Transmission

Media
Chapter 7

Transmission Media

Topic Covered
Guided Media.
Twisted-Pair Cable
Coaxial Cable
Fiber-Optic Cable
Unguided Media : Wireless

Radio Waves

Microwaves

Infrared.

Transmission Media

Introduction
Physical Layer

Physical Layer
Receiver

Sender
Transmission Media
Cable or air

located below physical layer but controlled

by layer 1
Assume that belong to Layer 0

Transmission Media

Transmission Media

Notes
Data transmission thru electromagnetic ~ combination of electric
and magnetic field
Wired media ~ Signal traveling is directed and having physical
limitation
Twisted pair and coaxial cable use metallic (copper) conductors ~
accept and transport signal in form of electric current

Transmission Media

Overview
Guided - wire
Unguided - wireless
Characteristics and quality determined
by medium and signal
For guided, the medium is more
important
For unguided, the bandwidth produced
by the antenna is more important
Key concerns are data rate and distance
(how fast and how far)

Transmission Media

Design Factors
1. Bandwidth
Higher bandwidth gives higher data rate

2. Transmission impairments
Attenuation

Is gradual loss in intensity through a medium

Exp: sunlight is attenuated by dark glasses

Attenuation affects and limits the range of

radio signals the propagation of waves and
signals in electrical circuits, in optical fibres,
as well as in air (radio waves)

3. Interference
Is anything which alters, modifies, or
disrupts a message as it travels along a
channel between a source and a receiver.
Typically refers to the addition of an
unwanted signal to the useful signal
4. Number of receivers
In guided media
More receivers (multi-point) introduce more
attenuation

Transmission Media

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Transmission Media

Guided Media

Twisted-Pair Cable
Coaxial Cable
Fiber-Optic Cable

Guided Media

Transmission Characteristics
of Guided Media

Frequency
Range

Twisted pair
(with
loading)

0 to 3.5 kHz

Twisted
pairs (multipair cables)

0 to 1 MHz

Coaxial
cable
Optical fiber

Typical
Attenuatio
n
0.2 dB/km
@ 1 kHz

Typical
Delay

Repeater
Spacing

50 s/km

2 km

0.7 dB/km
@ 1 kHz

5 s/km

2 km

0 to 500
MHz

7 dB/km @
10 MHz

4 s/km

1 to 9 km

186 to 370
THz

0.2 to 0.5
dB/km

5 s/km

40 km

Guided Media

Twisted-Pair Cable

Twisted pair of coppers with plastic insulation

2 Wires
The receiver uses the difference between 2 levels
Signal send on one wire
~ Interference & crosstalk may affect both wire and created
unwanted signals
~ If two are affected equally, receiver is immune
Twisting balances exposure of interference
No of Twist per unit length will influence cable quality, therefore
more twist mean better quality.

Guided Media

Twisted Pair - Transmission

Characteristics
Analog

Amplifiers every 5km to 6km

Digital

Use either analog or digital signals

repeater every 2km or 3km

Limited distance
Limited bandwidth (1MHz)
Limited data rate (100MHz)
Susceptible to interference and noise

Guided Media

Unshielded(UTP) vs. Shielded TwistedPair(STP)

Unshielded Twisted Pair

(UTP)
Common cable for
communication
Ordinary telephone wire
Cheapest
Easiest to install
Suffers from external EM
interference

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

IBM
metal foil OR braided mesh
covering
each pair
improve noise tolerance ~
preventing
the penetration of noise or crosstalk
bulky & expensive
harder to handle (thick,heavy)

Guided Media

UTP Categories

Several categories of UTP cable exist:

Category 1Used for telephone communications; not
suitable for transmitting data
Category 2Capable of transmitting data at speeds of
up to 4 Mbps
Category 3Used in 10BASE-T networks; can transmit
data at speeds up to 10 Mbps
Category 4Used in Token Ring networks; can transmit
data at speeds up to 16 Mbps
Category 5Capable of transmitting data at speeds up
to 100 Mbps
Category 5eUsed in networks running at speeds up to
1000 Mbps (1 Gbps)
Category 6Consists of four pairs of 24-gauge copper
wires that can transmit data at speeds up to 1000 Mbps

Note : A key difference between Category 3 and

Category 5 cable is the twist length

Guided Media

UTP Cable - Categories

Category

Bandwidt
h

Data Rate

Digital/Analog

Use

very low

< 100
kbps

Analog

Telephone

<2
MHz

2 Mbps

Analog/digital

T-1 lines

16
MHz

10 Mbps

Digital

LANs

20
MHz

20 Mbps

Digital

LANs

100
MHz

100 Mbps

Digital

LANs

6 (draft)

