Telecommunications

Lecturer: Prof. Wei Jin

Room CF630 Ext. 6180
Laboratory Experiments
The experiments will be performed in the Control and Signal Processing Laboratory in EF401.
Three experiments to be done in groups of two. The experiments will be on:
(1) Conventional Amplitude Modulation (Envelope Modulation)
(2) Time Division Multiplexing
(3) Pulse Code Modulation
You will be informed of the schedule of the labs in due course.

Method of Assessment
Coursework: 40%
Assignments (10%):
There are some problems within the lectures notes which you will be expected to solve and hand-in in
batches. Each batch of assignments needs to be handed before the next lecture. The assignments will be
marked according to the way you approach the problems and efforts you have made in solving them.
Midterm Tests (25%):
One midterm test, lasting over two hours.
Lab. (5%):
One lab report chosen from any of the three experiments needs to be handed in one week before the exam.

Examination: 60%
The duration will be 3 hours. All questions will be compulsory. The examination will mainly be of a
problem-solving nature.

Reference Books:
1. J. J. O’Reilly, “Telecommunication Principles”, Chapman & Hill, 1994
2. B. P. Lathi, “Modern Digital and Analogue Communication Systems”, Oxford University Express,
1998
3. A. Bruce Carlson, “Communication Systems”, McGraw-Hill, 1986
4. Simon Haykin, “Communication systems”, John Willey, 2001
5. Ferrel G. Stremler, Introduction to Communication Systems”, Addison Welsey, 1990
6. John M. Senior, “Optical Fiber Communications: Principle and Applications”, Second Edition,
Prentice Hall, 1992
7. Jeff Hecht, “Understanding Fiber Optics”, Third Edition, Prentice Hall, 1998

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8. Gerd Keiser, “Optical Fiber Communications”, Third Edition, McGraw Hill, 2000
9. Joseph C. Palais, “Fiber Optic Communications”, Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall, 1998
10. L. Frenzel, Communication Electronics”, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1994
11. H. P. Hsu, “Analog and Digital Communications, McGraw-Hill, 2003
12. G. Miller, “Modern Electronic Communication”, Third Edition, Prentice-Hall, 1989

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 Introduction

Objectives:
• To provide a broad overview of communication systems
• To describe the main components of a communication system
• To introduce the concept of a signal
• To describe the classification of communications
• To explain the importance of modulation in communications
• To describe the key factors to evaluate the performance of a communication system
• To study different types of communication channels

What telecommunications means?

Telecommunications is made up of the words “tele” which means “over a distance” and
“communications” which means “the process of exchanging information”. Information is an intelligence
signal which changes unpredictably with time.

During communication, the message is transmitted from its source to a destination. This transmission is
achieved by the use of a communication system.

(Lathi)
In communication, the physical message, such as sound, word, picture, etc., is converted into an electrical
message called signal and this electrical signal is conveyed at the distant place, where it is reconverted into
the physical message through some media. Thus, a communication system has following components:

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Source originates a message, such as a human voice, a television picture, or data.
If the message is not electrical, it should be converted by an input transducer into an electrical waveform
referred to as the baseband signal or message signal.
e.g. in a telephone system, human voice is converted into an electric current variation.
The transmitter modifies the message signal for efficient transmission.
The channel is a medium such as wire, coaxial cable, an optical fiber, or a radio link -- through which the
transmitter output is sent.
The receiver reprocesses (demodulate) the output signal from the channel. The receiver output is fed to the
output transducer, which converts the electrical signal into its original form, the message.
The destination is the unit to which the message is communicated.
A signal is a set of information or data. A signal is a function of time.
e.g. the variation of electric current that contains the message.

Various unwanted undesirable effects crop up in the course of signal transmission, including noise and
distortion.
Distortion is waveform perturbation caused by imperfect response of the system to the desired signal itself.
Unlike noise, distortion disappears when the signal is turned off.

Noise refers to undesired signal which carries no information. It is random and unpredictable signal
produced by the natural processes both internal and external to the system. When such random variations
are superimposed on an information-bearing signal and if the noise amplitude is larger than that of the
signal, the message may be partially corrupted or totally obliterated. The information cannot be correctly
received.
There are two types of noises, external noise and internal noise.
The electrical noise that is introduced in the transmitting medium is termed external noise.
The noise introduced by the components in the transmitter and receiver is known as internal noise.

