Unit 1: Fundamentals of

digital communications
Unit 1: Fundamentals of digital
communications
1.1. Introduction to digital communications: Definitions of
terms, Signal propagation, Signal types (Sine waves,
Square waves), Signal parameters (Amplitude,
Frequency, Phase).
1.2. Channel effects on transmission: Attenuation, Effects of
limited bandwidth, Delay distortion, Noise.
1.3. Data rate limits in channels: Nyquist's theorem,
Shannon's theorem.
1.4. Performance of Channel: Bandwidth, Throughput,
Latency, Jitter, Bit Error Rate (BER)
•Communication is the act of transmission and reception of
information
• Communication System :A system comprises of
transmitter, communication channel and receiver.
Digital communications
•Digital communication is the process of devices
communicating information digitally.
•This exchange of information in the form of discrete
messages can take place Point to Point or Point to Multipoint.
Signal
•A signal is an electrical or electromagnetic current that is
used for carrying data from one device or network to another.
•Information converted into electrical form and suitable for
transmission is called a signal.
Signal propagation
•It is the movement of radio waves from a transmitter to a
receiver. When the waves travel (propagate) from one point
to another, they are, like light waves, affected by different
phenomena such as light reflection, absorption, or scattering.
Types of Signals
• Continuous Time and Discrete Time Signals
• Deterministic and Non-deterministic Signals
• Even and Odd Signals
• Periodic and Aperiodic Signals
• Energy and Power Signals
Continuous Time and Discrete Time Signals
• A signal is said to be continuous when it is defined for all instants of
time.
Continuous Time and Discrete Time Signals
• A signal is said to be discrete when it is defined at only discrete
instants of time.
Deterministic and Non-deterministic Signals
• A signal is said to be deterministic if there is no uncertainty with
respect to its value at any instant of time. Or, signals which can be
defined exactly by a mathematical formula are known as deterministic
signals.
Deterministic and Non-deterministic Signals
• A signal is said to be non-deterministic if there is uncertainty with
respect to its value at some instant of time. Non-deterministic signals
are random in nature hence they are called random signals. Random
signals cannot be described by a mathematical equation.
Even and Odd Signals
• A signal is said to be even when it satisfies the condition x(t) = x(-t)
❑ Example 1: t2, t4… cost etc.
Let x(t) = t2
x(-t) = (-t)2 = t2 = x(t)
∴, t2 is even function
❑ Example 2: As shown in the following diagram, rectangle function
x(t) = x(-t) so it is also even function.
Even and Odd Signals
Even and Odd Signals
• A signal is said to be odd when it satisfies the condition x(t) = -x(-t)
❑ Example: t, t3 ... And sin t
Let x(t) = sin t
x(-t) = sin(-t) = -sin t = -x(t)
∴, sin t is odd function.
Periodic and Aperiodic Signals
• A signal is considered to be periodic signal when it is repeated over
cycle of time or regular interval of time. This means periodic signal
repeats its pattern over a period. The function f(x) can be periodic if it
satisfies following equation.
➤f(x + p) = f(x)
Periodic and Aperiodic Signals
• A signal is considered to be non-periodic or aperiodic signal when it
does not repeat its pattern over a period (i.e. interval of time).
Energy and Power Signals
•A signal is said to be an energy signal if and only if its total
energy E is finite, i.e., 0 < 𝐸 < ∞. For an energy signal, the
average power P = 0. The nonperiodic signals are the
examples of energy signals.
•A signal is said to be a power signal if its average power P is
finite, i.e., 0 < 𝑃 < ∞. For a power signal, the total energy E =
∞. The periodic signals are the examples of power signals.
Sine waves
• A sine wave is a geometric waveform that oscillates (moves up, down,
or side-to-side) periodically, and is defined by the function y = sin x.
In other words, it is an s-shaped, smooth wave that oscillates above
and below zero.
