DATA COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER NETWORKS

Module II: Physical Layer

Dr. Rahul Kumar

Associate Professor
Department of Computer Science & Engineering, ASET, Amity University, Gwalior, India

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
 Introduction to Multiplexing
• Multiplexing is the sharing of a medium or bandwidth. It is the process in which multiple signals
coming from multiple sources are combined and transmitted over a single communication/physical
line.

Types of Multiplexing
There are Five types of Multiplexing :
1. Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
2. Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM)
3. Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
1. Frequency Division Multiplexing :
Frequency division multiplexing is defined as a type of multiplexing where the bandwidth of a single physical medium is
divided into a number of smaller, independent frequency channels.
• Frequency Division Multiplexing is used in radio and television transmission.
• In FDM, we can observe a lot of inter-channel cross-talk, due to the fact that in this type of multiplexing the
bandwidth is divided into frequency channels. In order to prevent the inter-channel cross talk, unused strips of
bandwidth must be placed between each channel. These unused strips between each channel are known as guard
bands.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
1. Frequency Division Multiplexing :
Advantages Of FDM:
FDM is used for analog signals.
FDM process is very simple and easy modulation.
A Large number of signals can be sent through an FDM simultaneously.
It does not require any synchronization between sender and receiver.
Disadvantages Of FDM:
FDM technique is used only when low-speed channels are required.
It suffers the problem of crosstalk.
A Large number of modulators are required.
It requires a high bandwidth channel.
Applications Of FDM:
FDM is commonly used in TV networks.
It is used in FM and AM broadcasting. Each FM radio station has different frequencies, and they are
multiplexed to form a composite signal. The multiplexed signal is transmitted in the air.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
2. Time Division Multiplexing :
• It is a digital technique.
• In Frequency Division Multiplexing Technique, all signals operate at the same time with different frequency, but
in case of Time Division Multiplexing technique, all signals operate at the same frequency with different time.
• In Time Division Multiplexing technique, the total time available in the channel is distributed among different
users. Therefore, each user is allocated with different time interval known as a Time slot at which data is to be
transmitted by the sender.
• A user takes control of the channel for a fixed amount of time.
• In Time Division Multiplexing technique, data is not transmitted simultaneously rather the data is transmitted
one-by-one.
• In TDM, the signal is transmitted in the form of frames. Frames contain a cycle of time slots in which each frame
contains one or more slots dedicated to each user.
• It can be used to multiplex both digital and analog
signals but mainly used to multiplex digital signals.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
2. Time Division Multiplexing :
• There are two types of TDM:
• Synchronous TDM
• Asynchronous TDM
1. Synchronous TDM
• A Synchronous TDM is a technique in which time slot is preassigned to every
device.
• In Synchronous TDM, each device is given some time slot irrespective of the
fact that the device contains the data or not.
• If the device does not have any data, then the slot will remain empty.
• In Synchronous TDM, signals are sent in the form of frames. Time slots are
organized in the form of frames. If a device does not have data for a particular
time slot, then the empty slot will be transmitted.
• The most popular Synchronous TDM are T-1 multiplexing, ISDN multiplexing,
and SONET multiplexing.
• If there are n devices, then there are n slots.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
2. Time Division Multiplexing :
2. Asynchronous TDM
• An asynchronous TDM is also known as Statistical TDM.
• An asynchronous TDM is a technique in which time slots are not fixed as in the
case of Synchronous TDM. Time slots are allocated to only those devices which
have the data to send. Therefore, we can say that Asynchronous Time Division
multiplexor transmits only the data from active workstations.
• An asynchronous TDM technique dynamically allocates the time slots to the
devices.
• In Asynchronous TDM, total speed of the input lines can be greater than the
capacity of the channel.
• Asynchronous Time Division multiplexor accepts the incoming data streams
and creates a frame that contains only data with no empty slots.
• In Asynchronous TDM, each slot contains an address part that identifies the
source of the data.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
 3. Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
• Wavelength Division Multiplexing is same as FDM except that the
optical signals are transmitted through the fibre optic cable.
• WDM is used on fibre optics to increase the capacity of a single
fibre.
• It is used to utilize the high data rate capability of fibre optic cable.
• It is an analog multiplexing technique.
• Optical signals from different source are combined to form a
wider band of light with the help of multiplexer.
• At the receiving end, demultiplexer separates the signals to
transmit them to their respective destinations.
• Multiplexing and Demultiplexing can be achieved by using a
prism.
• Prism can perform a role of multiplexer by combining the various
optical signals to form a composite signal, and the composite
signal is transmitted through a fibre optical cable.
• Prism also performs a reverse operation, i.e., demultiplexing the
signal.
Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Switching techniques
• In large networks, there can be multiple paths from sender to receiver. The switching technique will decide the
best route for data transmission.
• Switching technique is used to connect the systems for making one-to-one communication.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Circuit Switching
• Circuit switching is a switching technique that establishes a dedicated path between sender and receiver.
• In the Circuit Switching Technique, once the connection is established then the dedicated path will remain to
exist until the connection is terminated.
• Circuit switching in a network operates in a similar way as the telephone works.
• A complete end-to-end path must exist before the communication takes place.
• In case of circuit switching technique, when any user wants to send the data, voice, video, a request signal is
sent to the receiver then the receiver sends back the acknowledgment to ensure the availability of the
dedicated path. After receiving the acknowledgment, dedicated path transfers the data.
• Circuit switching is used in public telephone network. It is used for voice transmission.
• Fixed data can be transferred at a time in circuit switching technology.
• Communication through circuit switching has 3 phases:
1. Circuit establishment
2. Data transfer
3. Circuit Disconnect