External Noise
Man-made noise: produced by electromagnetic waves generated by things like fluorescent lights, electric
motors, power lines, etc. These waves will be converted by receiving antenna into electrical signals.
Atmospheric noise: caused by naturally occurring disturbances in the earth’s atmosphere due to, e.g.
lightning, etc.
Space noise: is composed of solar noise (due to sun storms, etc.) and cosmic noise (from other stars).

Internal Noise
There are two types of internal noise: thermal noise and shot noise. Internal noise is produced by
electronic circuits.

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Thermal Noise
Thermal noise is generated in a resistive component due to the rapid and random motion of electrons and
atoms inside the component. This motion increases with increasing temperature (hence, “thermal”).
This random motion of electrons produces an unpredictable component in a current passing through a
resistor (hence, “noise”). Its frequency content is spread uniformly throughout the usable spectrum, hence
it is also known as white noise. It is sometimes referred to as Johnson noise, after its discoverer.
A resistor, RL , could be considered the source of thermal noise with an rms value given by:

Vn = 4 kT B RL
where k = Boltzmann’s constant = 1.38 × 10-23 J/K, T = resistor temperature in K, B = frequency
bandwidth of the system (Hz). Note that Vn is independent of the frequency at which it is measured

Shot Noise
Shot noise exists in all active devices, especially in transistors. It is caused by random variations in the
arrival of electrons or holes (due to spontaneous recombination and generation) at the output of the device.
Shot noise current (rms) for a diode is
in = 2eI dc B
where e = electron charge (1.6 x 10-19 C), Idc = direct diode current (A), B = bandwidth of system (Hz).
A formula for shot noise in transistors does not exist. Shot noise characteristics for transistors are normally
quoted in the manufacturers’ specifications.

Shot noise and thermal noise are additive. There are other types of internal noise but they are relatively
unimportant and hence will not be considered here.

Noise is one of the basic factors that set the limit of communication system performance.

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR or S/N) provides a comparison of noise and signal powers at the same point
to ensure that the noise is not excessive. It is defined as
Signal Power P
SNR = = S
Noise Power PN

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and in decibel form as PS
SNR(dB) = 10 log10
PN

Questions
1.Can you increase the SNR by amplifying the signal before the receiver? Why or why not?
2. The value of a resistor creating thermal noise is doubled. The noise power generated is therefore:
(a) halved
(b) quadrupled
(c) doubled
(d) unchanged
3. What type of noise does a transistor has?
4. Find the SNR in dB if the ratio of signal power to noise power is:
(a) 10 ?
(b) 100 ?

Classification of communication systems:

A communication system is divided into two categories depending on the transmission media (channel)
used: line communication system, and wireless communication system.
In line communication, transmission is carried out on the transmission line.
Examples of transmission line: wire, coaxial cable, optical fiber, etc.

In wireless communication, signals from various sources are transmitted through a common media – open
space.
Examples of wireless communication: radio, microwave, etc.

A communication system can be divided into analog communication system and digital communication
system, according to the characteristics of transmitted signals.

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Modulation
Modulation is the process of impressing information onto a high-frequency “carrier” for transmission by
varying a parameter of the carrier (such as amplitude, frequency or phase) in proportion to a signal. The
transmission takes place at the high frequency carrier which has been modified to carry the lower-
frequency information signal.

What is the carrier wave?

A sinusoidal wave of high frequency and one of its parameters is varied in proportion to the message signal
In a communication system, the transmitter modifies the message signal for efficient transmission.

How to perform modulation?

In modulation, the information is carried on a high frequency “carrier” and the transmission takes place at
the carrier frequency. Thus, the modulation can be performed by multiplying the message signal by a
carrier wave (sinusoidal signal).
e.g. g(t) = m(t) cos(ωct)
where m(t) is the message signal, or baseband signal, or modulating signal (signal before modulation),
cos(ωct) is the carrier wave, and g(t) is the modulated signal (signal after modulation).

