• total internal reflection.

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4

Propagation Modes
o Method for transmitting optical signals:
n Multimode
p Multimode step-index fiber
p Multimode graded-index fiber

n Single Mode

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Multimode
o Multiple beams from light source move through core at different paths
o Multimode step-index fiber
n Density remains constant from center to edges
n Light moves in a straight line until it reaches the cladding

n Some beams penetrate the cladding and are lost, while others are reflected
down the channel to the destination

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Multimode (cont)
o As a result, beams reach the destination at different times and the signal
may not be the same as that which was transmitted
o To address this problem and to allow for more precise transmissions,
multimode graded-index fiber may be used
o Index refers to the index of refraction
o Graded-index refers to varying densities of the fiber; highest at center and
decreases at edge

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Multimode Graded-Index Fiber (cont)
o Since the core density decreases with distance from the center, the light beams
refract into a curve
o Eliminates problem with some of the signals penetrating the cladding and
being lost
o Also signals intersect at regular intervals

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Single Mode
o Only one beam from a light source is transmitted using a smaller range of
angles
o Smaller diameter and lower density
o Makes propagation of beams almost horizontal; delays are negligible
o All beams arrive together and can be recombined without signal distortion

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Propagation Modes

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Light Sources
o Light source is light-emitting diode (LED) or a laser
o LEDs are cheaper but not as precise (unfocused); limited to short-distance use
o Lasers can have a narrow range, better control over angle
o Receiving device needs a photosensitive cell (photodiode) capable of receiving
the signal

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Applications of Fiber Optics
o Backbone networks due to wide bandwidth and cost effectiveness
o Up to 1600 Gbps with WDM (SONET)
o Cable TV
o LANS
n 100Base-FX (Fast Ethernet)
n 1000Base-X

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Advantages of Fiber Optics

o Higher bandwidth than twisted-pair and coaxial cable; not limited by medium,
but by equipment used to generate and receive signals
o Noise resistance
o Less signal attenuation
o Lightweight
o Greater security

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Optical Fiber
7.1.4
Disadvantages of Fiber Optics
o Installation/maintenance
o Unidirectional
o Cost

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o Light is a form of electromagnetic energy, travels at 300000 Km/sec in vacuum.

o This speed decreases as the medium through which the light travels becomes denser.
o It travels in straight lines through one substance.
o The speed of light changes as rays travels through different substances causing these rays to
change direction.
o When the light travels another substance, speed and direction changes (Refraction). Fiber
optic technology takes advantages of this properties to control the propagation of light
o When light cannot passes into the less dense medium, Optical fibres uses reflection to guide
light through a channel

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o Can further be break down into two forms

n Step-index:
p The density of the core remains constant from the center to the edges until it reaches the
interface of the core and the cladding.
p Beams in the middle travel in straight lines through the core and reach the destination
without reflecting or refraction.
p Other beams strike the interface of the core and cladding(‫ )الغ‬at different angles
causing the beams to reach the destination at different times
n Graded-index:
p Itis a fiber with varying density ( highest at the center of the core and decreases gradually
to its lowest at the edge)
p This difference causes the beams to reach the destination at regular intervals
p can be used over distances of up to about 1000 meters

n Uses step-index fiber and a highly focused source of light that limits beams to a
small range of angles, all close to horizontal
n Expensive because it is difficult to manufacture, but signal can be sent over many
kilometers without spreading

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7.1.4 Optical Fiber

v Multimode step-index fiber

- Some beams penetrate the cladding and are lost.
- Data transmission rate is limited
- Used for low-speed data communication. Low precision.

7.1.4 Optical Fiber

v Multimode graded-index fiber

- Density is highest at the center of the core and
decreases to its lowest at the edge.
- The angle of beams are altered in order to reach the
destination at the same time
- More precise than step-index.

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7.1.4 Optical Fiber

v Single Mode
- All beams are close to the horizontal.
- Diameter is smaller than that of multimode fiber
- Propagation of different beams is almost identical and
delays are negligible

7.1.4 Optical Fiber

vWavelengths:
850nm
1300nm
1550nm

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7.1.4 Optical Fiber

vAdvantages
- Noise resistance
- Less signal attenuation  Greater transmission
distance
- Wide bandwidth

7.1.4 Optical Fiber

vDisadvantages
- Expensive
- High manufacturing techniques
- Complicate for pairing
- Fragility (Easy to be broken)
- Generator is more expensive than electrical
signals generator

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2 Unguided Media

v Infrared
v RF
v Microwaves
v Satellite Communication

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7.2 Unguided Media

v Radio frequency is divided into 8 ranges (bands)
Band Frequency (f) Wavelength ()
VLF 3 Kz  30 Kz 100 Km  10 Km
LF 30 Kz  300 Kz 10 Km  1 Km
MF 300 Kz  3 Mz 1 Km  100 m
HF 3 Mz  30 Mz 100 m  10 m
VHF 30 Mz  300 Mz 10 m  1m
UHF 300 Mz  3 Gz 1m  1 dm
SHF 3 Gz  300 Gz 1 dm  1 cm
EHF 30 Gz  300 Gz 1 cm  1mm

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7.2 Unguided Media

v Radio wave transmission utilizes 5 types of propagation:

- Surface; Tropospheric; Ionospheric; Line-of-sight; Space

7.2 Unguided Media

v Terrestrial microwave

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7.2 Unguided Media

v Satellite communication

7.3

vAttenuation:
vDistortion
vNoise:
v Capacity

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7.3 Specification of transmission media

o Imperfections cause impairment, which means that a signal at the beginning and the end of the
medium are not the same.
10 log10 ( P2 / P1 )
p Loss of energy, Amplifiers are used to strengthen
p To show that a signal has lost or gained strength, engineers use the concept of deciBel (dB)
p The Decibel measures the relative strength of two signals or a signal at two different points

Example
A signal travels through a transmission medium and its power is reduced to half.
This means that P2 = 1/2 P1. Calculate the attenuation (loss of power)?
attenuation

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7.3 Specification of transmission media

Attenuation

o Means loss of energy -> weaker signal

o When a signal travels through a medium it loses energy overcoming the
resistance of the medium
o Amplifiers are used to compensate for this loss of energy by amplifying
the signal.

