Chapter 2

The Physical Layer

Objectives
• To study the theoretical Basis for Data Communication.

• Then we will cover three kinds of transmission media:

– Guided Transmission Media (copper wire and fiber optics),
– Wireless Transmission Media (terrestrial radio), and
– Communication Satellites.

• Examples of communication systems:

– The Public Switched Telephone Network (Stationary),
– The Mobile Telephone System (Mobile), and
– The Cable Television System (Stationary).
The Theoretical Basis for Data Communication

• Fourier analysis

• Bandwidth-limited signals

• Maximum data rate of a channel

 Fourier Analysis
• Any reasonably behaved periodic function, g(t) with period
T can be constructed as the sum of a (possibly infinite)
number of sines and cosines (Fourier Series):
 
1
g (t )  c   an sin(2 n f t )   b cos(2 n f t )
n (2.1)
2 n1 n1

• A data signal that has a finite duration (which all of them

do) can be handled by just imagining that it repeats the
entire pattern over and over.
• The an, bn, and cn amplitudes can be computed using:
T T T
2 2 2
an 
T 
0
g (t ) sin(2  n f t ) dt ; bn 
T 
0
g (t ) cos(2  n f t ) dt ; c 
T  g (t ) dt
0
 2.1.2 Bandwidth-Limited Signals
• Consider the transmission of the ASCII character ''b'‘
(01100010), Fig. 2-1(a).
• The Fourier analysis of this signal yields the coefficients:

an = (1/n)[ cos(n/4) – cos(3n/4) + cos(6n/4) – cos(7n/4) ]

bn = (1/n)[ - sin(n/4) + sin(3n/4) - sin(6n/4) + sin(7n/4) ]
c = 3/4

• The root-mean-square amplitudes, (a2 + b2)1/2 , for the first

few terms are shown on the right-hand side of Fig. 2-1(a).
The squares of these values are proportional to the energy
transmitted at the corresponding frequency.
 2.1.2 Bandwidth-Limited Signals (contd.)
• The range of frequencies transmitted without being
strongly attenuated is called the bandwidth.
• In practice, the cutoff is not really sharp, so often
the quoted bandwidth is from 0 to the frequency at
which half the power gets through.
• For example, a telephone wire may have a
bandwidth of 1 MHz for short distances, but
telephone companies add a filter restricting each
customer to about 3000 Hz.
• Figure 2-1(b) shows the signal that results from a
channel that allows only the first harmonic (the
fundamental, f) to pass through.
• Similarly, Fig. 2-1(c)-(e) show the spectra and
reconstructed functions for higher-bandwidth
channels.
 2.1.2 Bandwidth-Limited Signals (contd.)
• Given a bit rate of b bits/sec, the time required to send 8 bits (for
example) 1 bit at a time is 8/b sec, so the frequency of the first
harmonic is b/8 Hz.
• For an ordinary telephone line, this restriction means that the
number of the highest harmonic passed through is roughly 3000/
(b/8) or 24,000/b.
• For some data rates, the numbers work out as shown in Fig. 2-2.
• From these numbers, it is clear that trying to send at 9600 bps
over a voice-grade telephone line will transform Fig. 2-1(a) into
something looking like Fig. 2-1(c), making accurate reception of
the original binary bit stream tricky. It should be obvious that at
data rates much higher than 38.4 kbps, there is no hope at all for
binary signals, even if the transmission facility is completely
noiseless.
• In other words, limiting the bandwidth limits the data rate, even
for perfect channels. However, sophisticated coding schemes do
exist and can achieve higher data rates.
2.1.2 Bandwidth-Limited Signals (contd.)

Figure 2.2: Relation between data rate and harmonics.

 2.1.3 The Maximum Data Rate of a
Channel
• In 1924, Henry Nyquist (AT&T) derived an equation
expressing the maximum data rate for a finite
bandwidth noiseless channel.
• maximum data rate = 2 H log2(V) bits/sec
• where H is the bandwidth, V is the number of discrete levels.

• In 1948, Claude Shannon carried Nyquist‘s work

further and extended it to the case of a channel
subject to random noise.
• maximum data rate = H log2(1+S/N) bits/sec
• where H is the bandwidth, S/N is the signal-to-noise ratio.
Guided Transmission Data
• Magnetic Media

• Twisted Pair

• Coaxial Cable

• Fiber Optics
 2.2.1 Magnetic Media
• One of the most common ways to transport data from one
computer to another is to write them onto magnetic tape,
physically transport the tape to the destination machine, and
read them back in again.
• Bandwidth = (800 gigabytes/tape)*(1000 tapes/Box)/
(24*60*60) > 70 Gbps.
• No computer network can even approach this.
• The cost = 800 TB/5000 $ = 160 GB/$
• No network can beat that.
• The moral of the story is:
• Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of
tapes hurtling down the highway.
 2.2.2 Twisted Pair
• A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires,
typically about 1 mm thick. The wires are twisted together in
a helical form, just like a DNA molecule.
• The most common application of twisted pair is the
telephone system.
• Twisted pairs can run several kilometers without
amplification, but for longer distances, repeaters are needed.
• Twisted pairs can be used for transmitting either analog or
digital signals.
• The bandwidth depends on the thickness of the wire and the
distance traveled.
– Category 3, 5 (16MHz, 100MHz)
– Category 6,7 (250MHz, 600MHz)
2.2.2 Twisted Pair (contd.)

