CSC 403: Computer Networks and Data Communication (3 Units)

Introduction: waves, Fourier, Analysis, measure of communication, channel characteristics, transmission media, noise and distortion,
modulation and demodulation, multiplexing TDM, FCM. Parallel and serial transmission (Synchronous/asynchronous). Bus characteristics,
structures and loop systems, computer networks; Topologies, Hubs, Repeaters, Gateways. Examples and design considerations: data switching
principles: broadcast techniques; network structure for packet switching, protocols, description of networks, e.g. ARPANET, DSC, INTERNET,
WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW), etc.

FUNDAMENTALS OF DATA COMMUNICATIONS

Data & Communication meanings

Data, refers to a collection of numbers, characters and is a relative term. •Data is collected and analyzed to create
information suitable for making decisions. •Communication is the activity of exchanging information and meaning across
space and time using various technical or natural means, whichever is available or preferred. •Communication requires
a sender, a message, a medium and a recipient. •Although the receiver does not have to be present or aware of the
sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication. •Thus, communication can occur across vast distances in
time and space.

Data Communication Trends

Three different forces have driven the architecture and evolution of data communications and networking facilities:

• Traffic growth,

• Development of new Services,

• Advances in technology.

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Fourier analysis is a method of defining periodic waveform s in terms of trigonometric function s. The method gets its
name from a French mathematician and physicist named Jean Baptiste Joseph, Baron de Fourier, who lived during the
18th and 19th centuries. Fourier analysis is used in electronics, acoustics, and communications.

Many waveforms consist of energy at a fundamental frequency and also at harmonic frequencies (multiples of the
fundamental). The relative proportions of energy in the fundamental and the harmonics determines the shape of the
wave. The wave function (usually amplitude , frequency, or phase versus time ) can be expressed as of a sum
of sine and cosine functions called a Fourier series , uniquely defined by constants known as Fourier coefficient s. If
these coefficients are represented by a , a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , ..., a n , ... and b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , ..., b n , ..., then the Fourier
series F ( x ), where x is an independent variable (usually time), has the following form:

F ( x ) = a /2 + a 1 cos x + b 1 sin x + a 2 cos 2 x + b 2 sin 2 x + ...

+ a n cos nx + b n sin nx + ...

In Fourier analysis, the objective is to calculate coefficients a , a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , ..., a n and b 1 , b 2 , b 3 , ..., b n up to the
largest possible value of n . The greater the value of n (that is, the more terms in the series whose coefficients can be
determined), the more accurate is the Fourier-series representation of the waveform.

waveform
A waveform is a representation of how alternating current (AC) varies with time. The most familiar AC waveform is
the sine wave, which derives its name from the fact that the current or voltage varies with the sine of the elapsed time.
Other common AC waveforms are the square wave, the ramp, the sawtooth wave, and the triangular wave. Their
general shapes are shown below:

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Some AC waveforms are irregular or complicated. Square or sawtooth waves are produced by certain types of
electronic oscillators, and by a low-end UPS (uninterruptible power supply) when it is operating from its battery.
Irregular AC waves are produced by audio amplifiers that deal with analog voice signals and/or music.

The sine wave is unique in that it represents energy entirely concentrated at a single frequency. An ideal,
unmodulated wireless signal has a sine waveform, with a frequency usually measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz
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(GHz). Household utility current has a sine waveform with a frequency of 60 Hz in most countries including the United
States, although in some countries it is 50 Hz.

A Communications Model
Three different forces havedriven the architecture andevolution of data communications and networking facilities:
• Traffic growth,
• Development of newServices,
• Advances in technology.

Key Elements of the Communications model:

• Source: This device generates the data to be transmitted; examplesare telephones and personal computers.

• Transmitter: transforms and encodes the information in such a wayas to produce electromagnetic signals that
can be transmitted across some sort of transmission system.

• Transmission system: This can be a single transmission line or acomplex network connecting source and
destination.

• Receiver: The receiver accepts the signal from the transmission system and converts it into a form that can be
handled by the destination device.

• Destination: Takes the incoming data from the receiver.

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Communications Tasks

Transmission system utilization Addressing

Interfacing Routing
Signal generation Recovery
Synchronization Message formatting
Exchange management Security
Error detection and correction Network
management
Flow control

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 © Ahmad El-Banna
Data CommunicationsAspects

• The Transmission of Information:

• Transmission media: twisted-pair, coaxial cables, fiber optic,wireless, ……
• Antennas: dipole, yagi-uda, dish (parabolic), microstrip, ….