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
 Circuit Switching
• Circuit Switching can use either of the two technologies:

1. Space Division Switches:

• Space Division Switching is a circuit switching technology in
which a single transmission path is accomplished in a switch by
using a physically separate set of crosspoints.
• Space Division Switching can be achieved by using crossbar
switch. A crossbar switch is a metallic crosspoint or
semiconductor gate that can be enabled or disabled by a control
unit.
• The Crossbar switch is made by using the semiconductor. For
example, Xilinx crossbar switch using FPGAs.
• Space Division Switching has high speed, high capacity, and
nonblocking switches.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
 Circuit Switching Types
2. A time division switch (TDS) is a type of digital switch that uses time-division multiplexing (TDM) to share a single
transmission medium among multiple users. In TDM, the data stream from each user is divided into smaller chunks, or
slots, and these slots are interleaved in time on the shared medium. The TDS then routes each slot to the appropriate
recipient.
• Time division switches are used in a variety of applications, including telephony, data communications, and video
conferencing. They are more efficient than space-division switches, which dedicate a separate physical path to each
user, because they can share the same medium among multiple users.
Advantages of time division switches:
• Efficiency: They can use a single transmission medium to serve multiple users, which is more efficient than space-
division switches.
• Scalability: They can be easily scaled to accommodate more users by adding more time slots.
• Flexibility: They can be used to support a variety of data types, including voice, data, and video.
Disadvantages of time division switches:
• Delay: Because data is sent in bursts, there can be a slight delay between when a user sends data and when it is
received by the recipient. This delay can be a problem for some applications, such as real-time video conferencing.
• Synchronization: The switch must carefully synchronize the timing of the data slots to avoid errors. This can be a
challenge, especially for long-distance connections.
• Complexity: Time division switches are more complex than space-division switches, which can make them more
expensive to design and manufacture.
Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Transmission Media
In data communication terminology, a transmission medium is a physical path between the transmitter
and the receiver i.e. it is the channel through which data is sent from one place to another.
Transmission Media is broadly classified into the following types:
1. Guided Media: It is also referred to as Wired or Bounded transmission media. Signals being
transmitted are directed and confined in a narrow pathway by using physical links.
Features:
• High Speed
• Secure
• Used for comparatively shorter distances
• There are 3 major types of Guided Media:
1. Twisted Pair Cable
2. Coaxial Cable
3. Optical Fiber Cable
Twisted Pair Cable
• Twisted pair is a physical media made up of a pair of cables twisted with each other. A twisted
pair cable is cheap as compared to other transmission media. Installation of the twisted pair
cable is easy, and it is a lightweight cable. The frequency range for twisted pair cable is from 0
to 3.5KHz.
• Copper wires are the most common wires used for transmitting signals because of good
performance at low costs.
• They are most commonly used in telephone lines.
• However, if two or more wires are lying together, they can interfere with each other’s signals.
To reduce this electromagnetic interference, pair of copper wires are twisted together in
helical shape like a DNA molecule. Such twisted copper wires are called twisted pair.
Twisted Pair Cable
1. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP):
• UTP consists of two insulated copper wires twisted around one another. This type of cable has
the ability to block interference and does not depend on a physical shield for this purpose. It
is used for telephonic applications.
Advantages:
• Least expensive
• Easy to install
• High-speed capacity
Disadvantages:
• Susceptible to external interference
• Lower capacity and performance in comparison to STP
• Short distance transmission due to attenuation
Applications:
• Used in telephone connections and LAN networks
Twisted Pair Cable
2. Shielded Twisted Pair (STP):
This type of cable consists of a special jacket (a copper braid covering or a foil shield) to block
external interference. It is used in fast-data-rate Ethernet and in voice and data channels of
telephone lines.
Advantages:
• Better performance at a higher data rate in comparison to UTP
• Eliminates crosstalk
• Comparatively faster
Disadvantages:
• Comparatively difficult to install and manufacture
• More expensive
• Bulky
Applications:
