UNGUIDED TRANSMISSION MEDIA
Unguided media is a type of transmission media. A transmission medium is a physical path
between the transmitter and the receiver. Unguided media transport electromagnetic
waves without using a physical conductor. It is also known as unbounded or wireless media,
and does not rely on physical pathways to transmit signals. Instead, they use wireless
communication methods to propagate signals through the air or free space.
Advantages of Unguided Media
• Flexibility
• Mobility
• Allowing devices to communicate without the need for physical connections.
• Susceptible to interference.
Unguided transmission is broadly classified into three categories:
1. Radio waves
2. Microwaves
3. Infrared rays
Types of Unguided Media
1. Radio Waves
Radio waves are electromagnetic signals used for various wireless
communication technologies, such as wi-fi, bluetooth and radio broadcasting.
Electromagnetic waves ranging in frequencies between 3 kHz and 1 GHz are normally called
radio waves. Radio waves are omni-directional. When an antenna transmits radio waves, they
are propagated in all directions. This means that the sending and receiving antennas do not
have to be aligned. A sending antenna sends waves that can be received by any receiving
antenna. The omnidirectional property has a disadvantage, too. The radio waves transmitted
by one antenna are susceptible to interference by another antenna that may send signals using
the same frequency or band.
An example of the radio wave is FM radio.
Applications Of Radio waves:
o A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is one sender and many receivers.
o An FM radio, television, cordless phones are examples of a radio wave.
Advantages Of Radio transmission:
o Radio transmission is mainly used for wide area networks and mobile cellular phones.
o Radio waves cover a large area, and they can penetrate the walls.
o Radio transmission provides a higher transmission rate.
2. Microwaves
Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz are called microwaves.
Microwaves are unidirectional. The sending and receiving antennas need to be aligned. The
unidirectional property has an obvious advantage. A pair of antennas can be aligned without
interfering with another pair of aligned antennas.
Microwaves are of two types:
o Terrestrial microwave
o Satellite microwave communication.
Terrestrial Microwave transmission
o Terrestrial Microwave transmission is a technology that transmits the focused beam of
a radio signal from one ground-based microwave transmission antenna to another.
o Microwaves are the electromagnetic waves having the frequency in the range from
1GHz to 1000 GHz.
o Microwaves are unidirectional as the sending and receiving antenna is to be aligned,
i.e., the waves sent by the sending antenna are narrowly focussed.
o In this case, antennas are mounted on the towers to send a beam to another antenna
which is km away.
o It works on the line of sight transmission, i.e., the antennas mounted on the towers are
the direct sight of each other.
Characteristics of Microwave:
o Frequency range: The frequency range of terrestrial microwave is from 4-6 GHz to
21-23 GHz.
o Bandwidth: It supports the bandwidth from 1 to 10 Mbps.
o Short distance: It is inexpensive for short distance.
o Long distance: It is expensive as it requires a higher tower for a longer distance.
o Attenuation: Attenuation means loss of signal. It is affected by environmental
conditions and antenna size.
Advantages Of Microwave:
o Microwave transmission is cheaper than using cables.
o It is free from land acquisition as it does not require any land for the installation of
cables.
o Microwave transmission provides an easy communication in terrains as the installation
of cable in terrain is quite a difficult task.
o Communication over oceans can be achieved by using microwave transmission.
Disadvantages of Microwave transmission:
o Eavesdropping: An eavesdropping creates insecure communication. Any malicious
user can catch the signal in the air by using its own antenna.
o Out of phase signal: A signal can be moved out of phase by using microwave
transmission.
o Susceptible to weather condition: A microwave transmission is susceptible to weather
condition. This means that any environmental change such as rain, wind can distort the
signal.
o Bandwidth limited: Allocation of bandwidth is limited in the case of microwave
transmission.
Satellite Microwave Communication
o A satellite is a physical object that revolves around the earth at a known height.
o Satellite communication is more reliable nowadays as it offers more flexibility than cable and
fibre optic systems.
o 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 station.
Advantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:
o The coverage area of a satellite microwave is more than the terrestrial microwave.
o The transmission cost of the satellite is independent of the distance from the centre of
the coverage area.
o Satellite communication is used in mobile and wireless communication applications.
o It is easy to install.
o It is used in a wide variety of applications such as weather forecasting, radio/TV signal
broadcasting, mobile communication, etc.
Disadvantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:
o Satellite designing and development requires more time and higher cost.
o The Satellite needs to be monitored and controlled on regular periods so that it remains
in orbit.
o 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.
3. Infrared rays
infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from 1 mm to
770 nm), can be used for short-range communication. Infrared waves, having high
frequencies, cannot penetrate walls. This advantageous characteristic prevents
interference between one system and another; a short range communication system in one
room cannot be affected by another system in the next room. When we use our infrared
remote control, we do not interfere with the use of the remote by our neighbours. Infrared
signals useless for long-range communication. In addition, we cannot use infrared waves
outside a building because the sun’s rays contain infrared waves that can interfere with
the communication. It is used in TV remotes, wireless mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.
Application of Infrared Signals
Below mentioned are the applications of Infrared Signals
• Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a closed area
using line-of-sight propagation.
• Infrared technology is widely used in security systems, including motion
detectors and infrared cameras.
• Infrared sensors are employed in various automotive applications, such as night
vision systems and collision avoidance systems.
• Infrared technology is found in many consumer electronic devices, including
remote controls for televisions, air conditioners, and other appliances.
