Chapter 7

Transmission Media
Transmission Media

A transmission media defined as anything that

carry information between a source to a
destination
Located below the physical layer and are directly
controlled by the physical layer
Computers and telecommunication devices use
signals to represent data.
These signals are transmitted from a device to
another in the form of electromagnetic energy.
Classes of transmission media
 Classes of Transmission Media

Conducted or guided media

 Use a conductor such as a wire or a fiber optic
cable to move the signal from sender to receiver
Wireless or unguided media
 Use radio waves of different frequencies
 Do not need a wire or cable conductor to transmit
signals
 Design Factors for Transmission Media

 Bandwidth: All other factors remaining constant, the

greater the band-width of a signal, the higher the data rate
that can be achieved.
 Transmission impairments. Limit the distance a signal can
travel.
 Interference: signals overlapping frequency bands can
distort or wipe out a signal.
 Number of receivers: Each attachment introduces some,
limiting distance and/or data rate.
 Guided Transmission Media

Transmission capacity depends on the

distance and on whether the medium is point-
to-point or multipoint
Examples
 twisted pair wires
 coaxial cables
 optical fiber
 Twisted Pair Wires
Consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in
a regular spiral pattern to minimize the
electromagnetic interference between adjacent
pairs
Often used at customer facilities and also over
distances to carry voice as well as data
communications
Low frequency transmission medium
 Twisted Pair
Applications

 Most common medium

 Telephone network
 Between house and local exchange (subscriber loop)
 For local area networks (LAN)
 10Mbps or 100Mbps

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 Twisted Pair
Transmission Characteristics

Analog
 Amplifiers every 5km to 6km
Digital
 repeater every 2km or 3km
Limited distance
Limited bandwidth (1MHz)
Limited data rate (100MHz)

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 Types of Twisted Pair

STP (shielded twisted pair)

 the pair is wrapped with metallic
foil or braid to insulate the pair
from electromagnetic
interference
UTP (unshielded twisted pair)
 each wire is insulated with
plastic wrap, but the pair is
encased in an outer covering
Unshielded and Shielded TP

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

 Cheapest
 Easiest to install
 Flexible and light weight
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
 More expensive
 Harder to handle (thick, heavy)

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 Twisted Pair Disadvantages
 Defenselessness to interference and noise
 Limitation on distance traveled
 For analog, repeaters needed every 5-6km
 For digital, repeaters needed every 2-3km
 Relatively low bandwidth
 Ratings of Twisted Pair

Category 3 UTP
 data rates of up to 16mbps are achievable
Category 5 UTP
 data rates of up to 100mbps are achievable
 more tightly twisted than Category 3 cables
 more expensive, but better performance
 UTP connector

7.14
 Coaxial Cable
Transmission Characteristics

Analog
 Amplifiers every few km
 Up to 500MHz
Digital
 Repeater every 1km
 Closer for higher data rates

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Coaxial Cable Applications

Most versatile medium

Television distribution
 Ariel to TV
 Cable TV
Long distance telephone transmission
 Can carry 10,000 voice calls simultaneously
 Being replaced by fiber optic
Short distance computer systems links
Local area networks
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 Coax Advantages
Higher bandwidth
 400 to 600Mhz

Much less at risk to interference than twisted pair

 Fiber Optic
consists of three concentric sections

plastic jacket glass or plastic fiber core

cladding
Signal propagation modes
 Multi mode
multiple beams from a light source and coms in 2 forms
 Step-index
 The density of the core remains constant from the center to
the edges until it reaches the interface of the core and the
cladding.
 Beams in the middle travel in straight lines through the core
and reach the destination without reflecting or refraction.
 Other beams strike the interface of the core and cladding( ‫)غالف‬
at different angles causing the beams to reach the destination
at different times
 Graded-index
 It is a fiber with varying density ( highest at the center of
the core and decreases gradually to its lowest at the edge)
 This difference causes the beams to reach the destination at
regular intervals
 can be used over distances of up to about 1000 meters
Signal propagation modes

 Single Mode
 One beam of light
 Uses step-index fiber and a highly focused source of
light that limits beams to a small range of angles,
all
close to horizontal
 Expensive because it is difficult to manufacture, but
signal can be sent over many kilometers without
spreading
Signal propagation modes
 Optical Fiber
Benefits

Greater capacity
 Data rates of hundreds of Gbps
Smaller size & weight
Lower attenuation
Electromagnetic isolation
Greater repeater spacing
 10s of km at least

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 Fiber Optic Advantages

 Greater capacity (bandwidth of up to 2 Gbps)

 Smaller size and lighter weight
 Lower attenuation
 Immunity to environmental interference
 Highly secure due to tap difficulty and lack of

signal radiation
 Fiber Optic Disadvantages
expensive over short distance
requires highly skilled installers
adding additional nodes is difficult
 Wireless transmission waves

7.29
 Wireless (Unguided Media) Transmission

 Transmission and response are achieved by means

of an antenna
 Directional
 transmitting antenna puts out focused beam
 transmitter and receiver must be aligned
 Omnidirectional
 signal spreads out in all directions
 can be received by many antennas
 Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication

7.31
 Omnidirectional antenna

7.32
 Terrestrial Microwave
 used for long-distance telephone service
 uses radio frequency spectrum, from 2 to 40 Ghz
 Microwaves are used for unicast communication
such as cellular telephones, satellite networks,
and wireless LANs.
 requires unobstructed line of sight between source
and receiver
Satellite Microwave

Satellite is relay station

Satellite receives on one frequency,
amplifies or repeats signal and
transmits on another frequency
Requires geo-stationary orbit
 Height of 35,784km

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Satellite Point to Point Link

35
Satellite Broadcast Link

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 Microwave Transmission Disadvantages

 line of sight requirement

 Expensive towers and repeaters
 Subject to interference such as passing
airplanes and rain
 Satellite Transmission Links
Earth stations communicate by sending
signals to the satellite on an uplink
The satellite then repeats those signals on a
downlink
The broadcast nature of the downlink makes
it attractive for services such as the
distribution of television programming
 Satellite Transmission Process

satellite
transponder

dish dish
22,300 miles

uplink station downlink station

 Radio
Radio is omnidirectional and microwave is
directional
Radio is a general term often used to
encompass frequencies in the range 3 kHz to
300 GHz.
Mobile telephony occupies several frequency
bands just under 1 GHz.
 Infrared
Uses transmitters/receivers (transceivers).
Transceivers must be within line of sight of
each other (directly or via reflection ).
Unlike microwaves, infrared does not
penetrate walls.