TYPES OF TRANSMISSION MEDIA

Transmission media is divided into two: Wired or Wireless

Wired Media is the most common and is further divided into
three different types of cabling: Coaxial, Twisted Pairs, and
Fiber Optic Cables

Wireless media, which is, in a sense, no media at all, is also

gaining popularity. Wireless transmissions use radio waves or
infrared light to transmit data.

TRANSMISSION MEDIA
 TYPES OF TRANSMISSION MEDIA

TRANSMISSION
MEDIA

Guided (Wired) Unguided (Wireless)

Fixed Omnidirectional
Copper Media Fiber Optics
Point-Point Point-Multipoint

Coaxial

Twisted Wire
 TRANSMISSION FREQUENCIES

Radio frequency waves often are used for data signaling.

Radio frequencies can be transmitted across electrical cables
or by using radio broadcast transmission.

Microwave transmissions can be used for tightly focused

transmissions between two points. Microwaves are used to
communicate between Earth stations and satellites

Infrared light can be transmitted across relatively short

distances and can be either beamed between two points or
broadcast from one point to many receivers.
Important features:

 Bandwidth
 Band Usage (Baseband or Broadband)
 Attenuation
 Immunity from electromagnetic interference
The term Bandwidth refers to the measure of the capacity of
a medium to transmit data.

Data transmission rates frequently are stated in terms of the

bits that can be transmitted per second.

The bandwidth that a cable can accommodate is determined

in part by the cable’s length. A short cable generally can
accommodate greater bandwidth than a long cable.
Band Usage is the allocation of the capacity of transmission
media and has two ways: baseband and broadband
transmissions.

Baseband is the most common mode of operation and

devotes the entire capacity of the medium to one
communication channel. Baseband signaling can be
accomplished with both analog and digital signals

Broadband enables two or more communication channels to

share the bandwidth of the communications medium.
Multiplexing

Multiplexing is a technique that enables broadband media to

support multiple data channels.

Multiplexing refers to combining multiple data channels for

transmission on a common medium. Demultiplexing refers to
recovering the original separate channels from a multiplexed
signal.

Multiplexing and demultiplexing are performed by a

multiplexor (also called a mux), which usually has both
capabilities.
Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM) works by converting
all data channels to analog form.

Time-division multiplexing (TDM) divides a channel into

time slots that are allocated to the data streams to be
transmitted.
Attenuation is a measure of how much a signal weakens as it
travels through a medium.

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) consists of outside

electromagnetic noise that distorts the signal in a medium.
EMI in the form of noise caused by nearby motors or lightning.
Some network media are more susceptible to EMI than
others.

Crosstalk is a special kind of interference caused by adjacent

wires. Crosstalk is a particularly significant problem because
large numbers of cables often are located close together with
minimal attention to exact placement.
Guided Transmission Media uses a cabling system that
guides the data signals along a specific path. Guided Media
is also known as Bounded Media, since the data signals are
a bounded system.

Cabling technology is not limited to copper wire only. Cables

can be any physical or conductive media like wires, coaxial
cables or fibre optics.
COAXIAL CABLE
 COAXIAL CABLE

Coaxial cables were the first cable types used in

communications technology. It consists of two conductors that
share a common axis

The components of a coaxial cable are as follows:

• Center conductor
• Outer conductor
• Insulation layer
• Plastic encasement/jacket

All coaxial cables have a characteristic measurement called

impedance, which is measured in ohms. Impedance is a
measure of the apparent resistance to an alternating current.
 COAXIAL CABLE

Types of Coaxial Cable

Thinnet is a light and flexible cabling medium that is

inexpensive and easy to install.

Thicknet is thicker and does not bend as readily as Thinnet,

Thicknet cable is harder to work with. A thicker center core,
however, means that Thicknet can carry more signals a longer
distance than Thinnet.
 COAXIAL CABLE

Coaxial Characteristics

Installation
Coaxial cable is reasonably easy to install because the cable
is strong and difficult to break. In addition, connectors can be
installed with inexpensive tools and a bit of practice. The
device-to-device cabling approach can be difficult to
reconfigure, however, when new devices cannot be installed
near an existing cabling path.

Cost
The coaxial cable used for Thinnet falls at the low end of the
cost spectrum, whereas Thicknet is among the more costly
options
 COAXIAL CABLE

Coaxial Characteristics

Bandwidth

Computes that employ coaxial cable typically have a

bandwidth between 2.5 Mbps and 10 Mbps. Thicker coaxial
cables offer higher bandwidth, and the potential bandwidth of
coaxial is much higher than 10 Mbps.

EMI Characteristics

All copper media are sensitive to EMI, although the shield in

coax makes the cable fairly resistant. Coaxial cables,
however, do radiate a portion of their signal, and electronic
eavesdropping equipment can detect this radiated signal.
TWISTED PAIR CABLE
 TWISTED PAIR CABLE

A basic twisted-pair cable consists of two strands of copper

wire twisted together. This twisting reduces the sensitivity of
the cable to EMI and also reduces the tendency of the cable
to radiate radio frequency noise that interferes with nearby
cables and electronic components. Twisted-pair cable is
inexpensive to install and offers the lowest cost per foot of any
cable type.