Figure 2.3: (a) Category 3 UTP. (b) Category 5 UTP.

 2.2.3 Coaxial Cable
• A coaxial cable consists of a stiff copper wire as the core,
surrounded by an insulating material.
• The insulator is encased by a cylindrical conductor, often as
a closely-woven braided mesh.
• The outer conductor is covered in a protective plastic sheath.
• Two types: 50- (digital), 75- (analog and digital)
• High bandwidth and excellent noise immunity
• Used for long-distance lines.
 2.2.4 Fiber Optics
• An optical transmission system has three key
components:
– the light source,
– the transmission medium, and
– the detector.

• Two types of fiber optics

– Multimode fiber. Many different rays
– Single-mode fiber. Single ray.
• Single-mode fibers are more expensive but are widely used for
longer distances.
• Currently available single-mode fibers can transmit data at 50
Gbps for 100 km without amplification.
 Transmission of Light through Fiber
• Three wavelength bands are used for optical communication.
• They are centered at 0.85, 1.30, and 1.55 microns, respectively.
• All three bands are 25,000 to 30,000 GHz wide.

Figure 2.6: Attenuation of light through fiber in the infrared region.

 Fiber Cables
• Figure 2-7(a) shows a side view of a single fiber. At the
center is the glass core through which the light propagates.
• In multimode fibers, the core is typically 50 microns in
diameter, about the thickness of a human hair.
• In single-mode fibers, the core is 8 to 10 microns.

(a) Side view of a single fiber. (b) End view of a sheath with three fibers.
 Fiber Cables
• Deployment
– Laid in the ground within a meter of the surface
– buried in trenches near the shore
– Lie on the bottom in deep water

• Connection
– Fiber sockets
– Spliced mechanically
– Fusion splice

• Detection
– Photodiode. The response time is 1ns, which limits
data rates to about 1Gbps.
Fiber Cables
• Light sources
– LED
– Semiconductor laser

Figure 2.8: A comparison of semiconductor diodes and LEDs as light sources.

 Fiber Optic Networks (contd.)
• Fiber optics can be used for LANs as well as for long-haul
transmission. A ring network is shown in Fig. 2-9.
• Two types of interfaces are used at each computer:
• The passive interface, and
• The active repeater.

Figure 2.9: A fiber optic ring with active repeaters.

 Fiber Optic Networks (contd.)
A ring topology is not the only way to build a LAN using fiber optics. It is also possible
to have hardware broadcasting by using the passive star construction of Fig. 2-10.

Figure 2.10: A passive star connection in a fiber optics network.

Comparison of Fiber Optics and Copper Wire

• Advantages
– Higher bandwidths and Low attenuation.
– Not affected by power surges, electromagnetic
interference, power failures, or corrosive chemicals.
– Thin and lightweight.
– do not leak light and quite difficult to tap.

• Disadvantages
– Less familiar technology.
– Fiber interfaces more expensive.

• Conclusion: For new routes (longer ones), fiber wins

2.3 Wireless Transmission
• The Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Radio Transmission
• Microwave Transmission
• Infrared and Millimeter Waves
• Lightwave Transmission
2.3.1 The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Figure 2.11: The electromagnetic spectrum and its uses for communication.
 2.3.1 The Electromagnetic Spectrum

• The wider the band, the higher the data rate.

f = c /2
• To prevent total chaos, there are national and
international agreements about who gets to use
which frequencies.
• Most transmissions use a narrow frequency band
(GSM).
• Some spread its frequency over a wide frequency
band (spread spectrum, (CDMA))
• FHSS (used in military, 802.11, Bluetooth)
• DSSS (2G, 3G mobile phones)
 2.3.2 Radio Transmission
• Radio waves are easy to generate, can travel long
distances, and can penetrate buildings easily, so they are
widely used for communication.
• Radio waves also are omnidirectional, meaning that they
travel in all directions from the source, so the transmitter
and receiver do not have to be carefully aligned physically.
• At low frequencies, radio waves pass through obstacles
well, but the power falls off sharply with distance from the
source, roughly as 1/r2 in air.
• At high frequencies, radio waves travel in straight lines and
bounce off obstacles. They are also absorbed by rain.
• At all frequencies, radio waves are subject to interference
from motors and other electrical equipment.
• Due to radio's ability to travel long distances, interference
between users is a problem. For this reason, all
governments tightly license the use of radio transmitters
2.3.2 Radio Transmission (contd.)