• The shielded twisted pair type of cable is most frequently used in extremely cold climates, where
the additional layer of outer covering makes it perfect for withstanding such temperatures or for
shielding the interior components.
Coaxial Cable:
• Coaxial cable is very commonly used transmission media, for example, TV wire is usually a coaxial cable.
• The name of the cable is coaxial as it contains two conductors parallel to each other.
• It has a higher frequency as compared to Twisted pair cable.
• The inner conductor of the coaxial cable is made up of copper, and the outer conductor is made up of
copper mesh. The middle core is made up of non-conductive cover that separates the inner conductor
from the outer conductor.
• The middle core is responsible for the data transferring whereas the copper mesh prevents from
the EMI(Electromagnetic interference).
• Coaxial cable is of two types:
• Baseband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting a single signal at high speed.
• Broadband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting multiple signals simultaneously.
Coaxial Cable:
Advantages Of Coaxial cable:
• The data can be transmitted at high speed.
• It has better shielding as compared to twisted pair cable.
• It provides higher bandwidth.
Disadvantages Of Coaxial cable:
• It is more expensive as compared to twisted pair cable.
• If any fault occurs in the cable causes the failure in the entire network.
Applications:
• Radio frequency signals are sent over coaxial wire. It can be used for cable television signal distribution,
digital audio (S/PDIF), computer network connections (like Ethernet), and feedlines that connect radio
transmitters and receivers to their antennas.
Fiber Optic:
• Fiber optic cable is a cable that uses electrical signals for communication.
• Fiber optic is a cable that holds the optical fibers coated in plastic that are used to send the data by
pulses of light.
• The plastic coating protects the optical fibers from heat, cold, electromagnetic interference from other
types of wiring.
• Fiber optics provide faster data transmission than copper wires.
• It uses the concept of refraction of light through a core made up of glass or plastic. The core is
surrounded by a less dense glass or plastic covering called the cladding. It is used for the transmission of
large volumes of data.
• The cable can be unidirectional or bidirectional. The WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexer) supports
two modes, namely unidirectional and bidirectional mode.
Fiber Optic:
• Advantages:
• Increased capacity and bandwidth
• Lightweight
• Less signal attenuation
• Immunity to electromagnetic interference
• Resistance to corrosive materials
• Disadvantages:
• Difficult to install and maintain
• High cost
• Fragile
• Applications:
• Medical Purpose: Used in several types of medical instruments.
• Defence Purpose: Used in transmission of data in aerospace.
• For Communication: This is largely used in formation of internet cables.
• Industrial Purpose: Used for lighting purposes and safety measures in designing the interior and exterior
of automobiles.
Unguided Transmission
• An unguided transmission transmits the electromagnetic waves without using any physical
medium. Therefore it is also known as wireless transmission.
• In unguided media, air is the media through which the electromagnetic energy can flow
easily.
• Unguided transmission is broadly classified into three categories:
1. Radio waves
• Radio waves are the electromagnetic waves that are transmitted in all the directions of free
space.
• Radio waves are omnidirectional, i.e., the signals are propagated in all the directions.
• The range in frequencies of radio waves is from 3Khz to 1 khz.
• In the case of radio waves, the sending and receiving antenna are not aligned, i.e., the wave
sent by the sending antenna can be received by any receiving antenna.
• An example of the radio wave is FM radio.
Unguided Transmission
• Applications Of Radio waves:
• A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is one sender and many receivers.
• An FM radio, television, cordless phones are examples of a radio wave.
• Advantages Of Radio transmission:
• Radio transmission is mainly used for wide area networks and mobile cellular phones.
• Radio waves cover a large area, and they can penetrate the walls.
• Radio transmission provides a higher transmission rate.
Unguided Transmission
2. Microwaves
It is a line of sight transmission i.e. the sending and receiving antennas need to be properly aligned with each other.
The distance covered by the signal is directly proportional to the height of the antenna. Frequency Range:1GHz –
300GHz. These are majorly used for mobile phone communication and television distribution.
• Terrestrial Microwave transmission is a technology that transmits the focused beam of a radio signal from one
ground-based microwave transmission antenna to another
• A satellite is a physical object that revolves around the earth at a known height.
•