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A modulator systematically alters the carrier wave in correspondence with the variations of the modulation
signal and the resulting modulated signal “carries” the message information.

Why modulation is needed? Why not just transmit the signal directly?
The primary purpose of modulation in a communication system is to generate a modulated signal suited to
the characteristics of the transmission channel. Actually, there are several practical benefits and
applications of modulation briefly discussed below.

Efficient transmission:
Signal transmission over long distance always involves a traveling electromagnetic wave, with or without a
guiding medium. The efficiency of any particular transmission method depends upon the frequency of the
signal being transmitted. By the use of modulation, message information can be impressed on a carrier
whose frequency has been selected for the desired transmission method.
For efficient radiation of electromagnetic energy, the radiating antenna should have the physical dimension
of at least 1/10 of the signal’s wavelength. For many baseband signals, the wavelength are too large for
reasonable antenna dimensions. For example, the frequency of a speech signal is in the range of 100 to
3000 Hz (in open space, fλ = c, where c is the light propagation velocity) and the corresponding
wavelength is 100 to 3000 km. This long wavelength indicates an impracticably large antenna. By the use
of modulation, the low frequency speech signals can be used to modulate a high frequency carrier wave,
thus translating the signal spectrum to the range of carrier frequencies that corresponds to a much smaller
wavelength.

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Frequency allocation:
When you tune a radio or television set to a particular station, you are selecting one of the many signals
being propagated at that time. Since each station has a different assigned carrier frequency, the desired
signal can be separated from the others by filtering. Were it not for modulation, only one station could
broadcast in a given area; otherwise, two or more broadcast stations would create a hopeless interference.

Efficient spectrum utilization:

The channel bandwidth may be much larger than the signal bandwidth. It would be wasteful if only one
signal is transmitted over the channel. One way to solve this problem is to use modulation, which allows
each signal spectrum be moved to its assigned frequency range without overlapping and thus will not
interfere with each other. Thus several signals can be transmitted simultaneously in the same channel. This
is known as Frequency Domain Multiplexing (FDM).
Multiplexing is the process of combining several signals for simultaneous transmission on one channel.

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*Effecting the exchange of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with signal bandwidth:
Frequency modulation (FM) and certain other types of modulation have the valuable property of
suppressing both noise and interference but it requires the transmission bandwidth to be much larger than
the bandwidth of the modulating signal. This allows the designer to exchange increased bandwidth for
decreased signal power, implied a trade-off.

Bandwidth:
Bandwidth (BW) is the portion of electromagnetic spectrum occupied by a signal.

e.g. A signal frequency range is 902 to 928 MHz. What is the signal bandwidth?
f1 = 902 MHz, f2 = 928 MHz, then
BW = f2 – f1 = 26 MHz

Questions
5. The voltage waveform of a signal is shown.

(a) Is the above representation in the time domain or the frequency domain?
(b) Is it an analog signal or is it digital?

6. What does modulation actually do to a message and carrier?

7. Which of the following statements are false?

Modulation is used to:
(a) reduce the bandwidth;
(b) separate differing transmissions;
(c) ensure that information may be transmitted over long distances; and
(d) allow the use of practicable antennas

What are limitations of information transmission?

The two fundamental limitations of information transmission are bandwidth and noise.
The concept of bandwidth applies to both signals and systems. When a signal changes rapidly with time, its
frequency content or spectrum extends over a wide range and we say that the signal has a large bandwidth.
Similarly, the ability of a system to follow signal variation is reflected in its frequency response or
transmission bandwidth.

What is the consequence of insufficient transmission bandwidth?

Communication under real-time conditions requires sufficient transmission bandwidth to accommodate the
signal spectrum; otherwise, severe distortion will result.
Every communication system has limited bandwidth that limits the signal transmission speed.

Noise imposes a second limitation on information transmission.

Why is noise unavoidable?
At any temperature above absolute zero, thermal energy causes microscopic particles to exhibit random
motion. The random motion of charged particles such as electrons generates random currents or voltages
called thermal noise. Thermal noise exists in every communication system.

How to evaluate the performance of a communication system?

