EEE 367

Telecommunication Engineering

Digital Transmission
 Data and Signals

•  Data are entities that convey meaning (computer file,

music on CD, results from a blood gas analysis machine)
•  Signals are the electric or electromagnetic encoding of
data (telephone conversation, we page download)
•  Computer networks and data/voice communication
systems transmit signals
•  Data and signals can be analog or digital
 Analog vs. Digital Signals

•  Signals can be interpreted as either analog or digital

•  In reality, all signals are analog
•  Analog signals are continuous, non-discrete
•  Digital signals are non-continuous, discrete
•  Digital signals lend themselves more nicely to noise
reduction techniques
 Analog vs. Digital Signals

•  There are actually multiple “kinds” of digital signals

•  Discrete square waveforms found in digital systems such as
LANs
•  Digital logic voltage levels (a binary 0 is 0 to 2 volts; a
binary 1 is 4 to 6 volts)
•  Analog signals which can only be interpreted in a finite
number of ways (modulation techniques such as QAM-16)
 Digital Transmission
•  Digital transmission is the transmission of digital signals
between two or more points in a communication system. The
signals can be binary or any other form of discrete-level digital
pulses.
•  The original source information may be in digital form or it
could be analog signals that have been converted to digital
pulses prior to transmission and converted to analog signals in
the receiver.
 Advantages of Digital Transmission
•  Digital signals are inherently less susceptible than analog
signals to interference caused by the noise because with
digital signals it is not necessary to evaluate the precise
amplitude, frequency or phase to ascertain its logic
condition.
•  Digital signals are also better suited than analog signals for
processing and combining using a technique called
multiplexing.
•  It is much simpler to store digital signals than analog signals
and the transmission rate of digital signals can be easily
changed to adapt to different environments and to interface
with different types of equipment.
 Advantages of Digital Transmission

•  Digital signals can be transported longer distances than

analog signals.
•  Digital signals are simpler to measure and evaluate than
analog signals.
Disadvantages of Digital Transmission
•  The transmission of digitally encoded analog signals
requires significantly more bandwidth than simply
transmitting the original analog signal.
•  Analog signals must be converted to digital pulses prior to
transmission and converted back to their original analog
signal from the receiver. Therefore, needs additional
encoding and decoding circuitry.
•  Digital signals requires precise time synchronization
between the clocks in the transmitter and the receivers.
•  Digital transmission systems are incompatible with older
analog transmission signals.
 DIGITAL~TO~DIGITAL
CONVERSION
•  The conversion involves three techniques:
1. line coding,
2. block coding
3. scrambling.
•  Line coding is always needed~ block coding and scrambling
mayor may not be needed.
 Line Coding
Line coding is the process of converting digital data to digital
signals. We assume that data, in the form of text, numbers,
graphical images, audio, or video, are stored in computer memory
as sequences of bits. Line coding converts a sequence of bits to a
digital signal. At the sender, digital data are encoded into a digital
signal; at the receiver, the digital data are recreated by decoding the
digital signal.
 Relationship between data rate
and signal rate
•  The data rate defines the number of bits sent per
sec - bps. It is often referred to the bit rate.
•  The signal rate is the number of signal elements
sent in a second and is measured in bauds. It is
also referred to as the modulation rate.
•  Goal is to increase the data rate whilst reducing
the baud rate.

4.12
 Signal vs. Data
Data Element: What we need to send (is being carried)
Signal element: What we can send (it is a carrier)

Data rate defines the number of data elements (bits) sent in

1 second (bps).
The signal rate is number of signal elements sent in 1
second (Pulse rate, modulation rate, baud rate).
Signal level vs Data level
 Data rate and Baud rate

•  The baud or signal rate can be expressed as:

S = c x N x 1/r bauds
where N is data rate
c is the case factor (worst, best & avg.)
r is the ratio between data element & signal element

4.15
 Example

•  A signal is carrying data in which one data element is

encoded as one signal element ( r = 1). If the bit rate is 100
kbps, what is the average value of the baud rate if c is
between 0 and 1?
Solution

We assume that the average value of c is 1/2 . The baud rate is
then

Lack of Synchronization
 Example
•  In a digital transmission, the receiver clock is 0.1 percent
faster than the sender clock. How many extra bits per
second does the receiver receive if the data rate is 1 kbps?
How many if the data rate is 1 Mbps?
Solution
At 1 kbps, the receiver receives 1001 bps instead of 1000 bps.
1000 bits sent 1001 bits received 1 extra bps
At 1 Mbps, the receiver receives 1,001,000 bps instead of
1,000,000 bps.
1,000,000 bits sent 1,001,000 bits received 1000 extra bps
Line Coding
 Unipolar Encoding

In a unipolar scheme, all the signal levels are on one side of

the time axis, either above or below.
Unipolar encoding: 1s encoded as positive, 0s encoded as the
zero voltage
 Unipolar NRZ Scheme

•  NRZ (Non-Return-to-Zero) Traditionally, a unipolar scheme

was designed as a non-return-to-zero (NRZ) scheme in
which the positive voltage defines bit 1 and the zero voltage
defines bit 0. It is called NRZ because the signal does not
return to zero at the middle of the bit.
 Types of Polar Encoding

•  In polar schemes, the voltages are on the both sides of the

time axis. For example, the voltage level for 0 can be
positive and the voltage level for 1 can be negative.
 NRZ-L and NRZ-I

In polar NRZ encoding, we use two levels of voltage amplitude.

