In this project data transmission system is covered in many aspects, The

transmission medium is the physical path between transmitter and receiver. For
guided media, electromagnetic waves are guided along a solid medium, such as
copper twisted pair, copper coaxial cable, and optical fiber. For unguided media,
wireless transmission occurs through the atmosphere, outer space, or water.
The characteristics and quality of a data transmission are determined both by the
characteristics of the medium and the characteristics of the signal. In the case of
guided media, the medium itself is more important in determining the limitations
of transmission.
For unguided media, the bandwidth of the signal produced by the transmitting
antenna is more important than the medium in determining transmission
characteristics. One key property of signals transmitted by antenna is
directionality.
In general, signals at lower frequencies are omnidirectional; that is, the signal
propagates in all directions from the antenna. At higher frequencies, it is possible
to focus the signal into a directional beam.
In considering the design of data transmission systems, key concerns are data rate
and distance: the greater the data rate and distance the better. A number of design
factors relating to the transmission medium and the signal determine the data rate
and distance:

Concept of the topic

Transmission media is a material
substance (solid, liquid, gas, or
plasma) that can propagate energy
waves.

For

example,

the

transmission medium for sounds

is

usually air, but solids and liquids

may also act as transmission media for sound.

In a data transmission system, the transmission medium is the physical path
between transmitter and receiver. Recall from Chapter 3 that for guided media,
electromagnetic waves are guided along a solid medium, such as copper twisted
pair, copper coaxial cable, and optical fiber. For unguided media, wireless
transmission occurs through the atmosphere, outer space, or water. The
characteristics and quality of a data transmission are determined both by the
characteristics of the medium and the characteristics of the signal. In the case of
guided media, the medium itself is more important in determining the limitations
of transmission. For unguided media, the bandwidth of the signal produced by the
transmitting antenna is more important than the medium in determining
transmission characteristics. One key property of signals transmitted by antenna is
directionality. In general, signals at lower frequencies are omnidirectional; that is,
the signal propagates in all directions from the antenna. At higher frequencies, it
is possible to focus the signal into a directional beam. In considering the design of
data transmission systems, key concerns are data rate and distance.

Company Profile

Over the past three decades, HFCL has delivered innovative, customized
and competitive products and latest solutions in the high technology
telecommunications infrastructure sector, thereby enabling its customers
to stay ahead of their peers in technology and network efficiency. The
Companys activities cover the entire value chain from the manufacturing
of leading edge telecommunication products to implementation of
telecommunication networks.
The

Company

specializes

in

manufacturing

of telecommunication

equipment, optical fiber cables and intelligent power systems. As a

telecommunication solutions provider, the Company has implemented
several Greenfield projects, including the setting up of CDMA & GSM
networks, satellite communications, wireless spectrum management and
DWDM optical transmission network.
HFCL has implemented over 25,000 2G /3G cell sites and rolled out over
100,000 kilometres of optical fiber cable networks for telecommunication
companies, railways, oil & gas industry and high security applications as
required by the Defence and internal security establishments. It has a
country-wide presence with over 1,200 employees on rolls.

TOPIC DESCRIPTION

What is transmission media?

Transmission media is the material pathway that connects computers,

different kinds of devices and people on a network. It can be compared
to a superhighway carrying lots of information. Transmission media uses
cables or electromagnetic signals to transmit data.
There are two types of transmission media used in communications.
bound transmission media or guided media
unbounded media or unguided media
Types of transmission media

Transmission
media

Guided
media

Twisted Pair
Cable

Coaxial
Cable

Guided or bounded transmission media

Unguided
media

Optical Fiber
Cable

Radio
transmission

Microwave
transmission

Infrared
transmission

A. Guided Media :
Un-shielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Shielded Twisted Pair
Coaxial Cable
Optical Fiber
1. Un-shield Twisted pair [UTP] : unshielded UTP cables reduce some EMI.It is easy to install.It is available in very
cheap rate then unshield cable
2. Shield twisted pair cable : Shielded cabling is more expensive than unshielded cabling and more difficult to install.
The cable also has a larger diameter

CHARACTERISTICS OF UTP
low cost

easy to install
High speed capacity
High attenuation
Effective to EMI
100 meter limit

Advantages of UTP
Easy installation
Capable of high speed for LAN

Fig; of Shield & Un-Shield twisted pair cable :

Coaxial cable : Coaxial cable is the kind of copper cable used by Cable TV

companies between the community antenna and user homes and businesses. A coaxial
cable, sometimes called a coax cable, provides an interference-free transmission path
for high-frequency electrical signals. Coaxial cable is sometimes used by telephone
companies from their central office to the telephone poles near users. It is also widely
installed for use in business and corporation Ethernet and other types of Local area

Network.