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Unguided Transmission
1. Terrestrial Microwave Transmission
• Terrestrial Microwave transmission is a technology that transmits the focused beam of a radio signal from one ground-
based microwave transmission antenna to another.
• Microwaves are the electromagnetic waves having the frequency in the range from 1GHz to 1000 GHz.
• Microwaves are unidirectional as the sending and receiving antenna is to be aligned, i.e., the waves sent by the sending
antenna are narrowly focussed.
• In this case, antennas are mounted on the towers to send a beam to another antenna which is km away.
• It works on the line of sight transmission, i.e., the antennas mounted on the towers are the direct sight of each other.
• Characteristics of Microwave:
• Frequency range: The frequency range of terrestrial microwave is from 4-6 GHz to 21-23 GHz.
• Bandwidth: It supports the bandwidth from 1 to 10 Mbps.
• Short distance: It is inexpensive for short distance.
• Long distance: It is expensive as it requires a higher tower for a longer distance.
• Attenuation: Attenuation means loss of signal. It is affected by environmental conditions and antenna size.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Unguided Transmission
Advantages Of Microwave:
• Microwave transmission is cheaper than using cables.
• It is free from land acquisition as it does not require any land for the installation of
cables.
• Microwave transmission provides an easy communication in terrains as the
installation of cable in terrain is quite a difficult task.
• Communication over oceans can be achieved by using microwave transmission.
Disadvantages of Microwave transmission:
• Eavesdropping: An eavesdropping creates insecure communication. Any malicious
user can catch the signal in the air by using its own antenna.
• Out of phase signal: A signal can be moved out of phase by using microwave
transmission.
• Susceptible to weather condition: A microwave transmission is susceptible to
weather condition. This means that any environmental change such as rain, wind can
distort the signal.
• Bandwidth limited: Allocation of bandwidth is limited in the case of microwave
transmission.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Unguided Transmission
2. Satellite Microwave Communication
• A satellite is a physical object that revolves around the earth at a known height.
• Satellite communication is more reliable nowadays as it offers more flexibility than cable and fibre optic systems.
• We can communicate with any point on the globe by using satellite communication.
• How Does Satellite work?
• The satellite accepts the signal that is transmitted from the earth station, and it amplifies the signal. The amplified signal is
retransmitted to another earth station.
Advantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:
• The coverage area of a satellite microwave is more than the terrestrial microwave.
• The transmission cost of the satellite is independent of the distance from the centre of the coverage area.
• Satellite communication is used in mobile and wireless communication applications.
• It is easy to install.
• It is used in a wide variety of applications such as weather forecasting, radio/TV signal broadcasting, mobile
communication, etc.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Unguided Transmission
• Disadvantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:
• Satellite designing and development requires more time and higher cost.
• The Satellite needs to be monitored and controlled on regular periods so that it remains in orbit.
• The life of the satellite is about 12-15 years. Due to this reason, another launch of the satellite has to be planned
before it becomes non-functional.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Unguided Transmission
3. Infrared
• An infrared transmission is a wireless technology used for communication
over short ranges.
• The frequency of the infrared in the range from 300 GHz to 400 THz.
• It is used for short-range communication such as data transfer between two
cell phones, TV remote operation, data transfer between a computer and cell
phone resides in the same closed area.
• Characteristics Of Infrared:
• It supports high bandwidth, and hence the data rate will be very high.
• Infrared waves cannot penetrate the walls. Therefore, the infrared
communication in one room cannot be interrupted by the nearby rooms.
• An infrared communication provides better security with minimum
interference.
• Infrared communication is unreliable outside the building because the sun
rays will interfere with the infrared waves.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
 Cellular Telephony.