We can have two versions of polar NRZ: NRZ-Land NRZ-I. In the
first variation, NRZ-L (NRZ-Level), the level of the voltage
determines the value of the bit. In the second variation, NRZ-I
(NRZ-Invert), the change or lack of change in the level of the
voltage determines the value of the bit. If there is no change, the
bit is 0; if there is a change, the bit is 1.
 Example
•  A system is using NRZ-I to transfer 10-Mbps data. What are
the average signal rate and minimum bandwidth?
Solution
The average signal rate is S =N/2 =500 kbaud.
The minimum bandwidth for this average baud rate is
Bmin = S = 500 kHz.
 RZ Scheme

•  The main problem with NRZ encoding occurs when the

sender and receiver clocks are not synchronized. The
receiver does not know when one bit has ended and the next
bit is starting. One solution is the return-to-zero (RZ)
scheme, which uses three values: positive, negative, and
zero. In RZ, the signal changes not between bits but during
the bit.
 Polar RZ Scheme

•  The signal goes to 0 in the middle of each bit. It remains

there until the beginning of the next bit. The main
disadvantage of RZ encoding is that it requires two signal
changes to encode a bit and therefore occupies greater
bandwidth.
•  Polar RZ scheme RZ (Return-to-Zero) – returns to zero in
the middle of the bit and remains there until the next bit
 Manchester and Differential
Manchester
•  The idea of RZ (Transition at the middle of the bit) and the
idea of NRZ-L are combined into the Manchester scheme.
In Manchester encoding, the duration of the bit is divided
into two halves. The voltage remains at one level during the
first half and moves to the other level in the second half.
The transition at the middle of the bit provides
synchronization. Differential Manchester, on the other hand,
combines the ideas of RZ and NRZ-I. There is always a
transition at the middle of the bit, but the bit values are
determined at the beginning of the bit. If the next bit is 0,
there is a transition; if the next bit is 1, there is none.
 Polar biphase: Manchester and
Differential Manchester

•  In Manchester and differential Manchester encoding, the

transition at the middle of the bit is used for
synchronization.
•  In bipolar encoding, we use three levels: positive, zero, and
negative.
 EEE 367
Telecommunication Engineering

Multiplexing and Multiple Access

 Introduction

• Under the simplest conditions, a medium can carry only

one signal at any moment in time
• For multiple signals to share one medium, the medium
must somehow be divided, giving each signal a portion of
the total bandwidth
• The current techniques that can accomplish this include
frequency division multiplexing, time division
multiplexing, and wavelength division multiplexing
 Multiplexing
•  Multiplexing is the transmission of information (in any
form) from one or more source to one or more destination
over the same transmission medium (facility).
•  Although transmissions occur at the same facility, they do
not necessarily occur at the same time or occupy the same
bandwidth.
•  The transmission line may be a metallic wire pair, a coaxial
cable, a PCS mobile telephone, a terrestrial microwave
radio system, a satellite microwave system or an optical
fiber cable.
 Multiplexing
•  Two or more simultaneous transmissions on a single
circuit.

32
 Multiple Access
•  Multiple Access is a technique where by many subscribers
or local stations can share the use of a communication
channel at the same time. Therefore, a multiple access
technique permits the communication resources of the
channel to be shared by a large number of users.
•  Simply multiplexing is a technique and multiple access is a
way to use this technique.
 Multiple Access
Any good multiple access protocol should have the
following properties
•  To share a common transmission channel among several
users in the system.
•  The protocol should perform the allocation such that the
transmission medium is used effectively.
•  The allocation should be fair toward any users. Each should
receive the same allocated capacity.
•  The protocol should be flexible in allowing different types
of traffic (voice or data).
•  The protocol should be stable.
 Types of Multiplexing

• Frequency Division Multiplexing.

• Wavelength Division Multiplexing.
• Time Division Multiplexing.
• Statistical Time Division Multiplexing.
• Code Division Multiplexing.
 FDMA

•  Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) splits the

available frequency band into smaller fixed frequency
channels. Each transmitter or receiver uses a separate
frequency. This technique has been used since around 1900
and is still in use today. Transmitters are narrowband or
frequency-limited. A narrowband transmitter is used along
with a receiver that has a narrowband filter so that it can
demodulate the desired signal and reject unwanted signals,
such as interfering signals from adjacent radios.
FDMA is a basic technology in the analog Advanced Mobile
Phone System (AMPS). With FDMA, each channel can be
assigned to only one user at a time. FDMA is also used in the
Total Access Communication System (TACS).
 TDMA
•  Time-division multiplexing involves separating the
transmitters in time so that they can share the same
frequency. The simplest type is Time Division Duplex
(TDD). This multiplexes the transmitter and receiver on the
same frequency. TDD is used, for example, in a simple two-
way radio where a button is pressed to talk and released to
listen. This kind of time division duplex, however, is very
slow. Modern digital radios like CT2 and DECT use Time
Division Duplex but they multiplex hundreds of times per
second. TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access)
multiplexes several transmitters or receivers on the same
frequency.
 TDMA is utilized by
Digital-Advanced Mobile
Phone System (D-AMPS)
and Global System for
mobile communication.

In Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), it makes use of

•  the same frequency spectrum but allows more users on the
same band of frequencies by dividing the time into “slots” and
shares the channel between users by assigning them different
time slots.
 CDMA
• CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)
–  all terminals send on the same frequency probably at the same time and
can use the whole bandwidth of the transmission channel
–  each sender has a unique random number, the sender XORs the signal
with this random number
–  the receiver can “tune” into this signal if it knows the pseudo random
number, tuning is done via a correlation function
• Disadvantages:
–  higher complexity of a receiver (receiver cannot just listen into the
medium and start receiving if there is a signal)
–  all signals should have the same strength at a receiver
• Advantages:
–  all terminals can use the same frequency, no planning needed
–  huge code space (e.g. 232) compared to frequency space
–  interferences (e.g. white noise) is not coded
–  forward error correction and encryption can be easily integrated