200
MHz

200 Mbps

Digital

LANs

7 (draft)

600
MHz

600 Mbps

Digital

LANs

Table 6.1 Categories of UTP cables

Guided Media

UTP Connector

Common connector RJ45 (Registered Jack)

~Keyed Connector (connector can be inserted
only one way)

Guided Media

UTP Performance

Compare Attenuation vs. frequency & distance

Can pass a wide range of frequency
Attenuation sharply increases with frequency > 100 KHz
Gauge is the measure of the thickness of the wire

Guided Media

UTP Application

1. To provide voice & Data Channel in telephone line

connects individual residential telephone sets to
the local
telephone exchange
2. To provide high data rate (use high bandwidth
capability of UTP) in DSL line
3. For LAN Network (10Base-T & 100Base-T)

TPW Characteristics
the attenuation for twisted pair is a
very strong function of
frequency
susceptible to interference and noise
because of its easy coupling with
electromagnetic fields
Therefore,
twisted pair is limited in distance,
bandwidth, and data rate

Guided Media

Coaxial Cable (Coax)

Carries higher frequency ranges than UTP

Has central core conductor of solid or stranded wire enclosed in an
insulating sheath and encased in outer conductor of metal foil, braid or
a combination of two
Outer metallic wrapping
shield against noise
second conductor to complete the circuit
enclosed in an insulating sheath
Protected by a plastic cover

Guided Media

Coaxial Cable Standard

Table 6.2 Categories of coaxial cables
Category

Impedance

Use

RG-59

75

Cable TV

RG-58

50

Thin Ethernet

RG-11

50

Thick Ethernet

categorized by radio government (RG) rating. Each RG denote

unique set of physical specification consist:
wire gauge, type & thickness of insulation
(inner conductor)
construction of the shield
size & type of outer casing

Coaxial Cable Connector

Guided Media

common type is BNC - Bayone-NeillConcelman

Type of BNC Connector
a. BNC Connector - end of cable to device
b. BNC T Connector - branch out of a cable
c. BNC Terminator use the end of the cable
to prevent signal reflection

Guided Media

Coaxial Cable Performance

Can be determined by the comparison of attenuation, its

higher in coaxial cable require more repeaters but more
bandwidth

Guided Media

Coaxial Cable Application

Applications

1.television distribution
cable TV system can carry dozens or
even hundreds of TV
channels at ranges up to a few tens of
miles
2.
long-distance telephone
transmission
using frequency-division multiplexing
(FDM), a coaxial
cable can carry over 10000 voice
channels simultaneously
3. local area networks

Guided Media

Coaxial Cable Transmission

Characteristics

1. Analog

Amplifiers every few km

Closer if higher frequency
Up to 500MHz

2. Digital

Repeater every 1km

Closer for higher data rates

Guided Media

Coaxial Cable Transmission

Characteristics

3.Because of its shielded, concentric

construction, coaxial cable is much
less susceptible to interference and
crosstalk than twisted pair
4.The
principle
constraints
on
performance
are
attenuation,
thermal noise, and intermodulation
noise

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Cable

Made of glass or plastic for the core and surrounded by a

cladding of lesser dense glass or plastic and transmit signals in
the
form of light
Principle of light

I = Angle of Incidence
Critical Angle = property of substance
Uses reflection to guide light through optical
fibers

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Cable (cont.)

Design of Density of core and cladding
- reflected beam of light remained inside
the core

Guided Media

Optical Fiber - Transmission

Characteristics
1. operate in the range of 1014 to 1015 Hz
infrared and visible spectra
2. light from a source enters the cylindrical
glass or plastic core
3. rays at shallow angles are reflected and
propagated along the fiber; other rays
are absorbed by the surrounding material

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Cable

Propagation Mode

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Cable (cont.)

Multimode Mode

Inside a multimode fiber, there is a finite number of

possible paths for the light to take. These paths are
called modes. The number of possible paths depends
on the diameter of
the core.

Multimode Step-Index fiber

Density of Core remains constant from center to edge
Lower density at the interface of the core & the
cladding
change in density alters the angle of the beams
motion

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Cable (cont.)

Multimode Graded-Index fiber

Decreases distortion in step-index fiber
Term index refers t index of refraction
The index refraction is related to density
Density decreases gradually with highest at the
center of core & lowest at the edge

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Cable (cont.)

