Unit-2 Transmission Media

Transmission media is a communication channel that carries the information from

the sender to the receiver. Data is transmitted through the electromagnetic signals.It is
a physical path between transmitter and receiver in data communication.

In a copper-based network, the bits are in the form of electrical signals.In a fibre based
network, the bits are in the form of light pulses.The electrical signals can be sent
through the copper wire, fibre optics, atmosphere, water, and vacuum.The
characteristics and quality of data transmission are determined by the characteristics
of medium and signal.

Transmission media of two types are wired(guided) media and wireless(unguided)

media. In wired media, medium characteristics are more important whereas, in
wireless media, signal characteristics are more important.

Classification of transmission media

 GUIDED MEDIA

It is defined as the physical medium through which the signals are transmitted. It is
also known as Bounded media.

Types Of Guided media:

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. The frequency
range for twisted pair cable is from 0 to 3.5KHz.

A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in a regular spiral
pattern,each with its own plastic insulation. One of the wires is used to carry signals to
the receiver,and the other is used only as a ground reference. The receiver uses the
difference between the two. In addition to the signal sent by the sender on one of the
wires, interference(noise) and crosstalk may affect both wires and create unwanted
signals.

If the two wires are parallel, the effect of these unwanted signals is not the same in
both wires because they are different locations relative to the noise or crosstalk
sources. This results in a difference at the receiver. By twisting the pairs, a balance is
maintained.

Types of twisted pair: Unshielded twisted-pair(UTP) and Shielded twisted

pair(STP)
Unshielded twisted-pair(UTP):An unshielded twisted pair is widely used in
telecommunication. Following are the categories of the unshielded twisted pair cable:

● Category 1: Category 1 is used for telephone lines that have low-speed data.

● Category 2: It can support upto 4Mbps.

● Category 3: It can support upto 16Mbps.

● Category 4: It can support upto 20Mbps. Therefore, it can be used for

long-distance communication.

● Category 5: It can support up to 200Mbps.

Advantages Of Unshielded Twisted Pair:

● It is cheap.
● Installation of the unshielded twisted pair is easy.
● It can be used for high-speed LAN.

Disadvantage:

● This cable can only be used for shorter distances because of attenuation.

Shielded twisted-pair(STP): A shielded twisted pair is a cable that contains the mesh

surrounding the wire that allows the higher transmission rate. The metal casting

improves the quality of cable by preventing the penetration of noise or cross talk

Advantages:

● The cost of the shielded twisted pair cable is not very high and not very low.
● Installation of STP is easy.
● It has higher capacity as compared to unshielded twisted pair cable.
● It has a higher attenuation.
● It is shielded and provides a higher data transmission rate.
Disadvantages

● It is more expensive as compared to UTP and coaxial cable.

● It has a higher attenuation rate.

Connectors:The most important UTP connector is RJ45 (R stands for registered jack).
The RJ45 is a keyed connector.

Twisted pair cables are used in telephone lines to provide voice and data channels.

Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable is a 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 EMI(Electromagnetic interference). The whole cable is protected by a plastic
cover.
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 standards: Coaxial cable are categorised by their Radio Government
(RG) ratings. Each RG number denotes a unique set of physical specifications,
including the wire guage of the inner conductor, thickness and type of inner
insulator,the construction of the shield and size and type of outer casting.

Category Impedance Use

RG-59 75 Cable TV

RG-58 50 Thin Ethernet

RG-11 50 Thick Ethernet

Coaxial Cable Connectors:To connect coaxial to device, we need coaxial connectors.

The most common type of connector used today is the Bayonet Nell-Concelman
(BNC) connector.

The BNC connector is used to connect the end of the cable to a device,such as a TV
set. The BNC T connector is used in Ethernet networks to branch out to a connection
to a computer or other devices.

Advantages Of Coaxial cable:

● The data can be transmitted at high speed.

● It has been 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.

Fibre-Optics Cable
A fibre optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmits signals in the form of
light.Fibre optic is a cable that holds the optical fibres coated in plastic that are used to
send the data by pulses of light.The plastic coating protects the optical fibres from
heat, cold, electromagnetic interference from other types of wiring.Fibre optics provide
faster data transmission than copper wires.

Light travels in a straight line as long as it is moving through a single uniform

substance. If a ray of light travelling through one substance suddenly enters another
substance ( of a different density),the ray changes direction.

If the angle of incidence ( the angle the ray makes with the line perpendicular to the
interface between the two substances) is less than the critical angle, the ray refracts
and moves closer to the surface. If the angle of incidence is equal to the critical
angle,the light bends along the interface. If the angle of incidence is greater than the
critical angle, the ray reflects and travels again in the denser substance.
Optical fiber uses reflection to guide light through a channel. A glass or plastic core is
surrounded by a cladding of less dense glass or plastic. The difference in density of
two materials must be such that a beam of light moving through the core is reflected
off cladding instead of being refracted into it.

