Chapter 3

Data and Signals

3.1 Computer Communications & Networks

 3-3 DIGITAL SIGNALS
In addition to being represented by an analog signal,
information can also be represented by a digital signal.
For example, a 1 can be encoded as a positive voltage
and a 0 as zero voltage. A digital signal can have more
than two levels. In this case, we can send more than 1 bit
for each level.

Topics discussed in this section:

Bit Rate
Bit Length
Digital Signal as a Composite Analog Signal
Application Layer
3.2
 Figure 3.16 Two digital signals: one with two signal levels and the other
with four signal levels

3.3
 Note

Appendix C reviews information about

Appendix C reviews information about exponential and logarithmic

exponential and functions.

logarithmic functions.

3.4
 Example 3.16

A digital signal has eight levels. How many bits are

needed per level? We calculate the number of bits from
the formula

Each signal level is represented by 3 bits.

3.5
 Example 3.17

A digital signal has nine levels. How many bits are

needed per level? We calculate the number of bits by
using the formula. Each signal level is represented by
3.17 bits. However, this answer is not realistic. The
number of bits sent per level needs to be an integer as
well as a power of 2. For this example, 4 bits can
represent one level.

3.6
 Example 3.18

Assume we need to download text documents at the rate

of 100 pages per minute. What is the required bit rate of
the channel?
Solution
A page is an average of 24 lines with 80 characters in
each line. If we assume that one character requires 8
bits, the bit rate is

3.7
 Example 3.19

A digitized voice channel, as we will see in Chapter 4, is

made by digitizing a 4-kHz bandwidth analog voice
signal. We need to sample the signal at twice the highest
frequency (two samples per hertz). We assume that each
sample requires 8 bits. What is the required bit rate?

Solution
The bit rate can be calculated as

3.8
 Example 3.20

What is the bit rate for high-definition TV (HDTV)?

Solution
HDTV uses digital signals to broadcast high quality
video signals. The HDTV screen is normally a ratio of
16 : 9. There are 1920 by 1080 pixels per screen, and the
screen is renewed 30 times per second. Twenty-four bits
represents one color pixel.

The TV stations reduce this rate to 20 to 40 Mbps

through compression.
3.9
 Figure 3.17 The time and frequency domains of periodic and nonperiodic
digital signals

3.10
 Figure 3.18 Baseband transmission

3.11
 Note

A digital signal is a composite analog

signal with an infinite bandwidth.

3.12
 Figure 3.19 Bandwidths of two low-pass channels

3.13
 Figure 3.20 Baseband transmission using a dedicated medium

3.14
 Note

Baseband transmission of a digital

signal that preserves the shape of the
digital signal is possible only if we have
a low-pass channel with an infinite or
very wide bandwidth.

3.15
 Example 3.21

An example of a dedicated channel where the entire

bandwidth of the medium is used as one single channel
is a LAN. Almost every wired LAN today uses a
dedicated channel for two stations communicating with
each other. In a bus topology LAN with multipoint
connections, only two stations can communicate with
each other at each moment in time (timesharing); the
other stations need to refrain from sending data. In a
star topology LAN, the entire channel between each
station and the hub is used for communication between
these two entities. We study LANs in Chapter 14.

3.16
 Figure 3.21 Rough approximation of a digital signal using the first harmonic
for worst case

3.17
 Figure 3.22 Simulating a digital signal with first three harmonics

3.18
 Note

In baseband transmission, the required

In baseband transmission, the required bandwidth is proportional to

bandwidth is proportional the bit rate; to the bit rate;

if we
if weneed to send
need to send bits
bits faster, faster,
we need we need
more bandwidth.

more bandwidth.

3.19
 Table 3.2 Bandwidth requirements

3.20
 Example 3.22

What is the required bandwidth of a low-pass channel if

we need to send 1 Mbps by using baseband transmission?

Solution
The answer depends on the accuracy desired.
a. The minimum bandwidth, is B = bit rate /2, or 500 kHz.

b. A better solution is to use the first and the third

harmonics with B = 3 × 500 kHz = 1.5 MHz.

c. Still a better solution is to use the first, third, and fifth

harmonics with B = 5 × 500 kHz = 2.5 MHz.
3.21
 Example 3.22

We have a low-pass channel with bandwidth 100 kHz.

What is the maximum bit rate of this
channel?

Solution
The maximum bit rate can be achieved if we use the first
harmonic. The bit rate is 2 times the available bandwidth,
or 200 kbps.

3.22
 Figure 3.23 Bandwidth of a bandpass channel

3.23
 Note

If the available channel is a bandpass

channel, we cannot send the digital
signal directly to the channel;
we need to convert the digital signal to
an analog signal before transmission.

3.24
 Figure 3.24 Modulation of a digital signal for transmission on a bandpass
channel

3.25
 Example 3.24

An example of broadband transmission using

modulation is the sending of computer data through a
telephone subscriber line, the line connecting a resident
to the central telephone office. These lines are designed
to carry voice with a limited bandwidth. The channel is
considered a bandpass channel. We convert the digital
signal from the computer to an analog signal, and send
the analog signal. We can install two converters to
change the digital signal to analog and vice versa at the
receiving end. The converter, in this case, is called a
modem which we discuss in detail in Chapter 5.

3.26
 Example 3.25

A second example is the digital cellular telephone. For

better reception, digital cellular phones convert the
analog voice signal to a digital signal (see Chapter 16).
Although the bandwidth allocated to a company
providing digital cellular phone service is very wide, we
still cannot send the digital signal without conversion.
The reason is that we only have a bandpass channel
available between caller and callee. We need to convert
the digitized voice to a composite analog signal before
sending.

3.27
 3-4 TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENT

Signals travel through transmission media, which are not

perfect. The imperfection causes signal impairment. This
means that the signal at the beginning of the medium is
not the same as the signal at the end of the medium.
What is sent is not what is received. Three causes of
impairment are attenuation, distortion, and noise.

Topics discussed in this section:

Attenuation
Distortion
Noise

3.28
 Figure 3.25 Causes of impairment

3.29
 Figure 3.26 Attenuation

3.30
 Example 3.26

Suppose a signal travels through a transmission medium

and its power is reduced to one-half. This means that P2
is (1/2)P1. 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.
3.31
 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

3.32
 Example 3.28

One reason that engineers use the decibel to measure the

changes in the strength of a signal is that decibel
numbers can be added (or subtracted) when we are
measuring several points (cascading) instead of just two.
In Figure 3.27 a signal travels from point 1 to point 4. In
this case, the decibel value can be calculated as

3.33
 Figure 3.27 Decibels for Example 3.28

3.34
 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

3.35
 Example 3.30

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

3.36
 Figure 3.28 Distortion

3.37
 Figure 3.29 Noise

3.38
 Example 3.31

The power of a signal is 10 mW and the power of the

noise is 1 μW; what are the values of SNR and SNRdB ?

Solution
The values of SNR and SNRdB can be calculated as
follows:

3.39
 Example 3.32

The values of SNR and SNRdB for a noiseless channel

are

We can never achieve this ratio in real life; it is an ideal.

3.40
 Figure 3.30 Two cases of SNR: a high SNR and a low SNR

3.41