The performance of a communication system is usually evaluated by two key factors:

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1. Efficiency determines the capacity of transmission channel;
2. Reliability determines the signal quality.

In an analog communication system, efficiency is measured by transmission channel bandwidth, B, and

reliability is measured by system output signal-to-noise ratio (S/N).

e.g. a single sideband telephone system requires 4 kHz bandwidth but a double sideband or a conventional
amplitude modulation telephone system requires 8 kHz bandwidth, so that single sideband system has a
higher efficiency than a double sideband or a conventional amplitude modulation system.

e.g. a telephone system requires a S/N at least 20 dB and a TV picture needs its S/N above 40 dB.

In a digital communication system, efficiency is measured by bit rate, R, and reliability is measured by bit
error rate, Pb.

Bit rate: R = n/T (bits/sec) where n is the number of bits sent in T seconds

Bit error rate: Pb = number of error bits / total number of bits

e.g. a digital telephone system requires Pb < 10-3 ∼ 10-6 and data communication requires Pb < 10-9.

Communication channels
What is an ideal communication channel (transmission media) ?
It should convey the signal undistorted from the transmitter to the receiver. This requires that, ideally,
(1) it should have a bw larger than that of the signal;
(2) its transfer function should be uniform for all frequencies contained in the signal;
(3) it should be free of noise; and
(4) it should not attenuate the signal.
The type of transmission medium used categorizes the communication system into guided (or line)
communication system, or wireless (or unguided) communication system.
Copper wires, waveguides and optical fibres are examples of transmission media which guide the signal
along a certain direction.
Air is an unguiding medium, that is the signal propagates in all directions.

Copper Wires
Coaxial cables are the best because they have larger bandwidths, smaller loss and reduced crosstalk
(interference due to induced currents produced by electromagnetic fields from other cables). However, the
losses increase exponentially with increasing frequency.
They have bandwidths of up to 500MHz.

Waveguides
They are hollow metallic pipes. They are used at microwave frequencies (3 – 300 GHz) because they are
much less lossy at these frequencies as compared to copper transmission lines. The cut-off frequency of a
waveguide is 150/a MHz where a is its width in m. Thus a 1 cm waveguide can carry microwaves having a
maximum frequency of 15 GHz.
They are very impractical to use and are normally used for transmission over very short distances.

Optical Fibres
They are normally made of hair-thin high purity silica glass, covered with plastic. They are superior to
coaxial copper cables because optical fibres
(1) have lower loss which is also independent of frequency ;
(2) have larger bandwidths (∼ 200 GHz);
(3) are not susceptible to electromagnetic interference (because
they are insulators) and therefore have small crosstalk;
(4) high security (cannot be tapped, no sparks);

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(5) are cheaper (abundant raw material);
(6) have lower weight, smaller size and are more flexible (thus are easier to install); and
(7) are corrosion resistant (thus have longer operating lifetimes).

The only disadvantage of optical fibre may be: coupling (for signal distribution) and connecting (to other
fibres) cost is higher than coaxial copper cable.

The following table presents a comparison of various guided wave transmission media with regard to
operating frequency, channel capacity and repeater spacing (or attenuation).

Air and Space

Air and space are unguided transmission media, contrary to the above. Therefore, both radio waves and
light waves (even those from a laser) spread out as they move away from the transmitter, and the power
density reduces.
For radio waves, the power density reduces proportional to 1/r2 where r is the distance from the transmitter
(antenna). The effective signal loss in dB thus becomes

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 1
10 log ( ) = − 20 log r
r2

The preceding discussion on radio waves is applicable to “line of sight” systems in which the transmitter
and receiver are in view of each other. It is also applicable to space communications (outside the earth’s
atmosphere) in which radio waves, microwaves or light waves can be used. However in space, the distances
are huge. Therefore, space communications is readily feasible only between earth satellites.
When optical communications (using light waves) is used in air, earth’s atmosphere hinders transmission
because
(1) there is 3-20 dB/km attenuation due to scattering by rain, fog, smoke, etc.;
(2) direction of propagation changes due to thermal gradients;
(3) water and CO2 molecules absorb light.
In addition to the above limitations, there are safety considerations (because laser light can blind).
Therefore, air transmission using light waves is practicable only for very short distances.