Core: The optical fibre consists of a narrow strand of glass or plastic known as a core.
A core is a light transmission area of the fibre. The more the area of the core, the
more light will be transmitted into the fibre.

Cladding: The concentric layer of glass is known as cladding. The main functionality
of the cladding is to provide the lower refractive index at the core interface as to cause
the reflection within the core so that the light waves are transmitted through the fibre.

Jacket: The protective coating consisting of plastic is known as a jacket. The main
purpose of a jacket is to preserve the fibre strength, absorb shock and extra fibre
protection.

Propagation modes: Current technology supports two modes ( multimode and single
mode) for propagation of light along optical channels, each requiring fiber with
different physics characteristics.
Multimode: Multimode is named so because multiple beams from a light source move
through the core in different paths.

In multimode step index fiber,the density of the core remains constant from the centre
to the edges. A beam of light moves through this constant density in a straight line
until it reaches the interface of the core and the cladding. At the interface, there is an
abrupt change due to the lower density; this alters the angle of the beam's motion. The
step index refers to the suddenness of this change,which contributes to the distortion
of the signal as it passes through the fiber.

Multimode graded- index fiber decreases this distortion of the signal through cable.
Index here refers to the index of refraction. A graded index fiber is one with varying
densities. Density is the highest at the centre of the core and decreases gradually to
its lowest at the edge.

Single-Mode: Single-mode uses step index fiber and a highly focused source of light
that limits beams to a small range of angles, all close to the horizontal. The
single-mode fibre itself is manufactured with a much smaller diameter than that of
multimode fiber,and with substantially lower density (index of refraction).The decrease
in density results in a critical angle that is close enough to 90° to make the
propagation of beams almost horizontal.
Fiber sizes: Optical fibers are defined by the ratio of the diameter of their core to the
diameter of their cladding,both expressed in micrometers.

Type Core Cladding Mode

50/125 50.0 125 Multimode, graded index
62.5/125 62.5 125 Multimode,graded index
100/125 100.0 125 Multimode,graded index
7/125 7.0 125 Single mode

Cable Composition: The composition of a typical fiber-optic cable. The outer jacket is
made of either PVC or Teflon. Inside the jacket are Kevlar strands to strengthen the
cable. Kevlar is a strong material used on the fabrication of bulletproof vests. Below
the Kevlar is another plastic coating to cushion the fiber. The fiber is at the centre of
the cable, and it consists of cladding and core.

Fiber-optic cable connector:There are three types of connectors. The subscribe

channel (SC) connector is used for cable TV. It uses a push /pull locking system. The
straight-tip(ST) connector is used for connecting cable to networking devices. MT-RJ
is a connector that is the same size as RJ45.

Advantages

● Greater Bandwidth: The fibre optic cable provides more bandwidth as

compared to copper. Therefore, the fibre optic carries more data as compared to
copper cable.
 ● Faster speed: Fibre optic cable carries the data in the form of light. This allows
the fibre optic cable to carry the signals at a higher speed.
● Longer distances: The fibre optic cable carries the data at a longer distance as
compared to copper cable.
● Better reliability: The fibre optic cable is more reliable than the copper cable as
it is immune to any temperature changes while it can cause obstruction in the
connectivity of copper cable.
● Thinner and Sturdier: Fibre optic cable is thinner and lighter in weight so it can
withstand more pull pressure than copper cable.

Disadvantages

● Installation and maintenance:Fibre optic cable is a relatively new technology.

It's installation and maintenance require expertise that is not yet available
everywhere.
● Unidirectional light propagation: Propagation of light is unidirectional.If we
need bidirectional communication, two fibers are needed.
● Cost:The cable and interfaces are relatively more expensive than those of other
guided media.

UNGUIDED MEDIA (WIRELESS)

Unguided medium transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical
conductor. This type of communication is wireless communication. Signals are
normally broadcast through free space and thus are available to anyone who has a
device capable of receiving them.

Electromagnetic spectrum for wireless communication ranges from 3kHz to 900 THz.

Unguided signals can travel from the source to the destination in several ways:
ground propagation, sky propagation and line-of-sight propagation.

In the ground propagation, the electromagnetic wave is propagated close to the

atmosphere i.e. between ionosphere and earth surface. These electromagnetic waves
are the low-frequency wave that is transmitted in all directions and the wave follows the
curvature of the earth as you can see in the image below.
The distance traveled by the electromagnetic wave in the ground propagation depends
on the power of the propagated signal. More power is in a signal longer the distance it
travels.

In sky propagation, the electromagnetic wave with a higher frequency is radiated up in

the ionosphere from the source transmitter antenna which gets reflected back to the earth
surface. In skywave propagation, the electromagnetic wave travels a longer distance and
it can be received thousands of kilometres away from the transmitter.

