Chapter 6

Bandwidth Utilization:
Multiplexing and
Spreading
Note

Bandwidth utilization is the wise use of

available bandwidth to achieve specific goals.

Efficiency can be achieved by multiplexing.

Privacy and anti-jamming can be achieved by

spreading spectrum.
6.1 MULTIPLEXING
• Whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking two
devices is greater than the bandwidth needs of the
devices, the link can be shared.
• Multiplexing is the set of techniques that allows the
simultaneous transmission of multiple signals across a
single data link.
• As data and telecommunications use increases, so does
traffic. We can accommodate this increase by
continuing to add individual links each time a new
channel is needed; or we can install higher-bandwidth
links and use each to carry multiple signals.
Figure Dividing a link into channels
Figure Categories of multiplexing
FDM
 Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) is an
analog technique that can be applied when the
bandwidth of a link (in hertz) is greater than the
combined bandwidths of the signals to be
transmitted.
 In FDM, signals generated by each sending
device modulate different carrier frequencies.
 These modulated signals are then combined into
a single composite signal that can be transported
by the link.
Figure Frequency-division multiplexing
Note

FDM is an analog multiplexing technique

that combines analog signals.
Figure FDM multiplexing process
Figure FDM demultiplexing process
 Example

Assume that a voice channel occupies a bandwidth of 4

kHz. We need to combine three voice channels into a link
with a bandwidth of 12 kHz, from 20 to 32 kHz. Show the
configuration, using the frequency domain. Assume there
are no guard bands.
Solution
We shift (modulate) each of the three voice channels to a
different bandwidth, as shown in Figure. We use the 20-
to 24-kHz bandwidth for the first channel, the 24- to 28-
kHz bandwidth for the second channel, and the 28- to 32-
kHz bandwidth for the third one. Then we combine them
as shown in Figure.
Figure - Example
 Example

Five channels, each with a 100-kHz bandwidth, are to be

multiplexed together. What is the minimum bandwidth of
the link if there is a need for a guard band of 10 kHz
between the channels to prevent interference?

Solution
For five channels, we need at least four guard bands.
This means that the required bandwidth is at least
5 × 100 + 4 × 10 = 540 kHz
as shown in Figure
Figure - Example
The Analog Carrier System
 To maximize the efficiency of their
infrastructure, telephone companies have
traditionally multiplexed signals from lower-
bandwidth lines onto higher-bandwidth lines.
 In this way, many switched or leased lines can
be combined into fewer but bigger channels.
 One of these hierarchical systems used by
telephone companies is made up of groups,
supergroups, master groups, and jumbo groups
Figure Analog hierarchy
Other Applications of FDM
 A very common application of FDM is AM and FM radio
broadcasting.
 A special band from 530 to 1700 kHz is assigned to AM
radio.
 FM has a wider band of 88 to 108 MHz because each
station needs a bandwidth of 200 kHz.
 Another common use of FDM is in television
broadcasting. Each TV channel has its own bandwidth of
6 MHz.
 The first generation of cellular telephones also uses
FDM. Each user is assigned two 30-kHz channels, one
for sending voice and the other for receiving.
WDM
 Wavelength - division multiplexing
(WDM) is designed to use the high-data-
rate capability of fiber-optic cable.
 WDM is conceptually the same as FDM,
except that the multiplexing and
demultiplexing involve optical signals
transmitted through fiber-optic channels.
 The idea is the Same. The difference is
that the frequencies are very high.
Note

WDM is an analog multiplexing

technique to combine optical signals.
Figure - Wavelength-division multiplexing
Figure Prisms in wavelength-division multiplexing and demultiplexing
TDM
 Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a
digital process that allows several
connections to share the high bandwidth
of a link.
 Instead of sharing a portion of the
bandwidth as in FDM, time is shared.
 Each connection occupies a portion of
time in the link.
Figure TDM
Note

TDM is a digital multiplexing technique

for combining several low-rate
channels into one high-rate one.
Synchronous TDM
 In synchronous TDM, each input connection has
an allotment in the output even if it is not sending
data.
 The data flow of each input connection is divided
into units, where each input occupies one input
time slot.
 A unit can be 1 bit, one character, or one block of
data.
 Each input unit becomes one output unit and
occupies one output time slot.
Figure Synchronous time-division multiplexing
Note

In synchronous TDM, the data rate

of the link is n times faster, and the unit
duration is n times shorter.
 Example