• Communication Techniques:
•

DC-IN, Lec#1 , Spring 2015

Encoding : source, channel
• Modulation: Analog, Digital

• Transmission efficiency:
• Capacity issue: Multiplexing, compression, etc.
• Data rate

Networks
• LAN - Local Area Network

• single building or cluster of buildings

•ethernet, token ring, star, wireless

• WAN - Wide Area Network
• city-to-city, country-to-country

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 • telephone, ISDN, ATM, etc.
• Wireless Network
• radio, microwave, satellite

Questions: What network topology do we have in our ICT? What is your understanding of simplified
communication model? what is the work of the transmitter and transmission system? Write short notes on the
following: Bus characteristics, structures and loop systems, computer networks; Topologies, Hubs, Repeaters,
Gateways

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Internet
• Internet evolved from ARPANET in 1969 U.S. DoD.
• Developed to solve the dilemma of communicating across arbitrary, multiple, packet-switched network
• TCP/IP provides the foundation

Internet – Key Element

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INTRODUCTION TO LAYERED COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS
The Need for Protocol Architecture
• A protocol is a set of rules or conventions that allow peer
layers to communicate.

• To transfer data several tasks are performed

1. The source must activate the communications path or inform

network of destination

2. The source must make sure that destination is prepared to receivedata

3. The file transfer application on the source must confirm file management
program at destination is prepared to accept andstore the file

4. A format translation function may need to be performed if the formats on the

systems differ

ProtocolArchitectureLogic

• Logic is divided into subtask modules

• Implemented separately

• Modules are arranged in a vertical stack

• Each layer in the stack performs a subset of functions

• Rely on next layer for more primitive functions

• Changes in one layer should not require changes in other layers

• The key features of a protocol are:

• Syntax – format of data blocks

• Semantics – control information for coordination and error

handling

• Timing – speed matching and sequencing

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TYPES OF CODING
In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert
information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form or
representation, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a
communication channel or storage in a storage medium.

A coding system used for transmitting messages requiring brevity or secrecy. Code or
computer code is the symbolic arrangement of data or instructions in a computer
program or the set of such instructions.

Coding theory is the study of the properties of codes and their respective fitness for
specific applications. Codes are used for data compression, cryptography, error
detection and correction, data transmission and data storage. Codes are studied by
various scientific disciplines—such as information theory, electrical
engineering, mathematics, linguistics, and computer science—for the purpose of
designing efficient and reliable data transmission methods. This typically involves the
removal of redundancy and the correction or detection of errors in the transmitted data.
There are four types of coding:

1. Data compression (or, source coding)

2. Error control (or channel coding)
3. Cryptographic coding
4. Line coding
Data compression attempts to remove redundancy from the data from a source in order
to transmit it more efficiently. For example, Zip data compression makes data files
smaller, for purposes such as to reduce Internet traffic. Data compression and error
correction may be studied in combination.
Error correction adds extra data bits to make the transmission of data more robust to
disturbances present on the transmission channel. The ordinary user may not be aware
of many applications using error correction. A typical music CD uses the Reed-Solomon
code to correct for scratches and dust. In this application the transmission channel is
the CD itself. Cell phones also use coding techniques to correct for the fading and noise
of high frequency radio transmission. Data modems, telephone transmissions, and
the NASA Deep Space Network all employ channel coding techniques to get the bits
through, for example the turbo code and LDPC codes.

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Basic communication system and definitions
Communication is the process of transfer of information from sender to receiver. In
communication system, the transmitter converts the information into signals suitable
for the communication channel. While the signals propagate through the channel,
noise signals arise. These signals along with noise will reach the receiver end, where
message signal is filtered from the transmitted signal along with noise. To some extent,
the noise signals can be filtered out and the message signal can be reproduced.

Elements of a communication system:

The purpose of a communication system is to transmit intelligence signal from a source

to a destination at some point away from the source. This system consists of three basic
components know as transmitter, channel, and receiver.

Figure1 is a block diagram of a communication system.

Fig 1. Communication system.

The transmitter's function is to process the message signal into a form suitable for
transmission over the communication channel. This process is called modulation.

