Chapter 6:

Bandwidth Utilization: Multiplexing and

Spectrum Spreading
Revision
Line Coding
 Line coding converts digital data to digital signals.
Line Coding Schemes
Find the 8-bit data stream for each case depicted in
Figure 4.36.
Find the 8-bit data stream for each case depicted in
Figure 4.36.

01110001
 We have a baseband channel with a 1-MHz bandwidth.
What is the data rate for this channel if we use each of
the following line coding schemes?

 a. NRZ-L

 b. Manchester
Solution
DIGITAL-TO-ANALOG CONVERSION
 Digital-to-analog conversion is the process of changing
one of the characteristics of an analog signal based on the
information in digital data.
Types of digital-to-analog conversion
 Calculate the baud rate for the given bit rate and type of

modulation.

 a. 2000 bps, FSK

 Calculate the baud rate for the given bit rate and type of

modulation.

 a. 2000 bps, FSK

 2000 baud
 Calculate the bit rate for the given baud rate and type of
modulation.

 b. 1000 baud, ASK

 Calculate the bit rate for the given baud rate and type of
modulation.

 b. 1000 baud, ASK

 1000 bps
 What is the number of bits per baud for the following
techniques?

 a. ASK with four different amplitudes

 b. FSK with eight different frequencies

 c. PSK with four different phases

 The value of r in analog transmission is
 r = log2 L, where L is the number of different signal
elements.

 a. ASK with four different amplitudes → 2 bits per baud

 b. FSK with eight different frequencies → 3 bits per baud

 c. PSK with four different phases → 2 bits per baud

 Agenda

 Multiplexing techniques:

 Frequency-division multiplexing

 Wavelength-division multiplexing

 Time-division multiplexing
Bandwidth
 Today’s technology includes high-bandwidth media such as
optical fiber and satellite microwaves.
 Each has a bandwidth far in excess of that needed for the
average transmission signal.
 If the bandwidth of a link is greater than the bandwidth
needs of the devices connected to it, the bandwidth is wasted.
 An efficient system maximizes the utilization of all resources;
bandwidth is one of the most precious resources we have in
data communications.
MULTIPLEXING
 Whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking two devices
is greater than the band width needs of the devices, the
link can be shared.
 Multiplexing is the set of techniques that allow the
simultaneous transmission of multiple signals across a
single data link.
MULTIPLEXING
 In a multiplexed system, n lines share the bandwidth of one
link.
 The lines on the left direct their transmission streams to a
multiplexer (MUX), which combines them into a single
stream (many-to one).
 At the receiving end, that stream is fed into a demultiplexer
(DEMUX), which separates the stream back into its
component transmissions (one-to-many) and directs them to
their corresponding lines.
 The word link refers to the physical path.
 The word channel refers to the portion of a link that carries a
transmission between a given pair of lines.
 One link can have many (n) channels.
Multiplexing techniques
 There are three basic multiplexing techniques:
frequency-division multiplexing, wavelength-division
multiplexing, and time-division multiplexing.
 The first two are techniques designed for analog signals,
the third, for digital signals
Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM)
 FDM is an analog technique that can be applied when the
bandwidth of a link (in hertz) is greater than the combined
bandwidths of the signals to be transmitted.
 In FDM, signals generated by each sending device
modulate different carrier frequencies.
 These modulated signals are then combined into a single
composite signal that can be transported by the link.
Frequency-Division Multiplexing
 Carrier frequencies are separated by sufficient bandwidth to
accommodate the modulated signal.

 These bandwidth ranges are the channels through which the

various signals travel.

 Channels can be separated by strips of unused bandwidth—

guard bands—to prevent signals from overlapping.

 In addition, carrier frequencies must not interfere with the

original data frequencies.
Frequency-Division Multiplexing
 We consider FDM to be an analog multiplexing
technique; however, this does not mean that FDM cannot
be used to combine sources sending digital signals.

 A digital signal can be converted to an analog signal

(with the techniques discussed in Chapter 5) before FDM
is used to multiplex them.
FDM Multiplexing Process
 Each source generates a signal of a similar frequency range.
 Inside the multiplexer, these similar signals modulates different
carrier frequencies (f1, f2, and f3).
 The resulting modulated signals are then combined into a
single composite signal that is sent out over a media link that
has enough bandwidth to accommodate it.
FDM Demultiplexing Process
 The de-multiplexer uses a series of filters to decompose
the multiplexed signal into its constituent component
signals.
 The individual signals are then passed to a demodulator
that separates them from their carriers and passes them to
the output lines.
Example
 Assume that a voice channel occupies a bandwidth of 4
kHz.