Two types of twisted-pair cable are used: shielded and

unshielded.
SHIELDED TWISTED PAIR CABLE
 SHIELDED TWISTED PAIR CABLE

Shielded twisted-pair cabling consists of one or more

twisted pairs of cables enclosed in a foil wrap and woven
copper shielding. Early designers used shielded twisted-pair
cable because the shield further reduces the tendency of the
cable to radiate EMI and thus reduces the cable’s sensitivity to
outside interference.
UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR CABLE
 UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR CABLE

The characteristics of the Unshielded Twisted Pair cables

(UTP) are similar in many ways to STP, differing primarily in
attenuation and EMI. Several twisted-pairs can be bundled
together in a single cable.

UTP cable is available in the following five grades, or

categories:
• Categories 1 and 2 - voice-grade cables are suitable only
for voice and for low data rates (below 4 Mbps)
• Category 3 - generally suited for data rates up to 10 Mbps
• Category 4 - consists of four twisted-pairs, is suitable for
data rates up to 16 Mbps.
• Category 5 - consists of four twisted-pairs, is suitable for
data rates up to 100 Mbps.
 UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR CABLE

UTP Characteristics

Installation

UTP cable is easy to install. Some specialized equipment

might be required, but the equipment is low in cost.
Category 5 cable has stricter installation requirements than
lower categories of UTP.

Cost
UTP cable is the less costly, although properly installed
Category 5 tends to be fairly expensive. Distance limits for
voice cabling are much less severe than for data-grade
cabling.
 UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR CABLE

UTP Characteristics

Capacity
The data rates possible with UTP have pushed up from 1
Mbps, past 4 and 16 Mbps, to the point where 100 Mbps data
rates are now common.

Attenuation
UTP cable shares similar attenuation characteristics with other
copper cables. UTP cable runs are limited to a few hundred
meters, with 100 meters as the most frequent limit.
 UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR CABLE

UTP Characteristics

EMI Characteristics
Because UTP cable lacks a shield, it is more sensitive to EMI
than coaxial or STP cables. UTP might not be suitable for
noisy environments such as factories. Crosstalk between
nearby unshielded pairs limits the maximum length of cable
runs
FIBER-OPTIC CABLE
 FIBER-OPTIC CABLE

Fiber-optic cable is the ideal cable for data transmission

because it accommodates extremely high bandwidths, has no
problems with EMI, supports durable cables and cable runs as
long as several kilometers. The two disadvantages of fiber-
optic, however, are cost and installation difficulty.

Optical fiber cables don’t transmit electrical signals. Instead,

the data signals must be converted into light signals.
 FIBER-OPTIC CABLE

The center conductor of a fiber-optic cable is a fiber that

consists of highly refined glass or plastic. The fiber is coated
with a cladding that reflects signals back into the fiber to
reduce signal loss. A plastic sheath protects the fiber.

A fiber-optic network cable consists of two strands separately

enclosed in plastic sheaths—one strand sends and the other
receives.

Two types of cable configurations are available: loose and

tight configurations.
 FIBER-OPTIC CABLE

Fiber-Optics Characteristics

Installation
Fiber-optic cable requires greater care because the cables
must be treated fairly gently during installation. Every cable
has a minimum bend radius, and fibers are damaged if the
cables are bent too sharply. It also is important not to stretch
the cable during installation.

Cost
Fiber-optic cable is the most expensive cable type to install.
 FIBER-OPTIC CABLE

Fiber-Optics Characteristics

Capacity

Fiber-optic cable can support high data rates (as high as

200,000 Mbps) even with long cable runs. Fiber-optic cables
can transmit 100 Mbps signals for several kilometers.

Attenuation
Attenuation in fiber-optic cables is much lower than in copper
cables. Fiber-optic cables are capable of carrying signals for
several kilometers.
 UNGUIDED MEDIA

Unguided Media or Wireless Communication consists of a

means (e.g. air, space) for the data signals to travel, where
there is nothing to guide them along a specific path, like in
wires. Unbounded media is electromagnetic waves in form of
radio, microwave, infrared or others.

Wireless communication is used where cables are difficult to

use or install.
 REASONS FOR WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
• Spaces where cabling would be impossible or
inconvenient.

• People who move around a lot within their work

environment.

• Temporary installations.

• People who travel outside of the work environment and

need instantaneous access to network resources.
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF WIRELESS TRANSMISSION

Classification by Propagation
• Fixed (Directional)
• Mobile (Omnidirectional)

Classification by Method
• Infrared
• Laser
• Narrow-band radio
• Spread-spectrum radio
• Microwaves
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF WIRELESS TRANSMISSION

Infrared technology allows computing devices to

communicate via short-range wireless signals using infrared
lights wherein they are typically are limited to within 100 feet.

Infrared devices are insensitive to radio-frequency

interference, but reception can be degraded by bright light.
 CLASSIFICATIONS OF WIRELESS TRANSMISSION

Microwave technology has applications in all three of the

wireless networking scenarios: LAN, extended LAN, and
mobile networking. Microwave communication can take two
forms: terrestrial (ground) links and satellite links. The
frequencies and technologies employed by these two forms
are similar, but as you’ll see, distinct differences exist between
them.
CLASSIFICATIONS OF WIRELESS TRANSMISSION