• In the VLF, LF, and MF bands, radio waves follow the

curvature of the earth as shown in Fig. 2-12(a).
• In the HF and VHF bands, radio waves are refracted by
the ionosphere as shown in Fig. 2-12(b).
 2.3.3 Microwave Transmission
• Above 100MHz, the waves travel in straight lines and can
therefore be narrowly focused.
• The higher the transmission towers are, the further apart they
can be. For 100-m high towers, repeaters can be spaced
80km apart.
• Microwave can cause multipath fading or be absorbed by rain
• Microwave communication is so widely used for long-distance
telephone communication, cellular telephones, television
distribution, and other uses, that a severe shortage of
spectrum has developed.
• Microwave has some advantages over fiber:
– no right of way problem,
– being inexpensive.
 The Politics of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Who gets to use which frequencies

– ITU-R
– FCC (Federal Communication Commission)
• Three algorithms for deciding which company or
other unit is allowed to which frequencies
– Beauty contest
– Holding a lottery among the interested companies
– Auctioning off the band width to the highest bidder

• The location of the ISM (Industrial, Scientific,

Medical) band varies from country to country.
The Politics of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Figure 2.13: The ISM bands in the United States.

 2.3.4 Infrared and Millimeter Waves

• Infrared and millimeter waves can not pass through

solid objects
• Infrared can be used for indoor wireless LANs,
remote controllers.
• Infrared can not be used outdoors for the sun
shines as brightly in the infrared as in the visible
spectrum.

• Advantages
– The infrared controller cannot control the TV of your
neighbor.
– More secure.
2.3.5 Lightwave Transmission
• LANs in two buildings can be connected via lasers
mounted on their rooftops as shown in Fig. 2-14..
• Advantages:
• Very high bandwidth and very low cost. It is also
relatively easy to install and, unlike microwave,
does not require a license.
• Disadvantages:
• Installation requires some skill.
• Laser beams cannot penetrate rain or thick fog.
• Heat from the sun during the daytime causes
convection currents to interfer with the laser beam
as shown in Fig. 2-14.
2.3.5 Lightwave Transmission (contd.)

Figure 2.14: Convection currents can interfere with laser communication

systems. A bidirectional system with two lasers is pictured here.
2.4 Communication Satellites
• Geostationary Satellites

• Medium-Earth Orbit Satellites

• Low-Earth Orbit Satellites

• Satellites versus Fiber

 2.4 Communication Satellites
• A communication satellite is a big microwave repeater in sky.
• It contains several transponders.
• The downward beams can be broad, or narrow.

• Issues determining the satellite orbit:

– The higher the satellite, the longer the period (T  r3/2)
• Near the surface of the earth, T  90 minutes.
• At an altitude of about 35,800 km, T = 24 hours.
– Presence of the Van Allen belts, layers of highly charged particles
trapped by the earth's magnetic field. Any satellite flying within them
would be destroyed.

• These factors lead to three regions in which satellites can be

placed safely. These regions and some of their properties are
illustrated in Fig. 2-15.
2.4 Communication Satellites (contd.)

Figure 2.15: Communication satellites and some of their properties,

including altitude above the earth, round-trip delay time and number of
satellites needed for global coverage.
 2.4.1 Geostationary Satellites
• Orbit slots:
– to avoid interference, GEO satellites should be placed 2
degrees or so in the 360 degree equatorial plane.
• Principal satellite bands:
C
L, S
Ku, Ka
 2.4.1 Geostationary Satellites
• Wide beam and spot beam:
– Wide beam: covers large area ( as large as 1/3
of the earth’s surface)
– Spot beam: covers small area (a few hundred km
in diameter)
• Satellites has many transponders.
– Every transponder can use
• FDM (the bandwidth is simply split up into fixed
frequency bands) or
• TDM (divided into time slots) techniques.
 VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminals)
• 1-meter or smaller antennas and about 1 watt of power.
• Uplink is 19.2 kbps, but the downlink is more often 512 kbps.
• A hub is needed to relay traffic between VSATs (Fig. 2-17).
• Longer delay in return for having cheaper end-user stations.
 2.4.1 Geostationary Satellites
• Discussion of properties
– Longer delay (270ms) (3s/km for terrestrial microwave,
5s/km for coaxial cable or fiber optic links)
– Inherently broadcast
• Good for broadcasting sports
• Security is an issue.