 We need to combine three voice channels into a link with

a bandwidth of 12 kHz, from 20 to 32 kHz.

 Show the configuration, using the frequency domain.

 Assume there are no guard bands.

Solution
Example
 Five channels, each with a 100-kHz bandwidth, are to be
multiplexed together.

 What is the minimum bandwidth of the link if there is a

need for a guard band of 10 kHz between the channels to
prevent interference?
Solution
 For five channels, we need at least four guard bands.

 This means that the required bandwidth is at least

 5 × 100 + 4 × 10 = 540 kHz

Example
 Four data channels (digital), each transmitting at 1
Mbps, use a satellite channel of 1 MHz.

 Design an appropriate configuration, using FDM.

Types of digital-to-analog conversion
Solution
 The satellite channel is analog.
 We divide it into four channels, each channel having a 250-
kHz bandwidth.
 Each digital channel of 1 Mbps is modulated such that each 4
bits is modulated to 1Hz (i.e. 4*250=1000 kbps).
 One solution is 16-QAM modulation. Figure shows one
possible configuration
Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM)
 WDM is designed to use the high-data-rate capability of
fiber-optic cable.
 The optical fiber data rate is higher than the data rate of
metallic transmission cable, but using a fiber-optic cable
for a single line wastes the available bandwidth.
 Multiplexing allows us to combine several lines into
one.
Wavelength-Division Multiplexing
 WDM is conceptually the same as FDM, except that the
multiplexing and demultiplexing involve optical signals
transmitted through fiber-optic channels.

 The idea is the same: We are combining different signals

of different frequencies.

 The difference is that the frequencies are very high.

Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
 TDM is a digital process that allows several connections
to share the high bandwidth of a link.

 Instead of sharing a portion of the bandwidth as in

FDM, time is shared.

 Each connection occupies a portion of time in the link.

Time Division Multiplexing
 TDM divides the time into fixed-size frames, with each
frame consisting of a fixed number of time slots.
 Each time slot can carry a portion of a separate signal.
 Signals are interleaved in the frames in a repeating
sequence.
 TDM is a digital technique and requires signals to be
converted to digital form before transmission.
 We can divide TDM into two different schemes:
synchronous and statistical.
Time Division Multiplexing
Synchronous TDM
 If we have n connections, a frame is divided into n time slots
and one slot is allocated for each unit, one for each input line.
 If the duration of the input unit is T, the duration of each slot is
T/n and the duration of each frame is T.
Example
 In Figure below, the data rate for each input connection is
1 kbps. If 1 bit at a time is multiplexed (a unit is 1 bit),

 what is the duration of

 1. each input slot,

 2. each output slot,

 3. each frame?
Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
1. The data rate of each input connection is 1 kbps. This
means that the bit duration is 1/1000 s or 1 ms. The
duration of the input time slot is 1 ms (same as bit duration).
2. The duration of each output time slot is one-third of the input
time slot. This means that the duration of the output time slot
is 1/3 ms.
3. Each frame carries three output time slots. So the duration of
a frame is 3 × 1/3 ms, or 1 ms. The duration of a frame is the
same as the duration of an input unit.
Example
 In Figure below, synchronous TDM with a data stream for each
input and one data stream for the output. The unit of data is 1
bit.
 Find
 (1) the input bit duration,
 (2) the output bit duration,
 (3) the output bit rate, and
 (4) the output frame rate.
Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
1. The input bit duration is the inverse of the bit rate: 1/1 Mbps
= 1 (microsecond) μs.
2. The output bit duration is one-fourth of the input bit duration,
or 1/4 μs.
3. The output bit rate is the inverse of the output bit duration,
or 1/4 μs, or 4 Mbps. This can also be deduced from the fact
that the output rate is 4 times as fast as any input rate; so
the output rate = 4 × 1 Mbps = 4 Mbps.
4. The frame rate is always the same as any input rate. So
the frame rate is 1,000,000 frames per second. Because we
are sending 4 bits in each frame, we can verify the result of
the previous question by multiplying the frame rate by the
number of bits per frame.
Example
 Four 1-kbps connections are multiplexed together. A unit
is 1 bit.