The function of the communication channel is to provide a pathway between the

transmitter's output and the receiver's input. The job of the receiver is to process the
received signal to recover the appropriate message signal. In other words, If the
function of the different elements is done properly, then the output signal should equal
the input message signal.

There are two methods in transmitting an intelligent message signal over the
communication channel. The two methods are analog or digital.

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For the digital method, its advantages include the following:
1. Increased immunity to noise in the channel and outside interference which are
impossible to prevent in the communication channel.
2. Offer flexible operation of the system due to the technologies in digital system.
3. Different types of message signals such as voice data, video data, or computer
data can be implemented in the same format by the transmitter.
4. Message signals can be encrypted to provide security for sensitive data.

The disadvantages of the digital method are that the communication system is very
complex and can be costly for communication channel such as satellite channels and
optical fibers.

The Analog has two benefits.

1) The communication system of analog method is very simple.

2) It is not very expensive because of the use of simple technology.

Although, analog method may eventually be eliminated by the digital method as the
communication systems become simple by progressive technology and the availability
of more communication channel for digital method. Many broadcasting systems that use
the analog method to transmit messages such as the radio. Even some of our
telephone networks are still implemented using the analog method.

Before a message signal can be sent over the communication channel, the message
signal has to be modified the process of modifying message signal is known
as modulation. This modulation process involves changing some parameters of a
carrier wave in accordance with the message signal so that the resultant wave will
match the communication channel's bandwidth. In order to recover the message signal,
the receiver of the communication system will have to go through the demodulation
process, which is the inverse of the modulation process.

Question: State the meaning of Bandwidth and show the relationship between the
communication channel's bandwidth and parameters of a carrier wave.

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Why must a message signal be modified for transmission?

Answer:

One of the reasons is to change the message signal to match the channel's bandwidth.
Another reason is that modulation permits multiplexing. Multiplexing means that
different message signals can be transmitted in the same channel at the same time.
The third reason for modulation is to convert the message signal to be immune to noise
and interference. This will allow a good transmission to take place without worrying
much about noise.

The modulation process involves encoding the message signal in a carrier wave. This
carrier wave has three independent parameters that can be varied with the message
signal. These three parameters are amplitude, phase, and frequency. The variation of
the amplitude is known as amplitude modulation (AM). Frequency modulation (FM) is to
change the frequency accordingly with the message signal and the carrier wave. The
phase modulation is done by changing the phase of the carrier wave according to the
message signal. Most of us are already familiar with AM and FM. The radio
communications basically use those in our daily life. In the lesson plan, we will go
through the AM process and see how it works.

Basically there are three elements in a communication system- transmitter,

communication channel, and receiver.

(a). Transmitter Unit

The information cannot be transmitted in its raw format through the communication
channel. Transmitter unit is used to convert raw information into the format that is

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understandable by the communication channel. Different methods like modulation and
coding may be used depending on the requirement. Mobile phones and AM radio
transmitters are some of the most familiar transmitters. Modulation is employed to
superimpose a low frequency message signal on to a high frequency carrier to protect
the signal from getting dispersed.

(b). Communication channel

Communication channel is defined as the medium through which the signal is send from
transmitter to receiver. When signal is propagated through the channel, it gets affected
by noise. And also channel attenuation degrades the signal strength, so signal power
decreases with distance. In radio communication systems, air is the medium and
in satellite communication systems, both air and vacuum are the medium.

(c). Receiver

Signals sent through the communication channel reaches the receiver, where it is
decoded or demodulated to extract the message. Since channel attenuation degrades
the signal power, amplifier is used at the receiver to compensate for the transmission
losses. Both selectivity and sensitivity of a receiver should be high only then the
message signal can be extracted from the received signal.

• Selectivity

Selectivity is defined as the ability of a receiver to select the exact message signal
while rejecting other noise signals. Selectivity is measured in terms of ratio in decibels
(dBs) by comparing the signal strength received to that of similar signal strength on
another frequency.

• Sensitivity

Sensitivity is the ability of a receiver to pick up weak signals which get affected by
channel attenuation. It is defined as the minimum magnitude of input signal required to
produce a specified output signal. That is, minimum input signal required to produce a
specified signal-to-noise S/N ratio at the output port of the receiver.

(d). Noise

Noise is any unwanted signals that interfere with the information, which includes
atmospheric changes, lighting and thunderstorms, other communication systems etc.
that can cause noises in the transmitted signal. Different techniques can be used to
minimize the noise in the signal but it cannot be completely removed.

