TRANSIMISSION MEDIA

Transmission media are actually located below

the physical layer and are directly controlled by
the physical layer.
Transmission media belong to layer zero.
 A transmission medium can be broadly defined as
anything that can carry information from a source to
a destination.
 For example, the transmission medium for two
people having a dinner conversation is the air.
 The air can also be used to convey the message in a
smoke signal or semaphore.
 For a written message, the transmission medium
might be a mail carrier, a truck, or an airplane.
 In data communications the definition of the information
and the transmission medium is more specific.
 The transmission medium is usually free space, metallic
cable, or fiber-optic cable.
 The information is usually a signal that is the result of a
conversion of data from another form.
 The use of long-distance communication using electric
signals started with the invention of the telegraph by
Morse in the 19th century.
 Communication by telegraph was slow and dependent on
a metallic medium.
 Extending the range of the human voice became possible
when the telephone was invented in 1869.
 Telephone communication at that time also needed a
metallic medium to carry the electric signals that were the
result of a conversion from the human voice.
 The communication was, however, unreliable due to the
poor quality of the wires. The lines were often noisy and
the technology was unsophisticated.
  Wireless communication started in 1895 when
Hertz was able to send high frequency signals.
 One hertz is equal to one cycle per second. The
hertz is named after German physicist Heinrich

Hertz Hertz (1857-1894).

 The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in
the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to
one event (or cycle) per second.
 The SI derived unit used to measure the frequency
of vibrations and waves, such as sound waves and
 Later, Marconi devised a method to send telegraph-
type messages over the Atlantic Ocean.
 The use of optical fibers has increased the data rate
incredibly.
 Free space (air, vacuum, and water) is used more
efficiently, in part due to the technologies (such as
modulation and multiplexing)
 Electromagnetic energy, a combination of electric and
magnetic fields vibrating in relation to each other,
includes power, radio waves, infrared light, visible light,
ultraviolet light, and X, gamma, and cosmic rays.
 Each of these constitutes a portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
 Not all portions of the spectrum are currently usable for
telecommunications, however.
 The media to harness those that are usable are also
limited to a few types.
In telecommunications, transmission media can
be divided into two broad categories: guided
and unguided. Guided media include twisted-
pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable.
Unguided medium is free space.
GUIDED Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit (a
MEDIA tube for protecting electric wiring) from one device to
another, include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and
fiber-optic cable.
 The receiver uses the difference between the two. In addition to the signal sent by the sender on
interference (noise) and crosstalk may affect both wires and create unwanted signals.

A twisted pair consists of two conductors (normally

copper), each with its own plastic insulation, twisted
together
Twisted-Pair
Cable

 One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver, and the other is used only as a
ground reference.
 The receiver uses the difference between the two. In addition to the signal sent by the
sender on one of the wires, interference (noise) and crosstalk may affect both wires and
  The most common twisted-pair cable used in
communications is referred to as unshielded twisted-
pair (UTP).
Unshielded  IBM has also produced a version of twisted-pair cable
Versus Shielded for its use called shielded twisted-pair (STP).
 STP cable has a metal foil or braided mesh covering
Twisted-Pair that encases each pair of insulated conductors.
Cable  Although metal casing improves the quality of cable
by preventing the penetration of noise or crosstalk, it
is bulkier and more expensive.
 The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) has
developed standards to classify unshielded twisted-pair
cable into seven categories.
 Categories are determined by cable quality, with 1 as
the lowest and 7 as the highest.
 Each EIA category is suitable for specific uses.
Table 7.1 Categories of unshielded twisted-pair cables
Connectors
 The most common UTP connector is RJ45 (RJ
stands for registered jack), as shown in Figure
 The RJ45 is a keyed connector, meaning the
connector can be inserted in only one way.
Applications:
 Twisted-pair cables are used in telephone lines to
provide voice and data channels.
 The local loop-the line that connects subscribers to
the central telephone office---commonly consists of
unshielded twisted-pair cables.
 The DSL lines that are used by the telephone
companies to provide high-data-rate connections
also use the high-bandwidth capability of
unshielded twisted-pair cables.
Performance
 One way to measure the performance of twisted-pair cable is to compare attenuation
versus frequency and distance.
 A twisted-pair cable can pass a wide range of frequencies.
Coaxial Cable:

Coaxial cable (or coax) carries signals of higher

frequency ranges than those in twisted pair cable, in
part because the two media are constructed quite
differently.
Instead of having two wires, coax has a central core
conductor of solid or stranded wire (usually copper)
enclosed in an insulating sheath, which is, in turn,
encased in an outer conductor of metal foil, braid, or
 The outer metallic wrapping serves both as a shield against noise and as the second
conductor, which completes the circuit.
 This outer conductor is also enclosed in an insulating sheath, and the whole cable is
Coaxial Cable Standards
 Coaxial cables are categorized by their radio
government (RG) ratings.
 Each RG number denotes a unique set of physical
specifications, including the wire gauge of the inner
conductor, the thickness and type of the inner insulator,
the construction of the shield, and the size and type of
the outer casing.
 Each cable defined by an RG rating is adapted for a
specialized function
Coaxial Cable Connectors
To connect coaxial cable to devices, it needs coaxial
connectors.
The most common type of connector used today is the
Bayone-Neill-Concelman (BNe), connector.
Three popular types of connectors
the BNC connector,
the BNC T connector, and
the BNC terminator.
The BNC connector is used to connect the end of the cable to a
device, such as a TV set.
The BNC T connector is used in Ethernet networks to branch out
to a connection to a computer or other device.
The BNC terminator is used at the end of the cable to prevent the
Performance
 The attenuation (the reduction of the amplitude of a signal, electric current, or the
reduction of the force)is much higher in coaxial cables than in twisted-pair cable.
 In other words, although coaxial cable has a much higher bandwidth, the signal
weakens rapidly and requires the frequent use of repeaters.
Applications
 Coaxial cable was widely used in analog
telephone networks where a single coaxial
network could carry 10,000 voice signals.
 Later it was used in digital telephone networks
where a single coaxial cable could carry digital
data up to 600 Mbps.
 However, coaxial cable in telephone networks has
largely been replaced today with fiber-optic cable.
 Cable TV networks also use coaxial cables.
 In the traditional cable TV network, the entire
network used coaxial cable. Later, however, cable
TV providers
Fiber-Optic Cable
A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and
transmits signals in the form of light.
To understand optical fiber, we first need to explore
several aspects of the nature of light.
Light travels in a straight line as long as it is moving
through a single uniform substance.
If a ray of light traveling through one substance suddenly enters
another substance (of a different density), the ray changes
direction.
Figure shows how a ray of light changes direction when going
from a more dense to a less dense substance.
 If the angle of incidence is less than the critical angle, the ray
refracts and moves closer to the surface.
 If the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle, the light
bends along the interface.
 If the angle is greater than the critical angle, the ray reflects
(makes a turn) and travels again in the denser substance.
 Note that the critical angle is a property of the substance, and
its value differs from one substance to another.
 Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel.
 Optical fibers use reflection to guide light
through a channel.
 A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a
cladding of less dense glass or plastic.
 The difference in density of the two
materials must be such that a beam of light
moving through the core is reflected off the
cladding instead of being refracted into it.
Propagation Modes:
Current technology supports two modes
(multimode and single mode) for propagating light
along optical channels, each requiring fiber with
different physical characteristics. Multimode can be
implemented in two forms: step-index or graded-
index
Figure 7.12 Propagation
modes
Multimode:
Multimode is so named because multiple beams
from a light source move through the core in
different paths.
How these beams move within the cable
depends on the structure of the core
 In multimode step-index fiber, the density of
the core remains constant from the center to
the edges.
 A beam of light moves through this constant
density in a straight line until it reaches the
interface of the core and the cladding.
 At the interface, there is an abrupt change
due to a lower density; this alters the angle of
the beam's motion.
 The term step index refers to the suddenness
of this change, which contributes to the
distortion of the signal as it passes through
the fiber.
A second type of fiber, called multimode
graded-index fiber, decreases this distortion of
the signal through the cable.
The word index here refers to the index of
refraction.
As we saw above, the index of refraction is
related to density.
A graded-index fiber, therefore, is one with
varying densities.
Density is highest at the center of the core and
decreases gradually to its lowest at the edge.
Figure 7.13 shows the impact of this variable
density on the propagation of light beam
 Fiber types

Fiber Sizes Optical fibers are defined by the ratio of the diameter of their
core to the diameter of their cladding, both expressed in micrometers. The
common sizes are shown in Table. Note that the last size listed is for
single-mode only.
Fiber construction
 Cable Composition shows the
composition of a typical fiber-optic
cable.
 The outer jacket is made of either PVC
or Teflon.
 Inside the jacket are Kevlar strands to
strengthen the cable.
 Kevlar is a strong material used in the
fabrication of bulletproof vests.
 Below the Kevlar is another plastic
coating to cushion the fiber.
 The fiber is at the center of the cable,
and it consists of cladding and core.
 The subscriber channel (SC) connector is
used for cable TV. It uses a push/pull locking
system.
 The straight-tip (ST) connector is used for
connecting cable to networking devices. It
uses a bayonet locking system and is more
reliable than SC. MT-RJ is a connector that is
 UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

 Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves

without using a physical conductor.
 This type of communication is often referred to as
wireless communication.
 Signals are normally broadcast through free space and
thus are available to anyone who has a device capable
of receiving them.
Note

Infrared signals can be used for short-

range communication in a closed
area using line-of-sight propagation.