 Find

 (1) the duration of 1 bit before multiplexing,

 (2) the transmission rate of the link,

 (3) the duration of a time slot, and

 (4) the duration of a frame.

Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
1. The duration of 1 bit before multiplexing is 1/1 kbps, or
0.001 s (1 ms).
2. The rate of the link is 4 times the rate of a connection, or 4
kbps.
3. The duration of each time slot is one-fourth of the duration of
each bit before multiplexing, or 1/4 ms or 250 μs. Note that
we can also calculate this from the data rate of the link, 4
kbps. The bit duration is the inverse of the data rate, or 1/4
kbps or 250 μs.
4. The duration of a frame is always the same as the duration of
a unit before multiplexing, or 1 ms. We can also calculate this
in another way. Each frame in this case has four time slots. So
the duration of a frame is 4 times 250 μs, or 1 ms.
Interleaving
Example :
 Four channels are multiplexed using TDM. If each
channel sends 100 bytes/s and we multiplex 1 byte per
channel, show:
 A. the frame traveling on the link
 B. the size of the frame
 C. the duration of a frame
 D. the frame rate
 E. the bit rate for the link
Solution
 The multiplexer is shown in Figure 6.16.
 Each frame carries 1 byte from each channel; the size
of each frame, therefore, is 4 bytes, or 32 bits.
 Because each channel is sending 100 bytes/s and a frame
carries 1 byte from each channel, the frame rate must be
100 frames per second.
 The bit rate is 100 × 32, or 3200 bps.
Empty Slots
• If a source does not have data to send, the
corresponding slot in the output frame is empty.
Data Rate Management
 One problem with TDM is how to handle a disparity in the
input data rates.
 If data rates are not the same, three strategies, or a combination
of them, can be used.
 These three strategies to handle a disparity in the input data
rates
 Multilevel multiplexing,
 Multiple-slot allocation
 Pulse stuffing
Multilevel multiplexing:
 Technique used when the data rate of an input line is a
multiple of others.
 In Figure, we have two inputs of 20 kbps and three
inputs of 40 kbps.
 The first two input lines can multiplexed together to
provide a data rate equal to the last three.
 A second level of multiplexing can create an output of 160
kbps
Multiple-slot allocation
 It is more efficient to allocate more than one slot in a
frame to a single input line.
 For example, we might have an input line that has a data
rate that is a multiple of another input.
 In Figure , the input line with a 50-kbps data rate can be
given two slots in the output.
 We insert a serial-to-parallel converter in the line to
make two inputs out of one.
Pulse stuffing:
 Sometimes the bit rates of sources are not multiple
integers of each other.
 One solution is to make the highest input data rate the
dominant data rate and then add dummy bits to the input
lines with lower rates.
 This will increase their rates.
 This technique is called pulse stuffing, bit padding, or
bit stuffing. The idea is shown in Figure .
Exercises
True or False
 Multiplexing can only be used for analog signals.

 FDM is most commonly used in digital communication

systems.

 Guard bands in FDM help prevent interference between

channels.
True or False
 Multiplexing can only be used for analog signals.

 FDM is most commonly used in digital communication

systems.

 Guard bands in FDM help prevent interference between

channels.
 In Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), how is the
resource shared?
o A) By dividing bandwidth.
o B) By dividing time.
o C) By dividing wavelengths.
o D) By dividing power.
 Which technique involves adding dummy bits to
align input data rates in TDM?
o A) Multilevel multiplexing
o B) Pulse stuffing
o C) Guard band allocation
o D) Multiple-slot allocation
 What is the function of a demultiplexer in a
multiplexing system?
o A) To combine signals into a composite stream.
o B) To allocate bandwidth among signals.
o C) To separate a multiplexed signal into individual
streams.
o D) To amplify the signals for transmission.
Practical
Project Title: Multiplexer Simulator
 Objective:

 Simulate the working of a Time-Division Multiplexing

(TDM) system where multiple data streams from different
sources are combined into a single data stream and then
demultiplexed back to their respective channels.
Features:
1. Input:
 Allow users to input data streams for multiple channels (e.g.,
channel1: [1, 0, 1], channel2: [0, 1, 0]).
 Option to specify the number of channels and data units per
channel.
2. Multiplexing:
 Combine the input streams into a single data stream using the
TDM technique.
3. Demultiplexing:
 Split the combined data stream back into the original data
streams.