– The cost of transmitting a message is independent of the

distance traversed.
– Satellites also have excellent error rates.
– Satellites can be deployed almost instantly, a major
consideration for military communication.
 2.4.2 Medium-Earth Orbit Satellites
• The MEOs are at latitudes lower than the GEOs,
between the two Van Allen belts.
• They drift slowly in longitude, taking about 6 hours
to circle the earth. Accordingly, they must be
tracked as they move through the sky.
• They have a smaller footprint on the ground.
• Less powerful transmitters required to reach them.
• They are not used for telecommunications.
• The 24 GPS (Global Positioning System)
satellites orbiting at about 18,000 km are examples
of MEO satellites.
 2.4.3 Low-Earth Orbit Satellites
• LEOs are at altitudes lower than MEOs.
• Much smaller footprint on the ground
• Large numbers of them are needed for a complete
system.
• Requires far less powerful transmitters to reach
them
• The round-trip delay is only a few milliseconds
• Used for voice communication & Internet services.
 (LEO Satellites) Iridium
• In 1990 Motorola applied for permission to launch 77
low-orbit satellites for the Iridium project (7766)
• In 1997 Motorola and its partners launched the
Iridium satellites.
• In November 1998 Communication service began.

• In August 1999, Iridium was not profitable and was

forced into bankruptcy ($5 billion  $25million).
• In March 2001, the Iridium service was restarted.
(LEO Satellites) Iridium

Figure 2.18: (a) The Iridium satellites from six necklaces

around the earth. (b) 1628 moving cells cover the earth.
(LEO Satellites) Globalstar & Teledesic

• Globalstar
– 48 LEOs
– Relaying on the ground

• Teledesic
– Conceived in 1990 by mobile phone pioneer Craig
McCaw and Microsoft founder Bill gates
– Scheduled to go live in 2005 if all goes as planned.
– 30 LEOs
– Teledesic, is targeted at Internet users
Globalstar

Figure 2.19: (a) Relaying in space. (b) Relaying on the ground.

 2.4.4 Satellites versus Fiber
• High bandwidth: With satellites, it is practical for a
user to erect an antenna on the roof of the building
and completely bypass the telephone system to get
high bandwidth. Teledesic is based on this idea.
• Mobile communication
• Good for broadcasting
• For communication in places with hostile terrain or
a poorly developed terrestrial infrastructure
• No right of way problem
• Rapid development
Public Switched Telephone System
• Structure of the Telephone System

• The Politics of Telephones

• The Local Loop: Modems, ADSL & Wireless

• Trunks and Multiplexing

• Switching
 The Public Switched Telephone Network

• How to connect computers:

– For a small number of computers and a local area, LAN
can be used.
– For a large number of computers or a wide area, or
lacking right of way, LAN can not be used and we have to
rely upon the existing communication facilities such as
PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).
• The PSTN is suitable for transmitting the human
voice in a more or less recognizable form.
• The suitability for use in computer networking is
marginal at best although the situation is rapidly
changing with the introduction of fiber optics and
digital technology.
 The Public Switched Telephone Network

Figure 2.20:
a) Fully-interconnected network: (A.G.Bell 1876). It was up to
the customer to string a wire between a pair of phones.
b) Centralized switch: first switching office (1878).
c) Two-level hierarchy. Eventually, the hierarchy grew to five
levels.
 The Public Switched Telephone Network

• The basic Bell system model has remained

essentially intact for over 100 years (1890).
• Major Components of the Telephone System
– Local loops: Analog twisted pairs going to houses
and businesses (not open-loop).
– Trunks: Digital fiber optics connecting the
switching offices (used to be coaxial cables).
– Switching offices: to switch calls from one trunk to
another (manual operators + jumpers 
automatic switching computer).
 The Public Switched Telephone Network

• If a subscriber attached to a given end office calls another

subscriber attached to the same end office, the switching
mechanism within the office sets up a direct electrical
connection between the two local loops.
• The call between the subscribers attached to different end
offices via toll, primary, sectional, and regional offices.

Figure 2.21: A typical circuit route for a medium-distance call.

 The Politics of Telephones
• In 1984, AT&T was broken up into AT&T Long Lines, 23
BOCs (Bell Operating Companies).
• For increased competition and to fight monopoly:
• USA was divided up into 164 LATAs (Local Access and
Transport Areas). Very roughly, a LATA is about as big as
the area covered by one area code.
• Within a LATA, there was one LEC (Local Exchange
Carrier) that had a monopoly on traditional telephone
service within its area. The most important LECs were the
BOCs, although some LATAs contained one or more of the
1500 independent telephone companies operating as LECs.
• All inter-LATA traffic was handled by a different kind of
company, an IXC (IntereXchange Carrier). Originally, AT&T
Long Lines was the only serious IXC, but now WorldCom
and Sprint are competitors in the IXC business.
 The Politics of Telephones (contd.)