The problem with multimode operation

is that some of the paths taken by
particular modes are longer than other
paths.
This means that light will arrive at
different times.
Therefore the pulse tends to disperse
as it travel through the fiber.

Guided Media

Single Mode

Uses step index fiber & highly focused source beam to a

small range of angles closed to horizontal
manufactured with smaller diameter & lower density than
in multimode fiber
Propagation of different beam is almost identical and
delays are negligible
All beams reach at destination are together and can be
recombined with minor distortion.

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Standard

Table 6.3 Fiber types

Type

Core

Cladding

Mode

50/125

50

125

Multimode, graded-index

62.5/125

62.5

125

Multimode, graded-index

100/125

100

125

Multimode, graded-index

125

Single-mode

7/125

defined by the ratio of the core diameter to the cladding

Guided Media

Cable Composition
Figure 6.14

Fiber construction

Outer Jacket PVC or Teflon

Inner Jacket Kevlar strands material to strengthen the cable
Plastic cushion the fiber

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Cable Connector

Type of Fiber Optic Connector

a. Subscriber Channel(SC) - cable TV~ uses a
PUSH/PULL locking system
b. Straight-Tip Connector(ST) connection to networking
devices, uses bayonet locking, more reliable than SC
c. MT-RJ new connector & same size as RJ45

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Performance

Measurement of attenuation vs. wavelength

Attenuation is flatter than Twisted pair & Coaxial Cable require less repeaters

Guided Media

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6.

7.

8.

Fiber Optic Cable Application

Backbone Network

wide bandwidth and cost effective

LAN Network

100Base-FX(Fast Ethernet) & 1000BaseX

WDM

transfer at data rate 1600Gbps

Cable TV

combination of fiber optic and coax

Long-haul trunks

telephone network covered 1500KM

capacity 20K 60K voice channel

Metropolitan trunks

covered 12KM

have 100K voice channels in a trunk group

Rural exchange trunks

between exchanges for average length 40 160KM

link towns and villages

Subscriber loops

Directly from exchange to a subscriber

May displace twisted pair and coax cable links

Guided Media

Fiber Optic Cable : Pros and Co

ADVANTAGE
1.
2.

3.
4.
5.
6.

High bandwidth
Less signal attenuation can run
50km not require regeneration
but for coax and twisted pair need
repeater for each 5km
Immune to EMV interference ~
not effected to noise
Non-corrosive materials glass
more resistant than copper
Light weight
Immune to tapping

DISADVANTAGE
1. Expertise in
installation
2. Unidirectional Channel
3. Expensive cable &
interfaces

UnGuided Media

Unguided Media / Wireless

Communication

Figure 7.17

Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication

UnGuided Media

Antennas
Defined as electrical conductor used to radiate

electromagnetic energy or collect electromagnetic

energy
Transmission
Radio frequency energy from transmitter
Converted to electromagnetic energy by antenna
Radiated into surrounding environment
Reception
Converted to radio frequency electrical energy
Fed to receiver
Same antenna often used for both

UnGuided Media

Wireless Propagation
Signal travels along three routes

Ground wave
Follows contour of earth
Up to 2MHz
E.g: AM radio

Sky wave
Used for amateur radio, BBC world service, Voice of America
Signal reflected from ionosphere layer of upper atmosphere
(Actually refracted)

Line of sight
Above 30Mhz signal is not reflected by the ionosphere
May be further than optical line of sight due to refraction

UnGuided Media

Propagation Method
Ground
Propagation
Radio wave travel through
the lowest portion of
atmosphere
low frequency
omnidirectional signal
follows the earths
curvature
Distance depends on
power of the signal

UnGuided Media

Ground Wave Propagation

UnGuided Media

Propagation Method (cont.)

Sky Propagation
HF radiates
upwards into the
ionosphere,
reflected back to
earth
Allow greater
distance with low
power signal

UnGuided Media

Sky Wave Propagation

UnGuided Media

Propagation Method (cont.)