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Communication Protocol

Communication protocol is defined as the set of rules that the devices agree for
communication. When messages are exchanged between two systems, parameters
like rate of transmission, synchronous or asynchronous, half-duplex or full-duplex mode
should be agreed to before transmission. Detecting and correction of transmission
errors and encoding and decoding data will also come under communication protocol. It
is implemented in both hardware and software.

Elements in communication protocol

(a). Syntax

Syntax in communication protocol defines the structure of data, that is, how each data
is arranged in the transmitted data. For example, transmitted data may contain 12 bits in
which first four bits represent sender’s address, next four bits shows the receiver’s
address and the final four bits are for data. Syntax defines this structure only after which
the receiver can understand and be able to fetch the corresponding data.

(b). Semantic

Transmitted data contains digital representation of any real time variable. Semantic
defines the meaning of a particular data and how it is to be interpreted. For example, in
the receiver’s address part, if data is coded as 0010 it means that data has to be moved
to third module.

(c). Timing

‘When to send’ and ‘at what rate’ comes under timing protocol. If the sender produces
data at one rate and receiver process at a lower rate, then there is a possibility of data
loss causing incorrect interpretation or system failure.

In this method, signal is directly transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver. Most
common example of baseband communication is direct conversation between two
people. In this method, the signal amplitude gets distorted with the distance. If the
second person is standing 200 meters away from the first person, he cannot hear what
the other person is saying.

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Transmission Techniques in Communication

Broadband Signal Communication

Baseband signal communication is not commonly used for distance communication.
Low frequency base band signals, having low energy, if transmitted directly will get
distorted. So baseband signal must be modulated with high frequency signal to increase
the range of transmission. Modulation is defined as the superimposition of low
frequency baseband signal over high frequency carrier signal by varying different
parameters of the carrier signals. Based on the types of parameters that are varied in
proportion to the baseband signal, modulation are of different types.

(a). Amplitude modulation

In this method, amplitude of the carrier signal is varied with respect to the message
signal. Carrier frequency used for amplitude modulation will be at least ten times more
than baseband frequency. Instantaneous amplitude of the carrier signal is varied in
proportion to the message signal. Since, frequency of the carrier signal is very high, the
energy of the message signal improves and the information can be transmitted to a
longer distance without distortion.
Figure shows the waveforms of carrier signal, modulating signal or message signal and
amplitude modulated signal. We can see that the amplitude of the modulated waveform
changes in proportion to the message signal without varying any other parameters. This
technology is applied in amplitude modulation.

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Amplitude Modulation
(b). Frequency Modulation
Frequency modulation method is also used to improve the range. In this
method, instantaneous frequency of the carrier wave is varied in proportion to the
amplitude of the message signal. One important advantage of frequency modulation
over amplitude modulation is that, it can be used for both analog and digital signals. But
amplitude modulation can only be used in analog signals.

Frequency Modulation

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Radio Communication System
Radio communication system implies wireless transmission of electromagnetic signals
through space. Radio signals have a frequency range from 30 kHz to 300 GHz which is
less than the frequency of visible light. Various modulation methods like Amplitude,
frequency, phase or pulse width modulations are used to transmit information using
radio wave communication.

Radio communication system

Elements of radio wave communication system
(a). Transmitter and Modulation
At the transmitter end, message signal is modulated with radio frequency carrier signal.
Depending on the application and communication requirements, suitable type
of modulation technique is used. Modulated high frequency signal is amplified and fed
to the antenna for transmission.
(b). Antenna
In radio wave communication system, antennas are used at both transmitter and
receiver end. At the transmitter end, output from the transmitter is fed into the antenna
which launches the radio waves into space. At the receiver end, antenna picks up as
much of the transmitter's power as possible. Size and construction of antenna depends
on the frequency that it deals with.
An antenna consists of an arrangement of metallic conductors. High frequency electric
current fed to these cause free electrons to vibrate at very high frequency resulting in
the electromagnetic radiation.

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 (c). Propagation
The behavior of radio waves when they are transmitted from one point to the other is
defined by propagation. Phenomenon such as reflection, refraction, diffraction,
absorption, polarization and scattering affect the propagation of radio waves along with,
presence of water vapor in the troposphere and ionization of the upper atmosphere.
Frequency of transmitted signal also influences the propagation of the radio wave.
Signals at different frequencies behave differently when transmitted.