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7.3 Specification of transmission media

Measurement of Attenuation
o To show the loss or gain of energy the unit “decibel” is used.

dB = 10log10P2/P1
P1 - input signal
P2 - output signal

3.57

Example

Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium and its power is

reduced to one-half. This means that P 2 is (1/2)P 1 . In this case, the
attenuation (loss of power) can be calculated as

A loss of 3 dB (–3 dB) is equivalent to losing one-half the power.

3.58

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Example

A signal travels through an amplifier, and its power is increased 10

times. This means that P2 = 10P1 . In this case, the amplification (gain
of power) can be calculated as

3.59

Example 3.27

A signal travels through an amplifier, and its power is increased 10

times. This means that P2 = 10P1 . In this case, the amplification (gain of
power) can be calculated as

3.60

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Example

Sometimes the decibel is used to measure signal power in milliwatts. In this

case, it is referred to as dBm and is calculated as dBm = 10 log10 Pm , where Pm
is the power in milliwatts. Calculate the power of a signal with dBm = −30.
Solution
We can calculate the power in the signal as

P = 10-6w=; dB = 10 log10 10-6= -60dB

P= 10-3mw; dBm = 10 log10 10-3= -30dBm
P(dBm) = P(dBW) + 30

Example

Sometimes the decibel is used to measure signal power in milliwatts. In

this case, it is referred to as dBm and is calculated as dBm = 10 log10 Pm ,
where Pm is the power in milliwatts. Calculate the power of a signal with
dBm = −30.

3.62

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Example 3.29

Sometimes the decibel is used to measure signal power in milliwatts. In this

case, it is referred to as dBm and is calculated as dBm = 10 log10 Pm , where
Pm is the power in milliwatts. Calculate the power of a signal with dBm =
−30.

Solution
We can calculate the power in the signal as

3.63

Example

The loss in a cable is usually defined in decibels per kilometer (dB/km). If the
signal at the beginning of a cable with −0.3 dB/km has a power of 2 mW,
what is the power of the signal at 5 km?
Solution
The loss in the cable in decibels is 5 × (−0.3) = −1.5 dB. We can calculate the
power as

3.64

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Example

The loss in a cable is usually defined in decibels per

kilometer (dB/km). If the signal at the beginning of a
cable with −0.3 dB/km has a power of 2 mW, what is the
power of the signal at 5 km?
Solution
The loss in the cable in decibels is 5 × (−0.3) = −1.5 dB.
We can calculate the power as

3.65

7.3 Specification of transmission media

v Noise:
Distortion v Attenuation:
n Signal changes form or shape v Capacity:
n Each component has its own propagation speed,
therefore its own delay in arriving

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7.3 Specification of transmission media

Noise
n Thermal noise – random motion of electrons, creating an extra signal
n Induced noise – outside sources such as motors and appliances
n Crosstalk – effect of one wire on another
n Impulse noise – a spike for a short period from power lines, lightning

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7.3 Specification of transmission media

o Use binary (0s and 1s) to encode information

o Less affected by interference (noise)
o Fewer errors
o Describe digital signals by
time required to send one bit
: number of bit intervals per sec (bps)
: Range of frequencies a medium can pass (hertz)
: maximum bit rate that a medium can pass (bps)

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7.3 Specification of transmission media

n Data rate depends on 3 factors

p Bandwidth available
p Levels of signals we can use

p Quality of the channel (level of noise)

o Two theoretical formulas were developed to calculate the data rate

n Nyquist for a noiseless channel
n Shannon for noisy channel

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7.3 Specification of transmission media

o Defines the theoretical maximum bit rate

Example

Consider a noiseless channel with a bandwidth of 3000 Hz transmitting a signal with

two signal levels. The maximum bit rate can be calculated as

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7.3 Specification of transmission media

o Determine the theoretical highest data rate for a noisy channel

Example
We can calculate the theoretical highest bit rate of a regular telephone line. A telephone
line normally has a bandwidth of 3000 Hz (300 Hz to 3300 Hz). The signal-to-noise ratio is
usually 3162 (35dB). then

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EXERCISES:
o 1. A signal travels from point A to point B. At point A, the signal power is 100
watts. At point B, the power is 90 watts. What is the attenuation in dB?
o 2. The attenuation of a signal is -10 dB. What is the final signal power if it was
orinnally 5 watts ?
o 3. A signal has passed through three cascaded amplifiers, each with a 4 dB gain
What is the total gain? How much is the signal amplified ?
o 4. A line has a signal-to-noise ratio of 100 and a bandwidth of 4000 KHz.
What is the maximum data rate supported by this line?
o 5. A line has a signal-to-noise ratio of 100dB and a bandwidth of 4000 KHz.
What is the maximum data rate supported by this line ?
o 6. We measure the performance of a telephone line (4 KHz of bandwidth).
When the signal is 10 volts, the noise is 5 millivolts. What is the maximum
data rate supported by this telephone line?

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