Cellular telephony, often simply referred to as "cellular" or "mobile" telephony, is a communication technology
that allows for wireless transmission of voice and data signals between mobile devices, such as mobile phones,
tablets, and other wireless-enabled devices. The system is based on a network of interconnected base stations,
each serving a specific geographic area called a cell.
Primary goal of the cellular telephone network is to provide wireless communication between two moving
devices, called mobile stations or between one mobile unit and a stationary unit, commonly referred to as land-
line unit. To accommodate a large number of users over a large geographic area, the cellular telephone system
uses a large number of low-power wireless transmitters to create cells.

Cell:-A cell is a basic geographic unit of a cellular system. The term cellular comes from the honeycomb
shape of the areas into which a coverage region is divided. Cells are base stations transmitting over small
geographic areas that are represented as hexagons. As mobile users travel from cell to cell, their conversations
are handed off between cells
The basic concept of reuse allows a fixed number of channels to serve an arbitrarily large number of users

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
 Cellular Telephony.

As shown above, a cellular system comprises of the following basic

components:
A. Mobile Stations (MS): Mobile handsets, which is used by an user
to communicate with another user
B. Cell: Each cellular service area is divided into small regions called
cell (5 to 20 Km)
C. Base Stations (BS): Each cell contains an antenna, which is
controlled by a small office.
D. Mobile Switching Center (MSC): Each base station is controlled
by a switching office, called mobile switching center

