TRANSMISSION MEDIA

What is Telecommunication ?

Before going to Telecommunication……

What is communication???
COMMUNICATION in Technology and Life

Communication means “come and unite”

 Telecommunication
Telecommunication means
“communication at a distance”.

“the transmission of signals over long distance,

using transmission media such as cables , optical
fiber or radio”
 Medium of Telecommunication
The word medium is used to describe what is
transporting telecommunication signals. This is
termed as transmission media.
There are four basic types of medium:
(1) Twisted-pair
(2) Coaxial cable
(3) Fiber optics
(4) radio or wireless – Mobile, Microwave, Satellite
Classes of transmission media
Guided Media – Twisted-pair Cable

Twisted-pair cable
Twisted Pair
 Twisted pair
 One of the wires carries signal,
the other is used only as a
ground reference.
 The receiver uses the
difference b/w the two levels.
 Twisting increases the
probability that both wires are
effected by the noise in the
same manner, thus the
difference at the receiver
remains same.
 Therefore, number of twists
per unit length determines the
quality of the cable.
 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
 susceptible to interference and noise
Unshielded Versus Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable

UTP and STP cables

 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)
 CAT Cables
• Each new generation introduces copper pairs
with tighter twists and more complex
sheathing.
• While Cat5e cable features 1.5-2 twists per
cm, Cat6 cables are more tightly wound and
feature 2 or more twists per cm.
 Twisted Pair - Applications
 Most common medium
 Telephone network
 Within buildings
 For local area networks (LAN)
 Twisted Pair - Pros and Cons
 Cheap
 Easy to work with
 Low data rate
 Short range
Coaxial Cable
Guided Media – Coaxial Cable

Coaxial Cable
Coaxial Cable
 Coaxial cable
 Inner conductor is a
solid wire
 outer conductor
serves both as a
shield against noise
and a second
conductor
The coaxial structure is ideally suited to transport
microwave signal because of the confinement of the
propagating electric and magnetic fields (associated
with the microwave energy) within the enclosed
space between the inner conductor and the outer
shield.
Unlike other transmission line structure, the coaxial
structure does not allow any electromagnetic energy
to escape or radiate outside and also serves the
purpose of protecting the transmission line from
outside environment and interference from other
sources.
• The outer conductor or the shield is held at an
electrical ground potential to ensure that it
does not radiate any microwave energy.
• The propagation of microwave signal through
a coaxial cable assumes that the dimensions
of the inner conductor, the outer conductor
and the space in between are held uniform
along its length – to avoid reflections
 Coaxial Cable Applications
 Most versatile medium
 Television distribution
 Long distance telephone transmission
 Can carry 10,000 voice calls
simultaneously
 Short distance computer systems links
 Local area networks
Guided Media – Coaxial Cable
Categories of coaxial cables
Guided Media – Coaxial Cable
BNC Connectors
 BNC connectors
 BNC = Bayone-Neill-
Concelman
 BNC Connector is used to
connect the end of the
cable to a device
 BNC T is used in
networks to branch out a
cable for connection to a
computer or other device
 BNC Terminator is used
at the end of the cable to
prevent the reflection of
signal.
Guided Media – Optical Fiber Cable
Optical Fibre Geometry

1. Core
2. Cladding
3. Jacket
31
OPTICAL FIBRE COMMUNICATION
Guided Media – Fiber-Optic Cable

Optic Fiber
Identify the Antenna
Identify the Antenna
 SATELLITE SYSTEMS
• Used for oversea communication.
• Satellite is used as a Repeater in this communication.