• A sine wave is an S-shaped waveform defined by the mathematical
function y = sin x.
• It is depicted graphically as two semi-circular curves that alternate
above and below a center line.
Sine waves
• In finance, market participants may identify cyclical patterns or
oscillator signals from sine-wave-based functions.
• The sine wave as a technical chart analysis tool is based on advanced
mathematics and is designed to indicate whether a market is trending
or in a cycle mode.
• Sine waves are the basis of Fourier decomposition analysis.
Sine waves
Square waves
• A square wave is a non-sinusoidal periodic waveform in which the
amplitude alternates at a steady frequency between fixed minimum
and maximum values, with the same duration at minimum and
maximum. In an ideal square wave, the transitions between minimum
and maximum are instantaneous.
Signal parameters
•Amplitude,
•Frequency,
• Phase
Amplitude
•Amplitude is the height of the wave and often related to
power.
•Amplitude is the height, force or power of the wave
Frequency
• The frequency of a wave is the number of waves that pass by each
second, and is measured in Hertz (Hz).
• Suppose a wave repeat itself 3 times each second, then we say
frequency of that wave is 3 Hz.
Phase
•Phase is not a property of just one RF signal but instead
involves the relationship between two or more signals that
share the same frequency.
Channel effects on transmission
•Attenuation
•Effects of limited bandwidth
•Delay distortion
•Noise.
Attenuation
•Attenuation refers to the loss of signal strength due to
external or internal factors.(Noise, Physical surroundings)
•One of the techniques that can be used to increase signal
strength to prevent attenuation is amplification.
Attenuation
• The extent of attenuation is usually expressed in units called decibels (dBs).
• If Ps is the signal power at the transmitting end (source) of a
communications circuit and Pd is the signal power at the receiving end
(destination), then Ps > Pd. The power attenuation Ap in decibels is given by
the formula:
• Ap = 10 log10(Ps/Pd)
• Attenuation can also be expressed in terms of voltage. If Av is the voltage
attenuation in decibels, Vs is the source signal voltage, and Vdis the
destination signal voltage, then:
• Av = 20 log10(Vs/Vd)
Effects of limited bandwidth
• It is the maximum amount of data transmitted over an internet
connection in a given amount of time.
• Bandwidth is defined as the potential of the data that is to be
transferred in a specific period of time. It is the data carrying capacity
of the network or transmission medium.
• In simple words, it is the maximum amount of data that can be
transferred per second on a link. It is generally measured in bits per
second(bps), Mega bits per second(Mbps) or Giga bits per
second(Gbps).
• For example, if bandwidth is 100 Mbps, it means maximum 100 Mb
data can be transferred per second on that channel.
Effects of limited bandwidth
• The carrier signal (blue, showing frequency modulation) must have
more bandwidth than the baseband signal (red). Otherwise, the
carrier’s capacity (in terms of speed) for data transfer would be lower
than that of the original signal.
Effects of limited bandwidth
• Due to Limited bandwidth:
The lower information the channel can carry.
The slower the information can travel to its destination.
Lower user connected to the network due to loss of speed
Delay distortion
• Delay distortion is a guided transmission media phenomenon where
network data signals are transmitted via a medium at a certain
frequency and speed.
• Delay distortion is basically a process where the frequency and
velocity of signal wave can transmit only at a certain range of
bandwidth in a particular medium.

Delay distortion occurs when signal velocity and frequency vary. This
means that all signals do not arrive at the same time, resulting in
distortion of the signal. This term is commonly used in fiber optics.
Delay distortion
• The main cause of Delay Distortion is:
The main reason behind the cause delay distortion is that the
frequency and velocity of the signal in-network medium do not match
up. Due to this, there occurs a delay in the signals across the network
and they appear to be significantly distorted.
Delay distortion
• The Data Delay distortion problem can be solved by using a particular
technique in which we can manually adjust both the frequency and the
velocity of the medium network signal. For solving the given problem
of delay distortion we can attach a number of amplifiers or repeaters
depending on the need of the signal.