Coaxial cable was invented and patented in 1880 by English engineer and
mathematician Table of Common coaxial cable types and uses.

Cable
type

Oh
m

Use

RG-6

75

Video Tv

RG-8

50

Radio Computer

RG-11

75

Long runs

RG-58

50

Radio computer

RG-59

75

Video TV

The three most commonly used coaxial cable types for video applications

are RG59/U, RG6/U and RG11/U. RG59/U is available with either solid copper
or copper-clad-steel centre conductor. It's suitable for basic analog TV antenna
feeds in residential applications and for basic CCTV systems over short cable
runs. The copper-clad-steel type has high tensile strength and should be used
when terminating the cable with F-Type connectors.

latest Australian Standard for digital TV antenna cabling and for all

RG6/U Quad shield is the minimum requirement under the

TV antenna cabling for apartments/units (MATV). It is also used for the

distribution of Cable TV (CATV) and Satellite TV (SATV) in residential or

commercial premises. It features a copper-clad-steel inner conductor. Singleshield, dual shield and tri-shield versions of RG6/U are available but do not
provide adequate EMI shielding.

COAXIAL CONNECTORS

 ADVANTAGES

Sufficient frequency range to support multiple channel, which allows

for much greater throughput.

Lower error rates. because the inner conductor is in a Faraday shield,

noise immunity is improved, and coax has a lower error rates and therefore
slightly better performance than twisted pair.

Greater spacing between amplifiers coax's cable shielding reduces noise

and crosstalk, which means amplifiers can be spaced farther apart than with
twisted pair.

Disadvantages

More expensive to install compare to twisted pair cable.

The thicker the cable, the more difficult to work with.

Fiber optic cable

A fiber optic cable is a network cable that contains strands of glass

fibers inside an insulated casing. These cables are designed for long distance,
very high performance data networking and telecommunications. They support
much of the world's Internet, cable television and telephone systems.

Fiber cables consist of one or more strands of

glass, each thinner than a human hair. The center of each strand called

the "core" provides the pathway for light to travel, which is surrounded by a
layer of glass called "cladding" that reflects light inward to avoid loss of signal
and allow the light to pass through bends in the cable.

The two primary types of fiber cables are

called single mode and multi mode fiber. Single mode fiber uses very

thin glass strands and a laser to generate light while multi mode fibers use
LEDs.

FIG of fiber optic cable :

Advantages of Fiber Optic Cables

Fiber cables offer several advantages over traditional longdistance copper

cabling including:
higher capacity - the amount of network bandwidth a fiber cable can carry easily exceeds
that of a copper cable with similar thickness. Fiber cables rated at 10 Gbps, 40 Gbps and
even 100 Gbps are standard.
longer reach - light can travel much longer distances down a fiber cable without losing its
strength, lessening the need for signal boosters.
less susceptible to interference - A traditional network cable requires special shielding to
protect it from electromegnetic interference While this shielding helps, it is not
sufficient to prevent interference when many cables are strung together in close proximity
to each other. The physical properties of glass and fiber cables avoid most of these issues.

B. Unguided Media:

Unguided Media: Transmission media then looking at analysis of using them unguided
transmission media is data signals that flow through the air. They are not guided or bound to a
channel to follow. Following are unguided media used for data communication:

Radio Transmission
Microwave
Infrared wave

Types of Un-guided media :


A. Radio wave Transmission

Its frequency is between 10 kHz to 1GHz. It is simple to install and has high
attenuation. These waves are used for multicast communications.

 B. Microwave Transmission
It travels at high frequency than the radio waves. It requires the sender to be inside of the
receiver. It operates in a system with a low gigahertz range. It is mostly used for unicast
communication.
There are 2 types of Microwave Transmission :
Terrestrial Microwave
Satellite Microwave
Advantages of Microwave Transmission
Used for long distance telephone communication
Carries 1000s of voice channels at the same time
Disadvantages of Microwave Transmission
It is Very costly
C. Infrared waves :
The electromagnetic spectrum contains many types of waves, one of which is
infrared waves. Other electromagnetic waves include gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet,
visible light, microwaves, and radio.