In line of sight propagation, the electromagnetic wave with very high frequency is
transmitted in the ‘straight-line’ direction from the transmitter antenna to the receiver
antenna.
In this way, the electromagnetic wave does not get affected by the curvature of the earth
because the transmitter and receiver antenna are either tall or close enough to maintain
the line of sight.

The section of the electromagnetic spectrum defined as radio waves and microwaves is
divided into eight ranges, called bands, each regulated by government authorities.

Band Range Propagation Application

Very low frequency 3-30kHz Ground Long-range radio navigation
(VLF)
low frequency (LF) 30-300kHz Ground Radio beacons and
navigational locators
middle frequency 300kHz-3MHz Sky AM radio
(MF)
high frequency (HF) 3-30MHz Sky Citizens band (CB),
ship/aircraft
very high frequency 30-300MHz Sky and VHF TV, FM radio
(VHF) line-of-sight
ultrahigh frequency 300MHz- Line-of-sight UHF TV, cellular
(UHF) 3GHz phones,paging, satellite
super high 3-30GHz Line-of-sight Satellite
frequency (SF)
extremely high 30-300GHz Line-of-sight Radar, satellite
frequency (EHF)

We can divide wireless transmission into three broad categories: radio waves,
microwave and infrared waves.

Radio Waves
The radio waves are the low-frequency electromagnetic waves ranging from ‘3kHz to
1GHz’.

Radio waves are the electromagnetic waves that are transmitted in all the directions of
free space.The radio waves are propagated in sky mode and are omnidirectional
which means that the source transmitter transmits the radio wave in the sky and they are
reflected from the sky and received by the receiving antenna.

In omnidirectional the signals are propagated in all the directions.This means that the
sending and receiving antenna are not aligned, i.e,The wave sent by the sending
antenna can be received by any receiving antenna.In sky mode propagation, radio
waves can travel long distances.This make radio waves a good candidate for long
distance broadcasting such as AM radio.

Radio waves use omnidirectional antennas that send out signals in all
directions,Based on the wavelength ,strength,and the purpose of transmission.

Applications Of Radio waves:A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is
one sender and many receivers. AM and 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.
Microwaves
The microwave is the electromagnetic waves with frequency ranging from ‘1 to 300 GHz’.
The microwaves are unidirectional in nature and due to which it propagates in
line-of-sight mode. In line-of-sight propagation, the source transmitting antenna and the
receiving antenna need to be aligned to each other in such a way that they must be
facing each other which enables point-to-point transmission.

Characteristics of Microwave:

● Microwave propagation is line of sight. Since towers with the mounted antennas
need to be in direct sight of each other,towers that are far apart need to be very
tall. The curvature of the earth as well as other blocking obstacles do not allow
two short towers to communicate by using microwaves. Repeaters are often
needed for long distance communication.
● Very high-frequency microwaves cannot penetrate walls.
● 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.

The microwave transmission can be classified into two types:

1. Terrestrial Microwave Transmission

In terrestrial microwave transmission, the transmitting and receiving antenna both
are fixed on the ground and the signal wave is transmitted using the line-of -sight
propagation mode. It is mostly used for telecommunication.
2. Satellite Microwave Transmission
In satellite microwave transmission the electromagnetic wave is transmitted by the
source transmitting antenna (earth station) which is received by satellite which
amplifies the signal and rebroadcasts it to the receiver antenna (earth station).
Satellite microwave transmission is mostly used for television, long-distance
telecommunication, and global positioning systems.

Microwaves need unidirectional antennas that send out signals in one direction. Two
types of antennas are used for microwave communications: the parabolic dish and the
horn.
A parabolic dish antenna is based on the geometry of a parabola. Every line parallel to
the line of symmetry reflects off the curve at angles such that all lines intersect in a
common point called focus. The parabolic dish works as a funnel, catching a wide
range of waves and directing them to a common point. In this way ,more of the signal
is recovered than would be possible with a single point receiver.

Outgoing transmissions are broadcast through a horn aimed at the dish. The
microwaves hit the dish and are reflected outward in a reversal of the receipt path.

A horn antenna looks like a gigantic scoop. Outgoing transmissions are broadcast up
a stem and deflected outward in a series of narrow parallel beams by the curved head.
Received transmissions are collected by the scooped shape of horn, in a manner
similar to the parabolic dish, and deflected down into the stem.

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 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 conditions: A microwave transmission is susceptible to
weather conditions. 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.

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 stationThe 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.

Advantages:

● 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.

Disadvantages:

● 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.

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. The
infrared transmission uses line-of-sight propagation and thereby is used for
short-distance communication.

As the infrared transmission is the high-frequency waves, they cannot penetrate the wall
so we can easily differentiate the communication going on inside the building and the
communication outside a building. In this way, there are no chances of interference.we
cannot use infrared waves outside a building because the sun's rays contain infrared
waves that interfere with the communication.
The most popular example of infrared transmission that we daily come across is your
remote that you use to operate AC, television, music system, etc. The remote emits
infrared waves which are received by the television and perform the action.

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 that
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.