Noise
• Noise is an unwanted signal which interferes with the original
message signal and corrupts the parameters of the message signal.
This alteration in the communication process, leads to the message
getting altered.
• Most common examples of noise are −
Hiss sound in radio receivers
Buzz sound amidst of telephone conversations
Flicker in television receivers, etc.
Noise
• Noise is an unwanted signal which interferes with the original
message signal and corrupts the parameters of the message
signal. This alteration in the communication process, leads to
the message getting altered.
• Most common examples of noise are −
Hiss sound in radio receivers
Buzz sound amidst of telephone conversations
Flicker in television receivers, etc.
 Reducing Noise
1. Keep the signal wires short.
2. Keep the wires away from electrical machinery.
3. Use twisted together wires.
4. Use differential inputs to remove noise common the both wires.
5. Use an integrating A-D converter to reduce mains frequency
interference.
6. Filter the signal.
Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
• For a noiseless channel, the Nyquist bit rate formula defines the
theoretical maximum bit rate
• Nyquist proved that if an arbitrary signal has been run through a
low-pass filter of bandwidth, the filtered signal can be completely
reconstructed by making only 2*Bandwidth (exact) samples per
second.
• Sampling the line faster than 2*Bandwidth times per second is
pointless because the higher-frequency components that such sampling
could recover have already been filtered out.
Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
• If the signal consists of L discrete levels, Nyquist’s theorem states:
• BitRate = 2 * Bandwidth * log2(L) bits/sec
• In the above equation, bandwidth is the bandwidth of the channel, L is
the number of signal levels used to represent data, and BitRate is the
bit rate in bits per second.
• Bandwidth is a fixed quantity, so it cannot be changed. Hence, the data
rate is directly proportional to the number of signal levels.
Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate
• Examples:
Input1 : Consider a noiseless channel with a bandwidth of 3000 Hz
transmitting a signal with two signal levels. What can be the maximum
bit rate?
Output1 : BitRate = 2 * 3000 * log2(2) = 6000bps
Input2 : We need to send 265 kbps over a noiseless channel with a
bandwidth of 20 kHz. How many signal levels do we need?
Output2 : 265000 = 2 * 20000 * log2(L)
log2(L) = 6.625
L = 26.625 = 98.7 levels
Noisy Channel : Shannon Capacity
• In reality, we cannot have a noiseless channel; the channel is always
noisy. Shannon capacity is used, to determine the theoretical highest
data rate for a noisy channel:
• Capacity = bandwidth * log2(1 + SNR) bits/sec
• In the above equation, bandwidth is the bandwidth of the channel,
SNR is the signal-to-noise ratio, and capacity is the capacity of the
channel in bits per second.
• Bandwidth is a fixed quantity, so it cannot be changed. Hence, the
channel capacity is directly proportional to the power of the signal, as
SNR = (Power of signal) / (power of noise).
Noisy Channel : Shannon Capacity
• The signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) is usually expressed in decibels (dB)
given by the formula:
10 * log10(S/N)
• So for example a signal-to-noise ratio of 1000 is commonly expressed
as:
10 * log10(1000) = 30 dB.
Noisy Channel : Shannon Capacity
• Examples:
Input1 : A telephone line normally has a bandwidth of 3000 Hz (300 to
3300 Hz) assigned for data communication. The SNR is usually 3162. What
will be the capacity for this channel?
Output1 : C = 3000 * log2(1 + SNR) = 3000 * 11.62 = 34860 bps
Input2 : The SNR is often given in decibels. Assume that SNR(dB) is 36
and the channel bandwidth is 2 MHz. Calculate the theoretical channel
capacity.