(d). Receiver and demodulation

Received signal contains modulated wave along with high frequency noise content.
Since the received signal is very feeble the signals are amplified. Receiver
contains resonant circuit to select a particular frequency and discarding others.
Modulated wave thus received is fed to demodulator to obtain the message signal. The
message signal is then amplified to the required level.
Fiber optic communication is now the most preferred communication method in
telecommunication systems. Because of its advantages in many areas, it has already
replaced wired communication. A few main advantages are listed below.

• Less expensive
• Higher data handling capacity: optical fiber is thinner than copper wires therefore more
data can be transmitted within a given diameter.
• Less signal degradation: The Signal transmitted through the optical fiber is not much
degraded. So only less transmission power is required.
• No interference: light does not interfere with the neighboring signals and so the cables
can be closely packed.
• Lightweight
• Multiple data can be transmitted through a single fiber at the same time
• Speed of communication: optical communication is the fastest mode of
communication.
• Flexible

In this method, electric signal is first converted into optical signal and passed through
the optical fiber. The light signal reaches the receiver where it is converted back to
electrical signals. Light signal is send through a long, thin strand of very pure glass
about the diameter of a human hair. Many such strands are arranged in bundles and
covered with a jacket for protection.

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Total internal reflection
Total internal reflection is the basic principle used in optical fibers. From the source,
light enters the core of the optical fiber. When the light passes from a medium with
high refractive index (core) to another medium with a lower refractive index (cladding), it
bends or refracts away from the normal. As the angle of the beam through the core
becomes greater than a particular angle (critical angle) the incident light will get
reflected. This process happens throughout the optical cable therefore, light signal is
transmitted through it by multiple reflections.

Optical Fiber Communication

Construction of Fiber Optic Cable
An optical fiber essentially consists of three layers Core, Cladding and Buffer coating.
The rest of the layers are provided in order to increase the flexibility, strength and
protection from external stresses.

(a). Core
Core is a thin glass/silica at the center of the optical fiber through which light travels. A
Glass material with high refractive index is used for this purpose.
(b). Cladding
Core is surrounded by a medium, with lesser refractive index. Ray of light incident on
the core-cladding interface is reflected back into the core. Cladding ensures that no light
signal escapes from the optical fiber.

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(c). Buffer Coating
The entire structure is protected by a plastic coating. It is composed of multiple layers
and materials in order to protect from external shocks, moisture, surrounding materials
etc. The sheath ensures safe operating conditions to the fiber by providing the
necessary strength and flexibility.

Fiber-Optic System
Fiber optic communication system consists of transmitter, optical fiber, optical
regenerator and finally a receiver.

(a). Transmitter
Transmitter is the first stage of the optical fiber communication system. It consists of a
light source which converts electric signals into light signals and a focusing lens is used
to focus the light beam into the optical fiber. Both Lasers and LEDs can be used as a
light source. Lasers have more power than LEDs, but its characteristics vary with
changes in temperature.
(b). Optical fiber
Light signal from the transmitter is given into the optical fiber. Signal is propagated
through it by multiple internal reflections.
(c). Optical regenerator
When light passes through the optical fiber, the signal may get distorted due to the
presence of impurities in the core. Distance to which the light signal can propagate
through the fiber depends on the purity of the glass and the wavelength of the
transmitted light. Therefore, to improve the transmission distance, Optical regenerators
must be used at regular intervals. One or more optical regenerators are used to boost
the degraded light signals in the optical communication system. In certain systems, the
feeble optical signals are converted back into electrical signals and the optical data is
reconstructed as in the case of a transmitter.

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 Optical regenerators are also called laser amplifiers. They are optical fibers with a
special coating (doping). When degraded signal comes into the doped coating, the
energy from the laser allows the doped molecules to become lasers themselves. Thus
degraded light signal will get amplified and propagate further.
(d). Optical receiver
Optical receiver receives light signals which it converts back to electrical signals.
Receiver uses a photocell or photodiode to detect the light and convert it to
proportional electric signals.

