Fall Semester
2024-2025
IT438
Communication Technology
Kamal Hamza, PhD Acknowledgement: This presentation contains
some figures and text from Data Communications
and Networks book by W. Stallings
Introduction
• Communication – Basic process of
exchanging information from one location
(source) to destination (receiving end).
• Refers to the process of sending, receiving
and processing of information/signal/input
from one point to another point.
IT438 Communication Technology 1
Communication Systems Components
• Any communication system consists of three basic blocks:
• Transmitter
• Receiver
• Communication Channel
Source Transmitter Channel Receiver Recipient
• A transmitter prepares the data (information) to be transmitted in the
appropriate format in order to be transmitted over the communication
channel.
IT438 Communication Technology 2
Communication System Components (cont.)
Transmitter
Receiver
IT438 Communication Technology 3
Communication System Components (cont.)
Information Source
• Generates the message(s) . Examples are voice, pictures, computer key board, etc..
• If the message is not electrical, a transducer is used to convert it into an electrical
signal.
• Source can be analog or digital.
IT438 Communication Technology 4
Communication System Components (cont.)
Source encoder/decoder
• The source encoder maps the signal produced by the source into a digital form.
• The mapping is done so as to remove redundancy in the output signal and also to represent
the original signal as efficiency as possible (using as few bits as possible).
• The mapping must be such that an inverse operation (source decoding) can be easily done.
• If the message is a voice signal, the source encoder would convert the analog voice signal
into a digital form (binary data) and compress it (e.g., MP3 compression for audio).
• Focus: Efficient representation of the message, removing unnecessary bits.
IT438 Communication Technology 5
Communication System Components (cont.)
Channel encoder/decoder
• Maps the input digital signal into another digital signal in such a way that the noise
will be minimized.
• When transmitting binary data, the channel encoder could add extra bits
(redundancy) that help detect and correct errors.
• Focus on Error detection and correction to ensure reliable transmission over noisy
channels.
Modulator
• Modulation provides for efficient transmission of the signal over channel.
• Most modulation schemes impress the information on either the amplitude, phase
or frequency of a sinusoid.
IT438 Communication Technology 6
Examples of Guided Comm. Channels
IT438 Communication Technology 7
8
Examples of Unguided Comm. Channels
IT438 Communication Technology 8
9
Why Different Types of Comm. Systems?
There are several factors that give rise to the need for different types of
communication systems:
• The nature of the communication channel (undersea communication requires
optical fiber cables)
• The nature of the application (mobile applications needs wireless systems)
• Required level of quality (performance and quality of the received signal)
• Cost
IT438 Communication Technology 9
Problems that Face Comm. Systems
• Any communication system can be subject to three main sources of
problems:
• Noise: undesired effect from the communication environment. Usually, it is
not under our control (your system has to deal with it).
• Interference: due to superposition of two or more signals. May result from
bad design of communication systems (interference of voice channels in
telephone systems, for example)
• Jamming: intentional interference that aims at destroying the quality of the
transmitted signal to prevent transmission.
IT438 Communication Technology 10
Problems that Face Comm. Systems (cont.)
IT438 Communication Technology 11
Problems that Face Comm. Systems (cont.)
IT438 Communication Technology 12
Data versus Signal
• Differentiate between two terms: data (information) and signal.
• Data (information): are generated by the application and need to be
transmitted to some receiver.
• Signal: is the representation of the data in the communication system.
• Data are generated from the source (application) and signals are generated
from the transmitter of the communication system we build.
• Speaking in a microphone: data (information) is what I say, whereas signal is
what moves inside the wire of the microphone (electricity).
IT438 Communication Technology 13
Types of Data and Signal
• Depending on the application nature, we have four possible combinations
of data and signals:
• Analog Data, Analog Signal: Traditional telephone system.
• Analog Data, Digital Signal: Voice over IP (VoIP), digital music streaming.
• Digital Data, Analog Signal: Modems (used in early internet connections), Optical networks.
• Digital Data, Digital Signal: Ethernet, Wi-Fi, modern computer networks.
• Since any communication system deals with signals, we first need to
understand the nature and types of signals.
IT438 Communication Technology 14
Signal Representation in the Time Domain
• Viewed as a function of time, an electromagnetic signal can be either
continuous or discrete.
• A continuous signal is one in which the signal intensity varies in a smooth fashion
over time.
IT438 Communication Technology 15
Signal Representation in the Time Domain (cont.)
• A discrete signal is one in which the signal intensity maintains a constant level for
some period of time and then changes to another constant level.
Discrete Signal
IT438 Communication Technology 16
Signal Representation in the Time Domain (cont.)
• Smoothly rises and falls, following a
Sine Wave continuous curve.
• used to represent analog signals in
communication systems.
• Quickly switches between high and low
Square Wave values, creating sharp, rectangular steps.
• used in digital systems to represent
binary data (0s and 1s).
IT438 Communication Technology 17
Signal Representation in the Time Domain
• A sine wave is a fundamental mathematical function that describes
a smooth, periodic oscillation. Key Features of a Sine Wave:
• Amplitude (A):
• This is the peak value (height) of the wave, representing the maximum displacement
of the wave from its central position. Higher amplitude means a stronger or louder.
• Frequency (f):
• Frequency refers to how many cycles (complete waves) occur per second, measured
in Hertz (Hz). A higher frequency means the wave oscillates faster.
IT438 Communication Technology 18
Signal Representation in the Time Domain
• Period (T):
• The period is the time it takes to complete one full cycle of the wave. It is the
inverse of frequency (T = 1/f). A shorter period means a higher frequency.
• Phase (φ):
• Phase refers to the horizontal shift of the wave. If two sine waves have different
phases, one wave may start at a different point in its cycle compared to the
other. Phase differences are crucial in signal modulation and communication.
IT438 Communication Technology 19
Signal Representation in the Time Domain (cont.)
Sine Wave
Amplitude, Frequency, Phase
IT438 Communication Technology 20
Signal Representation in the Time Domain (cont.)
Sine Wave (cont.)
IT438 Communication Technology 21