Output2 : SNR(dB) = 10 * log10(SNR)
SNR = 10(SNR(dB)/10)
SNR = 103.6 = 3981
Hence, C = 2 * 106 * log2(3982) = 24 MHz
Performance of Channel
•Bandwidth,
•Throughput,
•Latency,
• Jitter,
•Bit Error Rate (BER)
Bandwidth
•Bandwidth is a measure of how much data over time a
communication link can handle, its capacity. This is typically
measured as kbps (kilobits – thousands of bits per second),
Mbps (megabits – millions of bits per second) or Gbps
(gigabits – billions of bits per second).
•Bandwidth is measured as the amount of data that can be
transferred from one point to another within a network in a
specific amount of time
Bandwidth
•Bandwidth is highly significant for determining how fast a
web page loads on a browser.
Throughput
•Throughput is the actual amount of data that is successfully
sent/received over the communication link.
•Throughput is presented as kbps, Mbps or Gbps, and can
differ from bandwidth due to a range of technical issues,
including latency, packet loss, jitter and more.
•Throughput is a measure of how many units of information a
system can process in a given amount of time.
Throughput
•Network throughput is the amount of data moved successfully
from one place to another in a given time period, and
typically measured in bits per second (bps), as in megabits
per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps).
•degraded network throughput include:
Hardware issues: if routers and other devices are antiquated
or experiencing faults
Traffic: If networks traffic is heavy, it can result in packet
loss.
Latency
•When a data packet is transmitted and returned back to its
source, the total time for the round trip is known as latency.
•Latency refers to time interval or delay when a system
component is waiting for another system component to do
something. This duration of time is called latency.
Latency
• In formal network transmission, the following four elements are
involved in latency:
1. Delay in Storage: As data is written on hard disks and other storage
devices, a delay occurs in reading and writing to and from different
blocks of memory. Processors often consume a lot of time finding the
exact location for reading and writing data. Sometimes intermediate
devices like switches or hubs also cause delays.
2. Device Processing: Latency is not limited to storage devices but can
also be caused by different network devices. For example, when a
router receives a data packet, it keeps that packet for a few seconds to
read its information and also to write some extra information.
Latency
• In formal network transmission, the following four elements are
involved in latency:
3.Transmission: There are many kinds of transmission media and
all have limitations. Each medium, from fiber optics to coaxial
cables, takes some time to transmit one packet from a source to a
destination. Transmission delays depend on packet size; smaller
packets will take less time to reach their destination than larger
packets.
4. Propagation: Delays occur even when packets travel from one
node to another at the speed of light.
Jitter
•Jitter is any deviation in, or displacement of, the signal pulses
in a high-frequency digital signal. The deviation can be in
terms of amplitude, phase timing or the width of the signal
pulse.
•Jitter can cause a display monitor to flicker, affect the ability
of the processor in a desktop or server to perform as intended,
introduce clicks or other undesired effects in audio signals,
and lead to loss of transmitted data between network devices.
The amount of allowable jitter is highly dependent on the
application.
Jitter
• Causes of jitter include the following:
Poor hardware performance. Using an outdated network with older
equipment, such as an outdated switch, cable or router, can cause
network jitter.
Not enough bandwidth. Networks overcrowded with traffic will
perform poorly because too many active devices are using bandwidth.
Wireless network jitter. One of the drawbacks of using a wireless
network is an inferior network connection. Using a wired connection
helps ensure that video and voice call systems provide a better user
experience (UX).
Bit Error Rate (BER)
• The bit error rate (BER) is the percentage of bits that have errors
relative to the total number of bits received in a transmission, usually
expressed as ten to a negative power.
• For example, a transmission might have a BER of 10 to the minus 6,
meaning that, out of 1,000,000 bits transmitted, one bit was in error.
• The BER is an indication of how often a packet or other data unit has
to be retransmitted because of an error. Too high a BER may indicate
that a slower data rate would actually improve overall transmission
time for a given amount of transmitted data since the BER might be
reduced, lowering the number of packets that had to be resent.