Line of Sight Propagatio

Very HF transmitted
in straight lines
from antenna to
antenna (directly)
Radio transmission
cannot be
completely focused

UnGuided Media

Line of Sight Propagation

UnGuided Media

Line of Sight Transmission

Free space loss
Signal disperses with distance
Greater for lower frequencies (longer wavelengths)
Atmospheric Absorption
Water vapour and oxygen absorb radio signals
Water greatest at 22GHz, less below 15GHz
Oxygen greater at 60GHz, less below 30GHz
Rain and fog scatter radio waves
Multipath
Better to get line of sight if possible
Signal can be reflected causing multiple copies to be received
May be no direct signal at all
May reinforce or cancel direct signal
Refraction
May result in partial or total loss of signal at receiver

Line-of -Sight

UnGuided Media

Refraction

Velocity of electromagnetic wave is a function of density of

material
~3 x 108 m/s in vacuum, less in anything else
As wave moves from one medium to another, its speed changes
Causes bending of direction of wave at boundary
Towards more dense medium
Index of refraction (refractive index) is
Sin(angle of incidence)/sin(angle of refraction)
Varies with wavelength
May cause sudden change of direction at transition between
media
May cause gradual bending if medium density is varying
Density of atmosphere decreases with height
Results in bending towards earth of radio waves

UnGuided Media

Multipath Interference

UnGuided Media

Electromagnetic Spectrum (Bands)

Table 7.4 Bands

Band

Range

Propagatio
n

Application

VLF

330 KHz

Ground

Long-range radio navigation

LF

30300 KHz

Ground

Radio beacons and

navigational locators

MF

300 KHz3 MHz

Sky

AM radio

HF

330 MHz

Sky

Citizens band (CB),

ship/aircraft communication

VHF

30300 MHz

Sky and
line-ofsight

VHF TV,
FM radio

UHF

300 MHz3 GHz

Line-ofsight

UHF TV, cellular phones,

paging, satellite

SHF

330 GHz

Line-ofsight

Satellite communication

EHF

30300 GHz

Line-ofsight

Long-range radio navigation

UnGuided Media

Radio
Waves

Radio frequency 3 KHz to 1 GHz (low & medium)

Ominidirectional (propagate in all direction) susceptible to
signal interference
Radio waves in sky mode can travel long distance, good for
long distance broadcasting (e.g. AM radio)
Long or short distance has ability to penetrate wall

Application - Multicasting
-E.g Cordless phone, Paging, AM
& FM radio, television

Figure 7.20
antennas

Omnidirectional

Note
Radio waves are used for multicast
communications, such as radio and television, and
paging systems.

7.56

UnGuided Media

Microwaves

frequency 1 GHz to 300 GHz, microwave band is

wide and high data rate is possible
unidirectional narrowly focused, antenna must
be aligned
line of sight propagation, tower need to be direct
sight of each other and cannot penetrate through
wall
repeater required for long distance
Application Unicasting Communication
E.g cell phone, satelite network & wireless
LAN

Note
Microwaves are used for unicast communication
such as cellular telephones, satellite networks,
and wireless LANs.

7.58

UnGuided Media

Microwaves (cont.)

Figure 7.21
antennas

Unidirectional

2 type of antenna are parabolic dish and the horn

Parabolic dish
Based on the geometry of a parabola
Works as a funnel, catching a wide range of waves and directing to a
common point
Horn antenna
Outgoing transmission ~ broadcast thru a stem and deflect a series of
beam by the curved head
Incoming transmission ~ collect by the scoop shape (horn) and deflect
down into the stem

UnGuided Media

Terrestrial Microwave

Parabolic dish
Focused beam
Line of sight
Long haul telecommunications
Higher frequencies give higher
data rates

UnGuided Media

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

Television
Long distance telephone
Private business networks

Satellite Point to Point

Link

UnGuided Media

UnGuided Media

Satellite Broadcast Link

UnGuided Media

Broadcast Radio

Omnidirectional
FM radio
UHF and VHF television
Line of sight
Suffers from multipath interference

Reflections

UnGuided Media

Infrared

frequency 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelength from 1

mm to 770nm)
short range communication
Have frequency but cannot penetrate wall
Advantages : not effected by other system
Useless for long range communication
Application
Infrared Data Association (IrDA) sponsoring &
promoting use of infrared though line of sight; like
keyboard, mouse, PCs and printers.
The standard define ~ data rate 75Kbps covered
8m distance.
Recent standard, data rate of 4 Mbps

Note
Infrared signals can be used for short-range
communication in a closed area using line-of-sight
propagation.

7.66

Chapter 7 Review
Questions
Compare and contrast the primary guided transmission
media.
Why are the wires twisted in twisted-pair copper wire?
What are some limitations of TPW?
What is difference between UTP and STP?
What are the major advantages and disadvantages of fiber
optic cable?
What are some major advantages and disadvantages of
microwave transmission?
Why must a satellite have distinct uplink and downlink
frequencies?
Provide examples of broadcast radio and infrared use.
What prevents multiple wireless transmissions from colliding?
What is the primary cause of signal loss in satellite
communications?
67

LeCtUrE eNd

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please do revision.