Propagation of Radio Waves in the Atmosphere

This can take on various forms depending on the frequency of the waves.

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Ground (Surface) Wave
It remains close to the surface of the earth after they leave the antenna.
Ground wave propagation is strongest at the low-and medium-frequency ranges (30 kHz to 3 MHz). It can
travel for hundreds or thousands of kilometers.

Ionospheric Propagation
The radio signal is radiated by the antenna into the upper atmosphere (sky-wave) where it is bent or
reflected back to earth.
In the ionosphere, the density of the ionized atoms changes, which leads to a change in the refractive index.
This causes the radio waves to be bent and sent back to earth a long distance away from the transmitter.
This effect is most pronounced in the 3- to 30-MHz range.
It can travel for hundreds or thousands of kilometers.

Tropospheric Scatter Propagation

It happens when radio waves are scattered by small particles in the lower atmosphere (within about 15 km
of ground). It is relevant for very high frequency waves (1-5 GHz) and path links are typically several
hundred kms long.

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The wavelength (frequency) dependence of communication systems using different transmission media is
shown in the following table. This table presents a summary of the above discussions.

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Telecommunications Worldwide
An international telephone call may use a variety of communications media like wire pair, optical fibre,
satellite communications before it reaches the destination. It may undergo different modulation processes
(with different carrier frequencies), is likely to experience analog to digital conversion and vice versa, and
will be subject to a variety of multiplexing techniques.
The major demand placed on telecommunication systems is for more information-carrying capacity
because the volume of information produced (and required) increases rapidly.
Information-carrying capacity is proportional to channel (transmission) bandwidth.

What limits channel bandwidth? ----- The frequency of the signal carrier.
The higher the carrier’s frequency, the greater the channel bandwidth and the higher the information-
carrying capacity of the system.
The rule-of-thumb for estimating the transmission bandwidth is that its maximum value is approximately
10% of the carrier frequency. Hence, if an electrical signal uses a 1 GHz carrier, then its maximum
bandwidth is about 100 MHz.

What we have known about communication channel?

A copper wire can carry a signal up to several hundred kHz over several tens of kms of distance.
A coaxial cable can propagate a signal up to several hundreds of MHz.
Radio transmission is in the range of 500 kHz to 100 MHz. Microwaves, including satellite channels,
operate up to 100 GHz.
Optical communications uses light as the carrier; light frequency is between 100 and 1000 THz (T = 1012).
Therefore, optical systems have the largest capacity for information transmission.

Don’t forget satellite communications!

It has the ability to reach nearly any point on the globe without wiring.
However, we still need a worldwide fiber-optic network because it has a much higher information-carrying
capacity than satellite systems, and it can transmit the signals faster.
It is not because the velocity of the signal is faster (both optical and satellite communications use
electromagnetic waves which have virtually the same velocity), but because the transmission path taken in
satellite communications is much longer since the signal travels from an earth station to a satellite high
above the earth, then travels to another satellite and then back to an earth station again.
Satellite communications is also adversely affected by atmospheric conditions such as rain, clouds, etc.
The advantages and disadvantages of satellite communications and fiber-optic technology will make both
systems complementary rather than competitive in the telecommunications industry.
For example, a TV signal can use satellite communications as well as fiber-optic systems at different points
in its path as it travels from one continent to another.
Network controllers will take into account a variety of factors (like peak times, signal delay times, etc.)
when routing calls.

Critical Thinking Questions:

(1) How can a satellite work if radio signals are affected by the ionosphere, which extends only 400 kms
out?
(2) What is meant by “wireless” communications?
(3) Assume that you want to transmit audio directly by antenna without modulation. If the signal to be
transmitted has a frequency around 2 kHz, why is this an impractical antenna?

Review Questions

1. Draw a block diagram of a basic communication system.

2. What is a transducer? What is a signal? What is carrier?
3. Why modulation is important in a communication system?
4. How to evaluate a communication system?
5. Distinguish between message and signal.
6. Define modulating signal and modulated signal.

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