Fig 2.22: The relationship of LATAs, LECs, and IXCs. All the circles are LEC
switching offices. Each hexagon belongs to the IXC whose number is on it.
 The Local Loop
• A computer  PSTN A computer
– The data must be converted to analog form for
transmission over the local loop.
– Between switching centers, digital transmission is used.
– For ISP1, the digital data must be converted back to
analog form.
• Transmission lines suffer from three major problems
– Attenuation is the loss of the energy as the signal propagates .
– Delay distortion, because different Fourier components travel
at different speeds.
– Noise is unwanted energy from sources other than the
transmitter (thermal noise, crosstalk, impulse noise).
The Local Loop

Figure 2.23: The use of both analog and digital transmissions for a computer to
computer call. Conversion is done by the modems and codecs.
 Dialup Modems
• Attenuation and propagation speed are frequency dependent.
• Unfortunately, the square waves used in digital signals have a
wide frequency spectrum and thus are subject to strong
attenuation and delay distortion.
• These effects make baseband (DC) signaling unsuitable
except at slow speeds and over short distances.
• Digital modulation is accomplished with passband
transmission by modulating a carrier signal that sits in the
passband.
• A sine wave carrier (1000 to 2000 Hz), is introduced. Its
amplitude, frequency, or phase can be modulated to transmit
information.
• A modem (modulator-demodulator) is used.
 Dialup Modems

(a) A binary signal

(b) Amplitude
modulation

(c) Frequency
modulation

(d) Phase
modulation
 Dialup Modems
• To go to higher and higher speeds, it is not
possible to just keep increasing the sampling rate
(Nyquist theorem).
– Most modems sample 2400 times/sec and focus on
getting more bits per sample.
• The number of samples per second is measured in
baud.
– During each baud, one symbol is sent.
– Thus, an n-baud line transmits n symbols/sec.

• The modulation technique determines the number

of bits/symbol.
Dialup Modems
Constellation diagrams
(a) QPSK. (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying)
(b) QAM-16. (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation)
(c) QAM-64.
Dialup Modems

(a) (b)

Figure 2.26: (a) V.32 for 9600 bps. (b) V32 bis for 14,400 bps.
 Dialup Modems

V.34 for 28800 bps

V.90 for 33.6kbps upstream and 56kbps downstream

V.92 for 48 kbps upstream and 56kbps downstream

Dialup model  ISDN, ADSL, …

ADSL modems
• The data rate by various industries
– 56 kpbs reached by the telephone industry
– 10Mbps offered by the cable TV industry
– 50Mbps planned by the satellite companies

• Dial-up modem (56kbps)  xDSL (Digital

Subscriber Line)
– ADSL (Asymmetric DSL)

• For xDSL, the bandwidth is wider.

ADSL modems

Figure 2.27: Bandwidth versus distance over category 3 UTP for DSL.
ADSL modems
• Design goals for xDSL
– The services must work over the existing
category 3 twisted pair local loops.
– They must not affect customer’s existing
telephones and fax machines.
– They must be much faster than 56kbps.
– They should be always on, with just a monthly
charge but no per-minute charge.
ADSL modems

Figure 2.28: Operation of ADSL using discrete multitone modulation.

ADSL modems

Figure 2.29: A typical ADSL equipment configuration.

– NID (Network Interface Device)
– DSLAM: (DSL Access Multiplexor)
Wireless Local Loops

Architecture of an LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Service) system.

2.5.4 Trunks and Multiplexing
• Frequency Division Multiplexing

• Wavelength Division Multiplexing

• Time Division Multiplexing

• SONET/SDH
 2.5.4 Trunks and Multiplexing
• It costs essentially the same amount of money to
install and maintain a high-bandwidth trunk as a low-
bandwidth trunk between two switching offices.
• Consequently, telephone companies have developed
elaborate schemes for multiplexing many
conversations over a single trunk.
• These multiplexing schemes can be divided into two
basic categories:
– FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing) and
– TDM (Time Division Multiplexing).
• AM radio broadcasting is an example of FDM & TDM
Frequency Division Multiplexing

Figure 2.31: (a) The original bandwidths. (b) The bandwidths

raised in frequency. (c) The multiplexed channel.
Frequency Division Multiplexing (contd.)
• The FDM schemes used around the world are to some
degree standardized.
• A widespread standard is twelve 4000-Hz voice channels
multiplexed into the 60 to 108 kHz band.
• This unit is called a group. The 12-kHz to 60-kHz band is
sometimes used for another group.
• Many carriers offer a 48- to 56-kbps leased line service to
customers, based on the group.
• Five groups (60 voice channels) can be multiplexed to form
a supergroup.
• The next unit is the mastergroup, which is five
supergroups (CCITT standard) or ten supergroups (Bell
system).
• Other standards of up to 230,000 voice channels also exist.
Wavelength Division Multiplexing

Figure 2.32: Wavelength division multiplexing.

