Chapter 7

Transmission Media
What is transmission media

 Transmission Media is a method of establishing a

communication medium to transmit and receive
information in the form of electromagnetic signal
waves. Since different physical components operate
it, it is put under the physical layer while being
worked on by physical elements from the physical
layer. A Lan or local area network, is the physical
setup where a transmitter and receiver communicate
utilizing a Transmission medium. Copper-based or
fiber-based transmission media are used to carry
either electric or optical signals. The transmission
medium is also known as a communication channel.
Media Terminology

 Segment length – The signal degrades for each type of media after traveling
a certain distance to the point where it becomes unintelligible. This distance is
referred to as the segment length.
 Attenuation – The loss of signal strength when traveling a distance is called
attenuation. Measured in decibels (DB).
 Bandwidth – Amount of data that can travel through the cable in a unit
period of time. Measure in kbps, Mbps, etc.
 Interference – Each cable is susceptible to certain forms of external noise.
This is called EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) or RFI (Radio frequency
interference)
 Crosstalk – When a signal carrying conductor is placed near another signal
carrying conductor. Interference is generated in the other cable. This is called
crosstalk.
Types of Transmission media

 The transmission media is mainly of two types:

 Wired Media and Wireless Media through which data is transmitted. To
measure the quality of data that is transmitted, and its characteristics
can be calculated by the characteristics of medium and signal.
 In wired media, the characteristics of the medium are more important
and on the other hand in wireless media, the characteristic of the signal
are much more vital.
 There are several Transmission Media and all of them have different
properties which includes bandwidth, delay, cost and ease of installation
and maintenance. And depending on these factors Transmission media
is selected for the data transfer.
 Copper-based or fibre-based transmission media are used to carry either
electric or optical signals. The transmission medium is also known as a
communication channel.
 Depending on the nature and quality of the
transmission, the following types of
transmission media may be broken down into
two categories: Guided and Unguided
Transmission Media.
Guided or Wired Transmission
Media
 This type of media uses cables to transmit signals across
the network. Wired media, often known as guided media,
is a form of transmission medium. It has a finite range in
the communication system and is also known as a
Bounded transmission media. With the use of physical
wiring connections, the qualities of the transmission
signals may be concentrated and contained inside a
specific, constrained channel. Transmission speeds are one
of the most striking features of this kind of communication.
 The Guided Transmission media is of three types, which
are:
 Coaxial Cable
 Twisted-Pair Cable
 Fiber-optic Cable
Coaxial
 The core is made up of copper conductors. Its purpose is
the signal transmission. To prevent the copper conductor
from overheating, an insulator is utilized. A metal
conductor is braided around the insulator. It aids in
blocking out any unwanted noise or allowing for any
unwanted cross-talk between electrical signals. The setup
is entirely covered in a protective plastic layer.
 Its Features –
 Protection from crosstalk/ EMI/ RFI
 Difficult to install
 Expensive
 Usually used in broadcast medium ex: cable TV
 Segment length of 200m to 500m
 Advantages of Coaxial Cable
 It is easier to install.
 It has better shielding.
 It is capable of transmitting data over longer
distances.
 Coaxial cables are less affected by noise or
cross-talk.
 Disadvantages of Coaxial Cable
 Coaxial cables are more expensive than others.
 They are less flexible and bulkier.
 They must be grounded in order to avoid
crosstalk.
Twisted Pair
 This cable has eight insulated wires. These are paired in
groups of 2 and are twisted together based on a color code.
The twisting is done to decrease interference caused by the
adjacent wires. One wire in the pair may send signals to the
receiver, while the other serves as a ground reference. The
twisted pair is further divided into two parts, i.e., shielded and
unshielded.
 a. Shielded twisted pair
 These twisted pair cables are covered in a braided shield
which acts as a shield from outside interference.
 Protection from crosstalk/ RFI/ EMI
 More expensive than UTP
 Difficult to install
 Segment length of up to 100m
 Advantages of Shielded Twisted Pair
 Shielded Twisted Pair is capable of eliminating
crosstalk.
 It is faster compared to Unshielded Twisted
pair.
 Disadvantages of Shielded Twisted Pair
 It is more expensive.
 It is more bulky.
 It is difficult to manufacture and install.
Unshielded twisted pair

 These twisted pair cables do not have a braided

shield. The 4 pairs are simply covered in a plastic
insulator for safety.
 Prone to crosstalk/ RFI/ EMI
 Inexpensive
 Most common
 Easy to install
 Segment length of up to 100m
 Straight through cable
 When the same color codes are used at both ends. For
ex, 568A on both ends. Alternatively, 568B on both
ends
 Used when connecting different types of devices, for
ex, connecting a PC to a switch, or a switch to a router
 Crossover cable
 When different color codes are used at both ends. For
ex, one end is 568A, and the other end is 568B
 Used when connecting similar types of devices. For
ex, A PC to a PC or a switch to a switch, etc.
 Advantages of Unshielded Twisted Pair
 Less expensive.
 It is easy to install.
 Disadvantages of Unshielded Twisted Pair
 Lower capacity.
 Not suitable for long distance transmission.

 Fiber optic cabel

 In addition, optical fiber, a physical medium, has also
become the standard for long-distance
communications. Optical fibers are transparent,
flexible wires composed of glass (silica) or plastic that
are just a little thicker than a human hair. It acts as a
waveguide, allowing light to travel between the fiber’s
two ends.
 Fiber optic communications rely heavily on optical
fibers because they allow for greater bandwidths
(data rates) and transmission over greater distances
than traditional modes of communication. It contains
strands of glass fibers inside an insulated casing. The
route for light is provided by the core, located in the
center. The core is surrounded by cladding that
reflects light to prevent loss of signal and allow the
passage of light.
 Single mode
 Single strand of glass fiber
 Single data signal
 Can span large distances
 Uses laser
 Transmission speeds are faster
 Multi-mode
•Can carry multiple modes of the data signal
•Can carry multiple light signals
•Can span lesser distances than single mode
•Uses LED
•Transmission speeds are lower than single mode
 Advantages of Fiber Optics Cable
 Here are some advantages of fibre optics:
 Extremely High-speed data transmission.
 It is capable of long distance transmission without
signal disruption.
 It is immune to electromagnetic intervention.
 Disadvantages of Fiber Optics Cable
 Here are some disadvantages:
 It is very expensive to install and maintain.
 It is very fragile in nature and need special handling.
 Maximum
Ethernet Type Bandwidth Cable Type
Distance

10Base-T 10Mbps Cat 3/Cat 5 UTP 100m

100Base-TX 100Mbps Cat 5 UTP 100m

100Base-TX 200Mbps Cat 5 UTP 100m

100Base-FX 100Mbps Multi-mode Fiber 400m

100Base- FX 200Mbps Multi-mode Fiber 2Km

1000Base-T 1Gbps Cat 5e UTP 100m

1000Base-TX 1Gbps Cat 6 UTP 100m

1000Base-SX 1Gbps Multi-mode Fiber 550m

1000Base-LX 1Gbps Single-mode Fiber 2Km

10GBase-T 10Gbps Cat 6a/Cat 7 UTP 100m

10GBase-LX 10Gbps Multi-mode Fiber 100m

10GBase-LX 10Gbps Single-mode Fiber 10Km