TRANSMISSION MODES

Transmission mode means transferring of data between two devices. It is also called
communication mode. These modes direct the direction of flow of information. There are three types
of transmission mode. They are :
1.

 Simplex Mode

Half duplex
Full duplex

Simplex Mode :

 In this type of transmission mode data can be sent only through one direction i.e.
communication is unidirectional. We cannot send a message back to the sender.
Unidirectional communication is done in Simplex Systems.
Examples of simplex Mode is loudspeaker, television broadcasting, television and remote,
keyboard and monitor etc.

HALF DUPLEX MODE

In half duplex system we can send data in both directions but it is done one at a time
that is when the sender is sending the data then at that time we cant send the sender
our message. The data is sent in one direction.
Example of half duplex is a walkie- talkie in which message is sent one at a time and
messages are sent in both the directions.

FULL DUPLEX MODE

In full duplex system we can send data in both directions as it is bidirectional. Data can
be sent in both directions simultaneously. We can send as well as we receive the data.
Example of Full Duplex is a Telephone Network in which there is communication
between two persons by a telephone line, through which both can talk and listen at the
same time.

Drawbacks

1. Cost-The cost of optical fiber is a trade-off between capacity and cost. At higher
transmission capacity, it is cheaper than copper. At lower transmission capacity, it is

more expensive. As this transmission medium becomes more popular and in demand,
economies of scale will decrease the cost of installation and profits will increase.
2. Installation/Maintenance-It is difficult to splice. Special equipment and expertise are
required to splice and install the cables.
3. Fragility-It has limited physical arc of cable, if it is bent too much it will break. Physical
vibration will show up as signal noise.

Disadvantages of UTP

4. Short distance due to attenuation Characteristics of STP

5. Medium cost Easy to install
6. Higher capacity than UTP
7. Higher attenuation, but same as UTP

8. Medium immunity from EMI

9. 100 meter limit Advantages of STP:
10. Shielded
11. Faster than UTP and coaxial Disadvantages of STP:
12. More expensive than UTP and coaxial
13. More difficult installation
14. High attenuation rate

Dull duplex system there can be two lines one for sending the data and the

other for receiving data

Role of Transmission Media

The process of transferring data from one location to another is
called Data Communication. In this process, data is transmitted from one
location to another by using transmission media.

The path through which data is transmitted (or sent) from one location to
another is called transmission medium. It is also called communication
channel. It may be a wire, or fiber optic cable, or telephone line etc. If the
sender and receiver are within a building, a wire is used as the medium. If
they are located at different locations, the medium may be telephone line,
fiber

optics,

microwave

or

satellite

system.

Components of Communication
The basics components or elements of data communication system are as
follows:
1.

Message

2.

Sender

3.

Receiver

4.

Medium or Communication Channel

5.

Encoder and Decoder

1- Message : The message is the information or data that is to be

communicated. It may consist of text, numbers, pictures, sounds, videos or
any

combination

of

these.

2- Sender: A device that is used for sending messages (or data) is

called sender. It is also called transmitter or source. The sender can be a
computer, telephone, or a video camera etc. Usually, a computer is used as
sender

in

data

communication

system.

3- Receiver : A device that is used for receiving messages is

called receiver. It is also known as sink. The receiver can be a computer,
telephone set, printer, or a fax machine etc. Usually, a computer is also
used as receiver in data communication system.

4- Encoder and Decoder

 In communication systems, computers are used for senders and receivers.

A computer works with digital signals. The communication channels
usually use analog signals. The encoder and decoder are used in
communication systems to convert signals from one from to another.

ROLE

Transmission media are the physical pathways that connect computers,

other devices, and people on a networkthe highways and byways that
comprise the information superhighway. Each transmission medium
requires specialized network hardware that has to be compatible with that
medium. You have probably heard terms such as Layer 1, Layer 2, and so
on. These refer to the OSI reference model, which defines network
hardware and services in terms of the functions they perform. (The OSI
reference model is discussed in detail in Chapter 5, "Data Communications
Basics.") Transmission media operate at Layer 1 of the OSI model: They
encompass the physical entity and describe the types of highways on
which voice and data can travel.
It would be convenient to construct a network of only one medium. But
that is impractical for anything but an extremely small network. In general,
networks use combinations of media types. There are three main categories
of media types:

Copper cableTypes of cable include unshielded twisted-pair (UTP),

shielded twisted-pair (STP), and coaxial cable. Copper-based cables are
inexpensive and easy to work with compared to fiber-optic cables, but as
you'll learn when we get into the specifics, a major disadvantage of cable is
that it offers a rather limited spectrum that cannot handle the advanced
applications of the future, such as teleimmersion and virtual reality.