 Wavelength Division Multiplexing

• Date rates
– In 1990, 8 channels x 2.5Gbps per channel
– In 1998, 40 channels x 2.5Gbps per channel
– In 2001, 96 channels x 10 Gbps per channel
– The limit is 2500 channels x 10 Gbps per channel

• Optical amplifiers
– Previously, for every 100km, it was necessary to do opto-
electrical conversion and amplification.
– All optical amplifiers can regenerate the entire signal once
every 1000 km without the need for multiple opto-
electrical conversion.
 Time Division Multiplexing
• TDM can be handled entirely by digital electronics.
– Since the local loops produce analog signals, a conversion
is needed from analog to digital in the end office, where all
the individual local loops come together to be combined
onto outgoing trunks.
• The analog signals are digitized in the end office by a
device called a codec (coder-decoder), producing a
series of 8-bit numbers.
– The codec makes 8000 samples per second (125
µsec/sample).
– This technique is called PCM (Pulse Code Modulation).
– PCM forms the heart of the modern telephone system.
– As a consequence, virtually all time intervals within the
telephone system are multiples of 125 µsec.
Time Division Multiplexing (contd.)

Figure 2.33: The T1 carrier (1.544 Mbps).

 Time Division Multiplexing (contd.)
• Once the voice signal has been digitized, we use statistical
techniques to reduce the number of bits needed per channel.
• All compaction methods are based on the principle that the
signal changes relatively slowly compared to the sampling
frequency, so that much of the information in the 7- or 8-bit
digital level is redundant.
– differential pulse code modulation, consists of outputting not the
digitized amplitude, but the difference between the current value and
the previous one.
• A variation of this compaction method (called delta modulation)
requires each sampled value to differ from its predecessor by
either +1 or -1. Under these conditions, a single bit can be
transmitted, telling whether the new sample is above or below the
previous one (Fig. 2-34).
– An improvement to differential PCM (called predictive encoding) is to
extrapolate the previous few values to predict the next value and then
to encode the difference between the actual signal and the predicted
one. It reduces the size of the numbers to be encoded, hence the
number of bits to be sent.
Time Division Multiplexing (contd.)

Figure 2.34: Delta modulation.

 Time Division Multiplexing (contd.)
• TDM allows multiple T1 carriers to be multiplexed into higher-
order carriers. Figure 2-35 shows how this can be done.
• The extra bits are used for framing and recovery in case the
carrier slips.
• T1 and T3 are widely used by customers, whereas T2 and T4
are only used within the telephone system itself.

Figure 2.35: Multiplexing T1 streams into higher carriers.

 Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET)/
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)
• In the early days of fiber optics, every telephone company
had its own proprietary optical TDM system. After AT&T was
broken up in 1984, local telephone companies had to
connect to multiple long-distance carriers, all with different
optical TDM systems, so the need for standardization
became obvious. In 1985, Bellcore, the RBOCs research
arm, began working on a standard, called SONET
(Synchronous Optical NETwork). Later, CCITT joined the
effort, which resulted in a SONET standard and a set of
parallel CCITT recommendations (G.707, G.708, and
G.709) in 1989. The CCITT recommendations are called
SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) but differ from
SONET only in minor ways. Virtually all the long-distance
telephone traffic in the United States, and much of it
elsewhere, now uses trunks running SONET in the physical
layer.
• The SONET design had four major goals.
 Synchronous Optical NETwork (SONET)/
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)
• The SONET/SDH design had four major goals:
1) To make it possible for different carriers to
interwork. This requires defining a common
signaling standard with respect to wavelength,
timing, framing structure, and other issues.
2) To unify the U.S., European, and Japanese digital
systems, all of which were based on 64-kbps PCM
channels, but combined in different ways.
3) To provide a way to multiplex multiple digital
channels. T1, T2, T3, T4, etc…
4) To provide support for operations, administration,
and maintenance (OAM).
SONET/SDH (contd.)
• SONET/SDH transfer modes:
– Synchronous transfer mode: An early decision was to
make SONET a traditional TDM system, with the entire
bandwidth of the fiber devoted to one channel containing
time slots for the various subchannels. As such, SONET
is a synchronous system. It is controlled by a master
clock with an accuracy of about 1 part in 109. Bits on a
SONET line are sent out at extremely precise intervals,
controlled by the master clock.
– Asynchronous transfer mode: When cell switching
was later proposed to be the basis of ATM, the fact that
it permitted irregular cell arrivals got it labeled as
Asynchronous Transfer Mode to contrast it to the
synchronous operation of SONET.
• With SONET, the sender and receiver are tied to a
common clock; with ATM they are not.
SONET/SDH (contd.)
• The basic SONET frame is a block of 810 bytes put out
every 125 µsec.
– Since SONET is synchronous, frames are emitted whether or not
there are any useful data to send.
– Having 8000 frames/sec exactly matches the sampling rate of PCM
channels used in all digital telephony systems.
• The 810-byte SONET frames are best described as a
rectangle of bytes, 90 columns wide by 9 rows high.
– Thus, 8x810 = 6480 bits are transmitted 8000 times per second, for
a gross data rate of 51.84 Mbps.
– This is the basic SONET channel, called STS-1 (Synchronous
Transport Signal-1).
• All SONET trunks are a multiple of STS-1.
• The first three columns of each frame are reserved for
system management information, as illustrated in Fig. 2-36.
• The first three rows contain the section overhead; the next
six contain the line overhead.
SONET/SDH (contd.)
• The section (line) overhead is generated and checked at
the start and end of each section (line).
• The remaining 87 columns hold 87 x 9 x 8 x 8000 = 50.112
Mbps of user data.
• The SPE (Synchronous Payload Envelope), do not
always begin in row 1, column 4.
– A pointer to the first byte is contained in the first row of the line
overhead.
– The first column of the SPE is the path overhead (i.e., header for
the end-to-end path sublayer protocol).
• The ability to allow the SPE to begin anywhere within the
SONET frame and even to span two frames, as shown in
Fig. 2-36, gives added flexibility to the system.
– For example, if a payload arrives at the source while a dummy
SONET frame is being constructed, it can be inserted into the
current frame instead of being held until the start of the next one.
SONET/SDH (contd.)

