What is a Communication System?

The communication system is a system model that describes a communication

exchange between two stations, transmitter, and receiver. Signals or information
passes from source to destination through a channel. It represents a way in
which the signal uses it to move from a source toward its destination. To transmit
signals in a communication system, it should first be processed by beginning
from signal representation, to signal shaping until encoding and modulation. After
the transmitted signal is prepared, it is passed to the transmission line of the
channel. Due to signal crossing this media, it is faced with many impairments like
noise, attenuation, and distortion.

The process of transferring the information between two points is called

communication. The main elements needed to communicate are the transmitter
to send the information, the medium to send the information and the receiver to
receive the information on the other end.

Types of Communication Systems

Based on physical infrastructure:

Based on physical infrastructure there are two types of communication systems:

 Line communication systems: Uses the existing infrastructure of power

lines to transfer data from one point to another point.
 Radio Communication systems: uses the infrastructure of radio waves to
transfer the information from one point to another point.

There is a physical link, called a hardwire channel between the transmitter and
the receiver inline communication systems.

Based on Signal specifications:

Signal specifications that are used to decide the type of communication system
are:
  Nature of the baseband or information signal: Baseband signals is a
technology which can access the signals with very low frequency and also
near zero frequency and based on the nature of the transmitted signal, the
baseband signal can either be transmitted as it is without modulation or
through a carrier signal with modulation.

Further, communication systems are divided into:

 Analog communication systems: The Analog system conveys the

information from the audio, video and pictures between two points using
the analogue signals. A sinusoidal signal is an example of an analogue
communication system.
 Digital communication systems: Digital communication has become
very important in the age of the internet. It is a physical exchange of
information between two points discreetly. The information exchange
happens through digital signals.
 Baseband communication system: Baseband communication is the
transfer of signals that are not amplified to higher frequencies. They help in
transferring signals with near-zero frequency.
 Carrier communication system: Carrier communication systems transfer
the information especially voice messages and calls by improving the
frequency much higher than the actual rate.

Out of four, a minimum of two types is needed to specify any communication

system. Thus, two groups are formed consisting of each of the two types such
that at least one of the types from each group is necessarily required to specify a
communication system. These groups can be formed as:

 Analog/digital communication systems

 Baseband/carrier communication systems
To completely define any communication system, four out of the eight types are
required. If any type is missing, then the description of the communication
system will be incomplete.

Wireless and Wired communication system

Wireless communication systems use radio waves, electromagnetic waves and
infrared waves to communicate from one point to another point and the wire
communication system uses wire, optical fibre which works on the phenomenon
of total internal reflection to communicate from one point to another point.

Wireless communication is further divided into satellite communication, ground

wave communication, skywave and space wave communication. The satellite
communication receives the signals from the earth and resends them back to
another point on the earth with the help of a transponder. Wired communication
is further divided into parallel wire, twisted wire, optical fibre and coaxial wired
communication.

Terms Used in Communication Systems

1. Signal
A signal is that information that has been converted into a digital format. Analog
signals (such as human voice) or digital signals (binary data) are inputted to the
system, processed within the electronic circuits for transmission, then decoded
by the receiver. The system is claimed to be reliable and effective; only errors are
minimized within the process.

2. Communication Channel
A communication channel is a medium by which a signal travels.
3. Transducer
The device used to convert one form of energy into another form is a transducer.

4. Receiver
A receiver is a device that receives the signals sent/ transmitted by the senders
and decodes them into a form that is understandable by humans.

5. Attenuation
Attenuation is the reduction in the strength of analog or digital signal as it is
transmitted over a communication medium.

6. Amplitude
An amplitude of the signal refers to the strength of the signal.

7. Amplification
Amplification is the process to strengthen the amplitude of the signals using an
electronic circuit.

8. Bandwidth
Bandwidth explains the range of frequency over which a signal has been
transmitted.

9. Modulation
As the original message signal can't be transmitted over an outsized distance
due to their low frequency and amplitude, they're superimposed with high
frequency and amplitude waves called carrier waves. This phenomenon of
superimposing a message signal with a carrier wave is called modulation. And
the resultant wave is a modulated wave which is to be transmitted.

Different Types of Modulation.

 Amplitude Modulation (AM)

 Frequency Modulation (FM)

 Phase Modulation (PM)
10. Demodulation
Demodulation takes a modulated signal and then extracts the original message
from it.