Analog communication and Digital communication

The difference between analog communication and digital communication are:
• Noise immunity: In analog communication, the channel contains different types of
noises. It is difficult to eliminate the noise completely. These noises interfere with the
original signal which causes distortion. In digital communication, the noises are easily
removed and reconstructed the original signal. But it is difficult to remove the noise
from the signal in analog communication.
• Security: Digital communication provides better security than analog communication.
There are several coding techniques available for digital communication unlike analog
communication.
• Bandwidth: Digital communication bandwidth is efficiently utilized than analog
communication.
• Signal fidelity: This is better controlled through digital communication than analog
communication.
• Long distance transmission: It allows the regeneration of digital signal. In analog
communication, the noise is also amplified along with the signal in long distance
transmission.
• Cheaper: Digital communication systems are cheaper to implement than analog.
• Multiplexing: Several digital signals are multiplexed efficiently. It is easier to multiplex
speech, video and other digital data in digital communication system than analog
communication system.

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Block diagram of digital communication system

Digital source
The source may analog or digital. The analog information will be converted into digital
using sampling and quantization process.
Source encoder/ Source decoder
It converts the digital signal generated at the source output into another signal in digital
form. The symbol sequence is converted into binary sequence using the source
encoder. It removes the redundancy in transmitting information. It will reduce the
bandwidth requirement for transmitting information.
Source decoder performs inverse mapping. It reproduces the original digital source
output. It converts the binary output of channel decoder into symbol sequence.
Channel encoder/ Channel decoder
It map the incoming digital signal into channel input to reduce the effect of channel
noise. It provides reliable communication over noisy channel. In source encoding, the
redundancy is removed and in channel encoding, the redundancy is introduced in a
controlled manner. Error control is the main aim of channel coding. It adds some extra
bits to the output of source encoder. These bits do not convey any information. It helps
the receiver to detect and correct the errors occurred in the information. The channel
decoder performs error detection and correction.
Modulator/ Demodulator
For the transmission through communication channel, the modulator converts input bit
stream into electrical waveform. It minimizes the effect of channel noise, to match the
frequency spectrum of transmitted signal and channel characteristics.
The information bearing waveform produced by modulation is converted into bit stream
using detector or demodulator.

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 Channel
It provides the connection between source and destination. There are different
channels like coaxial cable, optical fiber, radio channel etc.

• Attenuation: - To overcome the resistance of medium the signal losses some energy.
• Noise: - The unwanted signal which is interfered with the original signal.

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)

It is a digital pulse modulation system. The analog signal is converted into digital signal.
It converts any analog signal into digital signal. This is mainly used in
telecommunication applications for the transmission of digital speech. The sampled
analog signal can represented digitally using pulse code modulation. The amplitude of
the analog signal is sampled at uniform levels. Each sample is quantized to the nearest
value. It is a digital scheme used for transmitting analog data. The signals in PCM has
two states such as logic 1(high) and logic 0(low). All forms of analog data such as
videos, music etc. can be digitalizing using PCM. It is the simplest form of wave coding.
The PCM encoder has three forms. They are

• Sampling
• Quantizing
• Encoding

Sampling
The analog signal amplitude is sampled at regular time intervals. The sampling rate is
greater than maximum frequency of the analog signal in cycle per second (Hertz). The
sampling frequency should be twice the highest frequency of the analog signal. The
signal will be restored at the destination using a low pass filter.

Quantization
It is the process of assigning discrete values to all samples. The number of possible
value depends on number of bits used to represent samples. The instantaneous
amplitude of analog signal is rounded off to up or down to the nearest level. It is called
quantization.

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Encoding
The sampled value is represented into binary numbers. The range is in between 0 to n.
The value of n is chosen as power of 2 depending upon the accuracy required. The
value of n increases will reduce the step size between adjacent quantization level and it
will reduced the quantization noise.

Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM)

In this difference between adjacent samples is encoded. The difference is taken

between original and predicted signal. It reduces the number of bits per sample used for
PCM.
At first, it iworks like PCM. At constant sampling frequency, the input is sampled and
modulated using a modulation technique such as PAM. The sampled signal is stored in
a predictor and it sends this signal to the differentiator. Predictor helps to compare the
current sampled signal with previous sampled signal. This signal difference is given to
the quantizing and coding phase of PCM. After that it is transmitted.
At the receiver, the difference signal is dequantized. The sample signal stored in
predictor is added with the dequantized signal. It is then pass through a low pass filter
which reconstructs the original signal.
Modulation techniques
Modulation is the process of varying the characteristics of carrier signal with the
modulating signal. In digital modulation, the message signal is converted from analog
into digital. In digital modulation techniques, the analog carrier signal is modulated by

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 discrete signal. The carrier wave is switched on and off to create pulses such that signal
is modulated. The most important digital modulation techniques are

• Amplitude Shift Keying'

• Phase Shift Keying
• Frequency Shift Keying

Amplitude Shift Keying

It is the form of AM (amplitude modulation). In this modulation the carrier wave

amplitude is varied according to the message signal which is in digital format. It is used
for low band requirements. It is sensitive to noise. Binary symbol 1 is represented by
transmitting a fixed amplitude carrier wave and fixed frequency for a bit duration of T
seconds. If the signal value is 1 then the carrier signal will be transmitted. Otherwise,
the signal value of 0 will be transmitted.