Figure 2.36: Two back-to-back SONET frames.

SONET/SDH (contd.)

Figure 2.37: SONET and SDH multiplex rates.

Switching

Figure 2.38: (a) Circuit switching. (b) Packet switching.

 Switching

Figure 2.39:: (a) Circuit switching (b) Message switching (c) Packet switching
 Packet Switching (contd.)

Figure 2.40: A comparison of circuit switched and packet-switched networks.

The Mobile Telephone System
• First-Generation Mobile Phones:
– Analog Voice

• Second-Generation Mobile Phones:

– Digital Voice

• Third-Generation Mobile Phones:

– Digital Voice and Data
 The Mobile Telephone System
• In USA, 1G (success)  2G (fiasco)
• In Europe, 1G (fiasco)  2G (success)
• The reason
– Free competition or government interference
– Phone numbers
• Mobile phone numbers are the same as fixed phone
numbers
• Different for GSM
– Marketing decisions
• Prepaid mobile phones
 1G Mobile Phones: Analog Voice
• During the early decades of the 20th century,
mobile radiotelephones were used sporadically for
maritime and military communication
• In 1946, the first system car-based telephones was
setup. Push-to-talk systems (single frequency).
• In the 1960s, IMTS (Improved Mobile Telephone
System). Two frequencies.
– Due to the large power of the hilltop transmitter, adjacent
systems had to be several hundred kilometers apart to
avoid interference.
• In 1982, AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System)
by AT&T.
 Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS)

Figure 2-41. (a) Frequencies are not reused in adjacent cells.

(b) To add more users, smaller cells can be used.
 AMPS Structure & Channels
• The structure
– Mobile phones or cell phones
– Base station
– MSC (Mobile switching center) or MTSO (Mobile
Telephone Switching Office)
• The 832 channels are divided into four categories
(transmission channels from 824 to 849 MHz and
receiving channels from 869 to 894MHz):
– Control (base to mobile) to manage the system
– Paging (base to mobile) to alert users to calls for them
– Access (bidirectional) for call setup and channel
assignment
– Data (bidirectional) for voice, fax, or data.
 AMPS Structure & Channels
• Registering
– When a phone is switched on, it scans a
preprogrammed list of 21 control channels to find
the most powerful signal
– Then the phone broadcasts its 32-bit serial
number and 34-bit telephone number
– When the base station hears the announcement,
it tells the MSC, which records the existence of its
new customer and also informs the customer’s
home MSC of his current location.
– During normal operation, the mobile telephone
registers about once every 15 minutes.
 AMPS Structure & Channels
• How to make a call
– A mobile phone transmits the number to be
called and its own identity on the access
channel. If a collision occurs there, it tries again.
– When the base station gets the request, it
informs the MSC.
– The MSC looks for an idle channel for the call
and then send the found channel number back
on the control channel.
– The mobile phone then automatically switches on
to the selected voice channel and waits until the
called party picks up the phone.
 AMPS Structure & Channels
• How to handle incoming calls
– When a call is placed to a mobile phone (either from a
fixed phone or another mobile phone), a packet is sent to
the callee’s home MSC to find out where it is.
– Then a packet is sent to the base station in ins current
cell.
– The base station (on the paging channel): “Unit 14, are
you there?”
– The called phone : “Yes” on the access channel.
– Then the base station: “Unit 14, call for you on channel 3.”
– The called phone then switches to channel 3 and starts
making ringing sounds.
 2G Mobile Phones: Digital Voice
• D-AMPS: Digital Advanced Mobile Phone System
– US

• GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

– Europe, China

• CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access

– US, China
 D-AMPS
• D-AMPS
– Fully digital,
– To coexist with AMPS
– Two frequency bands: 850MHz and 1900MHz
bands
– Improved handoff (MAHO: Mobile Assisted
HandOff)
– Better encoding scheme than delta modulation
and predictive encoding. Done by a circuit called
vocoder inside a mobile phone.
D-AMPS

Figure 2-42. (a) A D-AMPS channel with three users.

(b) A D-AMPS channel with six users.
 GSM

Figure 2-43. GSM uses 124 frequency channels, each of which uses
an eight-slot TDM system.
 GSM—The Global System for Mobile
Communications (contd.)
• The TDM slots shown in Fig. 2-43 are part of a complex
framing hierarchy. Each TDM slot has a specific structure,
and groups of TDM slots form multiframes, also with a
specific structure. A simplified version of this hierarchy is
shown in Fig. 2-44. Here we can see that each TDM slot
consists of a 148-bit data frame that occupies the channel
for 577 µsec (including a 30-µsec guard time after each
slot). Each data frame starts and ends with three 0 bits, for
frame delineation purposes. It also contains two 57-bit
Information fields, each one having a control bit that
indicates whether the following Information field is for voice
or data. Between the Information fields is a 26-bit Sync
(training) field that is used by the receiver to synchronize to
the sender's frame boundaries.
GSM

Figure 2-44. A portion of the GSM framing structure.

 CDMA
• An analogy: an airport lounge with many
pairs of people conversing.
– TDM is comparable to all the people being in the
middle of the room but taking turns speaking.
– FDM is comparable to the people being in widely
separated clumps, each clump holding its own
conversation at the same time as, but still
independent of, the others.
– CDMA is comparable to every body being in the
middle of the room talking at once, but with each
pair in a different language.
 CDMA
• In CDMA, each bit time is subdivided into m short
intervals called chips.
• Each station has a chip sequence.
– To transmit a 1 bit, a station sends its chip sequence.
(00011011)
– To transmit a 0 bit , it sends the one’s complement of its
chip squence. (11100100)
• For pedagogical purpose, it’s more convenient to
use a bipolar notation with binary 0 being –1 and
binary 1 being +1.
• All chip sequences are pairwise orthogonal.
 CDMA

Fig. (a) Binary chip sequences for four stations. (b) Bipolar chip sequences.
(c) Six examples of transmissions. (d) Recovery of station C's signal.
3G Mobile Phones: Digital Voice and Data
• Basic services an IMT-2000 network should provide
– High-quality voice transmission
– Messaging (replace e-mail, fax, SMS, chat, etc.)
– Multimedia (music, videos, films, TV, etc.)
– Internet access (web surfing, w/multimedia.)
• W-CDMA (Wideband CDMA) (Ericsson)
• CDMA2000 (Qualcomm)
• Other variations
– 2.5G: EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution),
GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)
– 4G
– 802.11, 802.16
Cable Television
• Community Antenna Television

• Internet over Cable

• Spectrum Allocation

• Cable Modems
• ADSL versus Cable
 2.7 Cable Television
• An early cable television system consisted of:
– A big antenna on top of a hill to pluck the television
signal out of the air
– An amplifier, called the headend, to strengthen it,
– A coaxial cable to deliver it to people’s houses.
Internet over Cable
• Cable television (HFC, Hybrid Fiber Coax)
– Optical fibers, fiber nodes
Internet over Cable

Figure 2-47. (b) The fixed telephone system.

 Internet over Cable
• HFC and PSTN
– Local loop
• Cable shared by many houses
• Every house has its own private loop.

– Bandwidth
• The bandwidth of coax is much higher than that of
twisted pairs.

• The cable industry splits up long cables and

connect each directly to a fiber node.
Spectrum Allocation

Figure 2-48. Frequency allocation in a typical cable TV system

used for Internet access.
Cable Modems

Figure 2-49. Typical details of the upstream and

downstream channels in North America.
ADSL versus Cable
• Both use fiber in the backbone, but they
differ on the edge.
• Effective capacity.
• Cable is more unpredictable.
• Availability
• Security
• ADSL and cable are much more alike
than they are different.
 Tutorial on Chapter 2
Andrew S. Tanenbaum, ‘Computer Networks’, Fifth
Edition, Prentice Hall, 2011
2.4
2.6
2.9
2.20
2.22
2.26
2.29
2.33
2.39