11. Repeater
The repeater extends the range of communication systems by amplifying the
signals.

12. Noise
Any electrical signal which interferes with an information signal is called noise.

Did You Know?

 Communication Is Related To Every Human Activity.

 Communication in Organization Flows in Various Patterns.

 Communication Is Media or Channel Based
 There are around 250 billion emails sent every day. Around 80% of these
are spam.
 Around 20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
 Fiber optics are good because they use less energy and are better for the
environment than electrical wires. They are also very resistant to weather.
 The first telephone pole was built in 1876.
 There are over 4 billion cell phones within the world and phones that are
thrown away every year are over 100 million.
 The first cell phone was invented by a company called Motorola.
 Over 3.8 billion people use the internet, which is 40% of the world's
population.
 The first smiley appeared in 1979, it first looked like this -) then three years
later a colon was added to it and it took the form of :-) this.
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FAQs on Communication Systems

1. What is a Duplex Communication System?

The system that has two connected devices that are able to communicate with each
other in both directions is called a duplex communication. The duplex term is used while
describing communication between two parties or devices. Duplex systems are
employed in almost all communications networks. An Antenna is basically a small
length of a qwerty conductor that is used to radiate or receive electromagnetic waves. It
acts as a conversion device. At its transmitting end, it can convert a current of high
frequency into electromagnetic waves. At the receiving end, it transforms
electromagnetic waves into electrical signals that are fed into the input of the receiver.

2. What is a Communication Channel? Explain in Detail.

3. Explain wired and wireless communication in detail?

4. What is a communication system and what are its examples?

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5. What are the elements of communication systems?

 What Is a Communication System

A communication system is an integrated hardware model that defines the exchange of

information between two stations – a transmitter and a receiver. The hardware can include
data terminal hardware, transmissions equipment, tributary stations, relay stations, and so
forth. It represents the various mediums signals rely on to move from source to destination.

The main components of a communication system are the transmitter, the communication
channel, and the receiver. For a signal to be transmitted, it first goes through various phases,
including signal representation, shaping, encoding, and modulation, before it passes to the
transmission medium.

There are several ways of classifying a communication system depending on the physical
infrastructure and signal specification. Here’s an overview of the various communication
systems that exist.

Infrastructure-Based Classification
The two types of communication systems based on their physical infrastructure are – line
(wired/bounded) systems and radio (wireless/unbounded) systems. Line communication
systems have a physical link connecting the transmitter to the receiver and can be categorized
as follows:

 Coaxial cable communication

 Optical fiber communication
 Parallel wire communication
 Twisted pair wire communication

Wireless systems have no physical links. Instead, signals are transmitted through space or the
air. They can be classified as follows:

 Ground wave communication

 Satellite communication
 Skywave communication
 Space wave communication

Specification-Based Classification
Communication systems can also be classified based on their signal specification depending on:

 The nature of the baseband signal

 The nature of the transmitted signal

The two types of systems based on the nature of the baseband signal are:
 1. Analog communication systems
2. Digital communication systems

Analog systems transmit data in the form of signals with varying amplitude and frequency.
Digital systems represent the data in one of two states – 1 (high) or 0 (low). Data is transmitted
in the form of 1s and 0s.

The two types of systems based on the nature of the transmitted signal are:

1. Baseband communication systems

2. Carrier communication systems

Baseband systems can be transmitted as they are without modulation. If they are transmitted
with modulation, it is done via a carrier system.

Below is a list of the elements associated with a communication system.

 Signal – This refers to any time-varying voltage, current or electromagnetic wave that carries
information. i.e. information is converted into an analog or digital signal
 Transmitter – This is the hardware used to send signals
 Transmission medium – This is the communication channel through which the signal travels
 Attenuation – This refers to the weakening of the signal as it travels through the transmission
medium
 Amplitude – This refers to the signal’s strength
 Amplification – This refers to the process of using an electronic circuit to strengthen a signal’s
amplitude
 Repeater – This is the device used to retransmit a signal. For example, a repeater might be used
to boost the range of a transmission.
 Receiver – This is the hardware that receives signals
 Bandwidth – This can refer to the frequency range through which a signal is transmitted, or the
amount of data being transmitted.
 Modulation – This is the process of embedding a message signal to a carrier wave
 Demodulation – This extracts the original message embedded in a signal
 Noise – This refers to signal interference

Examples of communication systems include:

 Internet
 Intranet and extranet
 Public Switched Telephone Network
 Television