Figure shows synchronous TDM with a data stream for

each input and one data stream for the output. The unit
of data is 1 bit. Find (a) the input bit duration, (b) the
output bit duration, (c) the output bit rate, and (d) the
output frame rate.
Solution
a. The input bit duration is the inverse of the bit rate:
1/1 Mbps = 1 μs.
b. The output bit duration is one-fourth of the input bit
duration, or ¼ μs.
c. The output bit rate is the inverse of the output bit
duration or 1/(4μs) or 4 Mbps. This can also be
deduced from the fact that the output rate is 4 times
as fast as any input rate; so the output rate = 4 × 1
Mbps = 4 Mbps.
 Example (continued)

d. The frame rate is always the same as any input rate. So

the frame rate is 1,000,000 frames per second. We are
sending 4 bits in each frame.
Interleaving
 TDM can be visualized as two fast-rotating
switches, one on the multiplexing side and the
other on the demultiplexing side.
 The switches are synchronized and rotate at the
same speed, but in opposite directions.
 On the multiplexing side, as the switch opens in
front of a connection, that connection has the
opportunity to send a unit onto the path.
 On the demultiplexing side, as the switch opens
in front of a connection, that connection has the
opportunity to receive a unit from the path.
Figure Interleaving
Empty Slots
 Synchronous TDM is not as efficient as it
could be.
 If a source does not have data to send,
the corresponding slot in the output frame
is empty.
Figure Empty slots
Data Rate Management
 One problem with TDM is how to handle a
disparity in the input data rates.
 In all our discussion so far, we assumed that the
data rates of all input lines were the same.
 However, if data rates are not the same, three
strategies, or a combination of them, can be
used.
 Multilevel multiplexing
 Multiple-slot allocation
 Pulse stuffing
Figure Multilevel multiplexing
Figure Multiple-slot multiplexing
Figure Pulse stuffing
Frame Synchronizing
 Synchronization between the multiplexer and
demultiplexer is a major issue.
 If the multiplexer and the demultiplexer are not
synchronized, a bit belonging to one channel
may be received by the wrong channel.
 For this reason, one or more synchronization bits
are usually added to the beginning of each
frame.
 These bits, called framing bits.
Figure Framing bits
Digital Signal Service
 Telephone companies implement TDM
through a hierarchy of digital signals
called Digital Signal Service (DS) or digital
hierarchy.
Figure Digital hierarchy
Table DS and T line rates
T Lines for Analog Transmission
 T lines are digital lines designed for the
transmission of digital data, audio, or video.
 However, they also can be used for analog
transmission.
 The possibility of using T lines as analog carriers
opened up a new generation of services for the
telephone companies.
 24 voice channels can be multiplexed onto one
T-1 line.
Figure T-1 line for multiplexing telephone lines
Figure T-1 frame structure
Table E line rates
Statistical TDM

 In statistical time-division multiplexing, slots

are dynamically allocated to improve
bandwidth efficiency.
 Only when an input line has a slot’s worth of
data to send is it given a slot in the output
frame.
 In statistical multiplexing, the number of
slots in each frame is less than the number
of input lines.
Figure TDM slot comparison
Addressing
 In synchronous TDM, there is no need for addressing;
synchronization and preassigned relationships between
the inputs and outputs serve as an address.
 In statistical multiplexing, there is no fixed relationship
between the inputs and outputs because there are no
preassigned or reserved slots.
 We need to include the address of the receiver inside
each slot to show where it is to be delivered.
 The addressing in its simplest form can be n bits to
define N different output lines with n = log2 N.
Differences
 An output slot in  In statistical TDM, a slot
synchronous TDM is needs to carry data as well
totally occupied by data. as the address of the
destination.
 The frames in
 The frames in statistical
synchronous TDM should TDM need not be
synchronized.
be synchronized.
 In statistical TDM, the
 In synchronous, the
capacity of the link is
capacity of the link
normally less than the sum
should be equal.
of the capacities of each
channel.
6.2 SPREAD SPECTRUM

• Multiplexing combines signals from several sources to

achieve bandwidth efficiency; the available bandwidth
of a link is divided between the sources.
•In spread spectrum (SS), we combine signals from
different sources to fit into a larger bandwidth, but our
goals are to prevent eavesdropping and jamming.
• To achieve these goals, spread spectrum techniques
add redundancy.
•If the required bandwidth for each station is B, spread
spectrum expands it to Bss, such that Bss >> B
Principles
 The bandwidth allocated to each station
needs to be, by far, larger than what is
needed. This allows redundancy.
 The expanding of the original bandwidth B
to the bandwidth Bss must be done by a
process that is independent of the original
signal. In other words, the spreading
process occurs after the signal is created by
the source.
Figure Spread spectrum
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum
 FHSS technique uses M different carrier frequencies
that are modulated by the source signal.
 At one moment, the signal modulates one carrier
frequency; at the next moment, the signal
modulates another carrier frequency.
 Although the modulation is done using one carrier
frequency at a time, M frequencies are used in the
long run.
 The bandwidth occupied by a source after
spreading is BFHSS >> B
Figure Frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS)
Figure Frequency selection in FHSS
Figure 6.30 FHSS cycles
Figure Bandwidth sharing
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum

 DSSS technique also expands the

bandwidth of the original signal, but the
process is different.
 In DSSS, we replace each data bit with n
bits using a spreading code.
 In other words, each bit is assigned a
code of n bits, called chips, where the
chip rate is n times that of the data bit.
Figure DSSS
Figure DSSS example