WirelessWireless media include radio frequencies, microwave, satellite,

and infrared. Deployment of wireless media is faster and less costly than

deployment of cable, particularly where there is little or no existing

infrastructure (e.g., Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, eastern and central
Europe). Wireless is also useful where environmental circumstances make it
impossible or cost-prohibitive to use cable (e.g., in the Amazon, in the Empty
Quarter in Saudi Arabia, on oil rigs).

There are a few disadvantages associated with wireless, however.

Historically, wireless solutions support much lower data rates than do wired
solutions, although with new developments in wireless broadband, that is
becoming less of an issue (see Part IV, "Wireless Communications").
Wireless is also greatly affected by external impairments, such as the impact
of adverse weather, so reliability can be difficult to guarantee. However, new
developments in laser-based communicationssuch as virtual fibercan
improve this situation. (Virtual fiber is discussed in Chapter 15, "WMANs,
WLANs, and WPANs.") Of course, one of the biggest concerns with wireless
is security: Data must be secured in order to ensure privacy.

Fiber opticsFiber offers enormous bandwidth, immunity to many types

of interference and noise, and improved security. Therefore, fiber provides
very clear communications and a relatively noise-free environment. The
downside of fiber is that it is costly to purchase and deploy because it
requires specialized equipment and techniques

Future Prospects

The fiber optics communications industry is an ever evolving one, the

growth experienced by the industry has been enormous this past decade.
There is still much work to be done to support the need for faster data
rates, advanced switching techniques and more intelligent network
architectures that can automatically change dynamically in response to
traffic patterns and at the same time be cost efficient. The trend is expected
to continue in the future as breakthroughs already attained in the laboratory
will be extended to practical deployment thereby leading to a new
generation in fiber optics communications.

Despite the associated benefits of utilizing optical fiber for communication

(such as its high reliability over long distances, low attenuation, low
interference, high security, very high information capacity, longer life span

and ease of maintenance), research is still ongoing to further improve on

the present fiber optics communication system, and also to solve some of
the challenges facing it. Future optical communication systems are
envisioned to be more robust than the present system
The major driving force behind the widespread use of fiber optics
communication is the high and rapidly increasing consumer and
commercial demand for more telecommunication capacity and internet
services, with fiber optic technology capable of providing the required
information capacity (larger than both wireless connections and copper
cable). Advances in technology have enabled more data to be conveyed
through a single optical fiber over long distances. The transmission
capacity in optical communication networks are significantly improved
using wavelength division multiplexing
Fiber optic communication is a communication technology that uses light
pulses to transfer information from one point to another through an optical
fiber. The information transmitted is essentially digital information
generated by telephone systems, cable television companies, and computer
systems. An optical fiber is a dielectric cylindrical waveguide made from
low-loss materials, usually silicon dioxide. The core of the waveguide has
a refractive index a little higher than that of the outer medium (cladding),
so that light pulses is guided along the axis of the fiber by total internal
reflection

The fourth generation of fiber optic systems made use of optical amplifiers
as a replacement for repeaters, and utilized wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM)

All types of information that can be sent from one place to another can be
represented by electromagnetic signals and transmitted over a suitable
transmission medium. Depending on the transmission medium and the

communications environment, either analog or digital signals can be used

to replicate or closely approximate information.
Digital signals are less susceptible to noise interference than are analog
signals, but are only able to be transmitted over a wire medium such as
twisted pair or coaxial cable. Any electromagnetic signal is made up of a
number of frequencies. A key descriptive feature that characterizes the
signal is bandwidth, which is the width of the range of frequencies that
make up the signal.
The greater the bandwidth of the signal, the greater is the information
carrying capacity. Greater bandwidth means higher costs, so users should
make certain that the cost is justified. Robert Milton Underwood, Jr. Page
32 2001 Information technology managers responsible for setting up a
network or communications system should make sure that all relevant
criteria are considered before decisions are made. They should understand
the fundamentals of data communications, including transmission options
and connectivity issues, in order to help their companies maintain
competitiveness in the future.

Magazines:
Future Transmission
World of fiber

Bibliography

 Websites
www. hfclgroup.com
www.indiatransmission.com
www.nextgen.com