Phase Shift Keying

In this, the phase of the carrier signal is varied according to the message signal. It is
also called Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK). BPSK uses two opposite phase signals.
One is 0 degree and the other signal is 180 degrees. Determination of the state of each
bit is based to the state of the preceding bit. When the phase of the wave does not
change then the state of the signal will remain same. If the phase of the wave reverses,
that is when phase changes by 180 degrees, then signal state changes from 1 to 0 or 0
to 1.

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Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)
The frequency of the carrier signal is varied according to the message signal. It used a
pair of discrete frequencies such as logic 0 (low) and logic 1(high). The “1” is called the
Mark frequency and “0” is called the space frequency.

Analog Communication System

In analog communication, the information signal is a continuous signal in both
amplitude and time. But in digital communication, the information signal is converted
into discrete messages. Any signal can be converted into analog signal. The physical
variables such as sound, light etc can be converted into analog signal using a
transducer.

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 Advantages
• Low cost.
• It does not require complex multiplexing and timing equipments.
• It uses less bandwidth.
• All real world signals are analog signals. So it is easy to generate.
• The communication is easier.
• It is reliable because it is easy to fix the failure of individual components.

Disadvantages
• The noise interfere with the signal causes signal loss and distortion.
• For particular transmission, it requires hardware transmitters and receivers. For a new
system, to change the analog signal, the transmitter and receiver has to be changed.
• The devices are expensive.
• Transmission and reception is not easier.

Block diagram of communication system

Information signal
The information signal is transmitted from sender to receiver. The information signal is
converted into electrical signal using input transducer.
Input transducer
Transducer is a device used to convert one form of energy into another. The information
signal such as voice signal is converted into electrical form using transducer.
eg:- microphone converts sound signal into electrical form.
Transmitter
The information signal is modulated using a carrier signal and transmitted. Modulation
is the process of superimposing carrier signal with information signal.

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 Channel
Channel connects between the sender and receiver. Copper wires, fiber optic cable free
space are commonly used as channels. There are different types of noise present in the
channel. This noise will interfered with the transmitted signal which causes distortion.
Receiver
The noise is first removed and demodulated to produce the original signal.
Demodulation is the process of extracting the original signal from the modulated signal.
Output transducer
The output transducer converts the electrical signal back to the information
signal. Loudspeaker can convert the electrical signal into sound signal.

Modulation
Modulation is the process of changing characteristics of carrier signal according to the
modulating signal.
Need for modulation

• To reduce the antenna height.

The message signal has low frequency. As frequency decreases, the wavelength
increases.
Height = λ/4
So as wavelength increases, antenna height need to be increased. But it is practically
impossible.
To reduce the antenna height, the low frequency message signal is converted into high
frequency signal using any modulation technique. The information (message) cannot be
transmitted through communication channel. So the low frequency message signal is
modulated using high frequency carrier signal.

• To multiplex the various signals.

In one channel, several signals can be transmitted using multiplexing. Using modulation
various signals can be allotted to different frequencies. It avoids the interference of
signals.

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• To reduce noise and interference.

At some frequencies, the effect of noise will be high and low at some other frequencies.
If some frequency has high noise, then by using modulation technique the spectrum is
shifted to another frequency where noise is less.

• Narrow banding of signals.

Modulation converts wideband signal into narrowband signal.

Modulation techniques
If the carrier signal is continuous, then the modulation is known as continuous wave
modulation.
Amplitude modulation (AM)
It is a modulation technique used for transmitting information using carrier wave. In this
modulation technique, the amplitude of the carrier wave is varied according to the
information signal.

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Frequency Modulation
In this modulation technique, the frequency of the carrier signal is varied according to
the information signal.

Phase Modulation
In this modulation technique, the phase of the carrier wave is varied according to the
information signal.

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