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Features of Cellular Systems
• Wireless Cellular Systems solves the problem of spectral congestion and increases user capacity. The features of
cellular systems are as follows −
• Offer very high capacity in a limited spectrum.
• Reuse of radio channel in different cells.
• Enable a fixed number of channels to serve an arbitrarily large number of users by reusing the channel
throughout the coverage region.
• Communication is always between mobile and base station (not directly between mobiles).
• Each cellular base station is allocated a group of radio channels within a small geographic area called a cell.
• Neighboring cells are assigned different channel groups.
• By limiting the coverage area to within the boundary of the cell, the channel groups may be reused to cover
different cells.
• Keep interference levels within tolerable limits.
• Frequency reuse or frequency planning.
• Organization of Wireless Cellular Network.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity
University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Shape of Cells
• The coverage area of cellular networks are divided into cells, each cell having its own antenna for transmitting the
signals. Each cell has its own frequencies. Data communication in cellular networks is served by its base station
transmitter, receiver and its control unit.
• The shape of cells can be either square or hexagon −
1. Square
• A square cell has four neighbors at distance d and four at distance Root 2 d
• Better if all adjacent antennas equidistant
• Simplifies choosing and switching to new antenna
2. Hexagon
• A hexagon cell shape is highly recommended for its easy coverage and calculations. It offers the following
advantages −
• Provides equidistant antennas
• Distance from center to vertex equals length of side

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity
University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Frequency Reuse
• Frequency reusing is the concept of using the same radio frequencies within a given area, that are separated by
considerable distance, with minimal interference, to establish communication.
• Frequency reuse offers the following benefits −
• Allows communications within cell on a given frequency
• Limits escaping power to adjacent cells
• Allows re-use of frequencies in nearby cells
• Uses same frequency for multiple conversations
• 10 to 50 frequencies per cell
• For example, when N cells are using the same number of frequencies and K be the total number of frequencies
used in systems. Then each cell frequency is calculated by using the formulae K/N.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity
University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Key components of cellular telephony include:

• Mobile Devices (Phones): Mobile phones are handheld devices equipped with a radio transmitter and receiver,
allowing users to communicate wirelessly within the cellular network.
• Base Stations (Cell Towers): Base stations, also known as cell towers, are elevated structures that house the
equipment needed to transmit and receive signals. They are strategically placed within cells to ensure continuous
coverage.
• Switching Centers: These centers manage call routing and ensure that calls are connected properly. There are two
main types: Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) handle the routing within the cellular network, while the Public
Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) connects calls to landline phones.
• Backbone Network: This infrastructure connects various cellular components, ensuring seamless communication
between base stations, switching centers, and external networks.
• Cellular Network Architecture:
– Radio Access Network (RAN): Consists of base stations and their controllers, responsible for managing the radio communication
with mobile devices.
– Core Network: Manages call routing, handovers, and various network functionalities.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity
University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Key components of cellular telephony include:

• Frequency Bands: Cellular networks use specific frequency bands for communication. Different frequency bands
support various technologies like 2G (GSM), 3G (UMTS), 4G (LTE), and 5G. Each generation brings improvements
in speed, capacity, and capabilities.
• Protocols and Standards: Various protocols and standards define how cellular networks operate. For example,
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is a widely used standard for 2G, while LTE (Long-Term
Evolution) is commonly used for 4G.
• Evolution to 5G: The latest generation, 5G (Fifth Generation), promises even higher data speeds, lower latency,
and support for a massive number of connected devices.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity
University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
Advantages & Disadvantages of Cellular Networks

Advantages of Cellular Networks

• Mobile and fixed users can connect using it. Voice and data services also provided.
• Has increased capacity & easy to maintain.
• Easy to upgrade the equipment & has consumes less power.
• It is used in place where cables can not be laid out because of its wireless existence.
• To use the features & functions of mainly all private and public networks.
• Can be distributed to the larger coverage of areas.
Disadvantages of Cellular Networks
• It provides a lower data rate than wired networks like fiber optics and DSL. The data rate changes depending on
wireless technologies like GSM, CDMA, LTE, etc.
• Macrophage cells are impacted by multipath signal loss.
• To service customers, there is a limited capacity that depends on the channels and different access techniques.
• Due to the wireless nature of the connection, security issues exist.
• For the construction of antennas for cellular networks, a foundation tower and space are required. It takes a lot of
time and labor to do this.

Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Amity School of Engineering and Technology, Amity
University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India