Data and Computer

Communications
 Overview
 guided - wire / optical fibre
 unguided - wireless
 characteristics and quality determined by
medium and signal

in unguided media - bandwidth produced by
the antenna is more important

in guided media - medium is more important
 key concerns are data rate and distance
 Design Factors
 bandwidth

higher bandwidth gives higher data rate
 transmission impairments

eg. attenuation
 interference
 number of receivers in guided media

more receivers introduces more attenuation
Electromagnetic Spectrum
 Transmission Characteristics
of Guided Media
Frequency Typical Typical Repeater
Range Attenuatio Delay Spacing
Twisted pair 0 to 3.5 kHz n
0.2 dB/km 50 µs/km 2 km
(with @ 1 kHz
loading)
Twisted 0 to 1 MHz 0.7 dB/km 5 µs/km 2 km
pairs (multi- @ 1 kHz
pair cables)
Coaxial 0 to 500 7 dB/km @ 4 µs/km 1 to 9 km
cable MHz 10 MHz
Optical fiber 186 to 370 0.2 to 0.5 5 µs/km 40 km
THz dB/km
Twisted Pair
 Twisted Pair - Transmission
Characteristics
 analog

needs amplifiers every 5km to 6km
 digital

can use either analog or digital signals

needs a repeater every 2-3km
 limited distance
 limited bandwidth (1MHz)
 limited data rate (100MHz)
 susceptible to interference and noise
 Unshielded vs Shielded TP
 unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

ordinary telephone wire

cheapest

easiest to install

suffers from external EM interference
 shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

metal braid or sheathing that reduces interference

more expensive

harder to handle (thick, heavy)
 in a variety of categories - see EIA-568
 Near End Crosstalk
 coupling of signal from one pair to another
 occurs when transmit signal entering the
link couples back to receiving pair
 ie. near transmitted signal is picked up by
near receiving pair
Coaxial Cable
Coaxial Cable - Transmission
Characteristics
 superior frequency characteristics to TP
 performance limited by attenuation & noise
 analog signals

amplifiers every few km

closer if higher frequency

up to 500MHz
 digital signals

repeater every 1km

closer for higher data rates
Optical Fiber
 Optical Fiber - Benefits
 greater capacity

data rates of hundreds of Gbps
 smaller size & weight
 lower attenuation
 electromagnetic isolation
 greater repeater spacing

10s of km at least
 Optical Fiber - Transmission
Characteristics
 uses total internal reflection to transmit
light

effectively acts as wave guide for 10 14 to 1015
Hz
 can use several different light sources

Light Emitting Diode (LED)
• cheaper, wider operating temp range, lasts longer

Injection Laser Diode (ILD)
• more efficient, has greater data rate
 relation of wavelength, type & data rate
Optical Fiber Transmission
Modes
 Wireless Transmission
Frequencies
 2GHz to 40GHz

microwave

highly directional

point to point

satellite
 30MHz to 1GHz

omnidirectional

broadcast radio
 3 x 1011 to 2 x 1014

infrared

local
 Antennas
 electrical conductor used to radiate or collect
electromagnetic energy
 transmission antenna

radio frequency energy from transmitter

converted to electromagnetic energy by antenna

radiated into surrounding environment
 reception antenna

electromagnetic energy impinging on antenna

converted to radio frequency electrical energy

fed to receiver
 same antenna is often used for both purposes
 Radiation Pattern
 power radiated in all directions
 not same performance in all directions

as seen in a radiation pattern diagram
 an isotropic antenna is a (theoretical) point
in space

radiates in all directions equally

with a spherical radiation pattern
Parabolic Reflective Antenna
 Antenna Gain
 measure of directionality of antenna
 power output in particular direction verses
that produced by an isotropic antenna
 measured in decibels (dB)
 results in loss in power in another direction
 effective area relates to size and shape

related to gain
 Terrestrial Microwave
 used for long haul telecommunications
 and short point-to-point links
 requires fewer repeaters but line of sight
 use a parabolic dish to focus a narrow beam
onto a receiver antenna
 1-40GHz frequencies
 higher frequencies give higher data rates
 main source of loss is attenuation

distance, rainfall
 also interference
 Satellite Microwave
 satellite is relay station
 receives on one frequency, amplifies or repeats
signal and transmits on another frequency

eg. uplink 5.925-6.425 GHz & downlink 3.7-4.2 GHz
 typically requires geo-stationary orbit

height of 35,784km

spaced at least 3-4° apart
 typical uses

television

long distance telephone

private business networks

global positioning
Satellite Point to Point Link
Satellite Broadcast Link
 Broadcast Radio
 radio is 3kHz to 300GHz
 use broadcast radio, 30MHz - 1GHz, for:

FM radio

UHF and VHF television
 is omnidirectional
 still need line of sight
 suffers from multipath interference

reflections from land, water, other objects
 Infrared
 modulate noncoherent infrared light
 end line of sight (or reflection)
 are blocked by walls
 no licenses required
 typical uses

TV remote control

IRD port
Wireless Propagation
Ground Wave
Wireless Propagation
Sky Wave
Wireless Propagation
Line of Sight
 Refraction
 velocity of electromagnetic wave is a function of
density of material
~3 x 108 m/s in vacuum, less in anything else
 speed changes as move between media
 Index of refraction (refractive index) is

sin(incidence)/sin(refraction)

varies with wavelength
 have gradual bending if medium density varies

density of atmosphere decreases with height

results in bending towards earth of radio waves

hence optical and radio horizons differ
 Line of Sight Transmission
 Free space loss

loss of signal with distance
 Atmospheric Absorption

from water vapour(22 GHz-More attenuation, 15 GHz-
less) and oxygen absorption(60 GHz-more, 30 GHz-
less)
 Multipath

multiple interfering signals from reflections
 Refraction

bending signal away from receiver
Multipath Interference
 Summary
 looked at data transmission issues
 frequency, spectrum & bandwidth
 analog vs digital signals
 transmission impairments