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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Objectives:
Understand the difference Classification of
Communication Systems
Wired and Wireless Communication Systems

Simplex and Duplex Communication Systems

Analog and Digital Communication Systems

Baseband and Bandpass Communication System

State the Elements of a Generic Communication

Systems
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Objectives Continued
Understand the fundamental limits of
communication systems
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Classification

State Elements (Transmitter, Channel, Receiver)

Limitations of a Communication System

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Classification

State Elements (Transmitter, Channel, Receiver)

Limitations of a Communication System

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Classification of Communication System

Communication System

Unidirectional/Bidirectional Nature of Information Transmission Technique

Communication

Simplex Half Full Analogue Digital Baseband Bandpass

System Duplex Duplex

Nature of Transmission Channel

Wired Wireless
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Classification of Communication Systems

Wired vs Wireless

Simplex vs Duplex

Analog vs Digital

Baseband vs Bandpass
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Wired vs Wireless
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Wired vs Wireless
Mobile phones have taken 50 years to reach 10% market
penetration

Why? Because of the hostile radio channel; battery

technology; semiconductor technology
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Wired vs Wireless
What are the challenges of wired network?

Wireless seems to be the solution, but why are they no

single standard to cover wireless network?

How big is the problem space for wireless networking?

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Wired vs Wireless
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Wired vs Wireless
Low bandwidth that limits raw link capacity RF spectrum can not be
invented or created! Use it efficiently

Poor channel quality that results in data loss Wireless channel is

inherently unreliable, robust solutions to these channel errors required

Fading channel intermittent connectivity induced by terrain,

environment and mobility that produces a fluctuating network topology.

Platform constraints that place limitations on size, weight, power, and

complexity Wired domain is much more forgiving of these traits, while
untethered communication places severe restrictions on these!
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Wired vs Wireless
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Classification of Communication Systems

Wired vs Wireless

Simplex vs Duplex

Analog vs Digital

Baseband vs Bandpass
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Simplex Vs Duplex
What are the challenges of wired network?

Wireless seems to be the solution, but why are they no

single standard to cover wireless network?

How big is the problem space for wireless networking?

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Simplex Vs Duplex
How do we transmit information signals

Communication System

Unidirectional Bidirectional
(Simplex Systems) (Duplex System)

Half Full
Duplex Duplex
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Simplex Vs Duplex
Simplex System
Transmission of communication in one direction only

Examples are: Radio and Television broadcasting systems,

only transmit electrical signals

Half-Duplex System

The type of communication where transmission and

reception both occurs but not at the same time.

Examples include: walk talky (military, fire fighting, amateur

radio)
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Simplex Vs Duplex
Full-Duplex System
Communication takes place in both direction
simultaneously.

Examples are: Most cellular systems employ full duplex

frequency division duplexer on the transmit and receive
systems
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Classification of Communication Systems

Wired vs Wireless

Simplex vs Duplex

Analog vs Digital

Baseband vs Bandpass
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Analog vs Digital
Analog System
Continuous valued signals

Examples: AM/FM broadcasting

Digital System

Discrete valued signals

Examples include: 2nd general of cellular networks

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Classification of Communication Systems

Wired vs Wireless

Simplex vs Duplex

Analog vs Digital

Baseband vs Bandpass
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Baseband vs Bandpass
Baseband
Baseband communication takes place at frequency near
DC

Examples: LAN using Manchester line codes

Bandpass

Bandpass communication involves modulation of the

carrier signal by the information signal.

Examples include: Most Cellular systems (e.g. GSM) are

bandpass systems
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Classification

State Elements (Transmitter, Channel, Receiver)

Limitations of a Communication System

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Elements of a Generic Communication Systems

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Elements of a Generic Communication Systems

Source/Sink Multiplexer/Demultiplexer

Format (Transducers) Modulator/Demodulator

Source Encoder/Decoder Frequency Spread/Despread

Encryption/Decryption Multiple Access

Channel Encoder/Decoder Antennas

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Elements of a Generic Communication Systems

Source/Sink (e.g. Microphone, speaker)

Source Encoder/Decoder (reduces number of bits e.g. voice codec for

GSM, JPEG, etc)

Channel Encoder/Decoder (adds extra error correcting bits to data e.g.,

R/S coder in CD player)

Modulation: It involves translation of the baseband message signal to a

higher frequency suitable for transmission over the channel.

Multiple Access: More than one user over the same channel e.g., TDMA,
FDMA, CDMA, SDMA, etc.
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Elements of a Generic Communication Systems

Channel: Twisted copper pair, coaxial cable, optical fibre, wireless,
mobile radio, satellite, etc.

Other blocks not included or explicitly included: Antennas, power

amplifiers, Oscillators, mixers, frequency translators, filters/adaptive
equalizers, noise and interference sources, error control and waveform
coding, carrier frequency/phase synchronisation and bit timing
synchronisation, baseband modulation (line coding), analog and digital
sources, multiplexing
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Basic Elements of a Generic Communication Systems

Source Destination
Input Output
Transducer Transmitter Channel Receiver
Transducer
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Basic Elements of a Communication Systems

Input Transducer

The Transmitter

Transmission Channel

The Receiver

Output Transducer

Channel Effects (Noise, Interference)

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Input Transducer
Source: Analog or digital

Example: Speech, music, written text

Transducer transforms the message produced by a

source to a form suitable for the communication
systems

Example:
Speech waves Microphone Voltage
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Transmitter
Couple the message to the channel

Operations: Amplification, Modulation

Modulation encodes message into amplitude, phase or

frequency of carrier signal (AM, PM, FM, PSK, 16QAM).
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Transmitter
Advantages of Modulation:
Reduce noise and interference

Multiplexing

Channel Assignment

Examples of Transmitter: TV station, radio station, web

server
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Channel
Physical medium that does the transmission

Examples: twisted copper pair, coaxial cable,

wireless (radio and microwave waves), laser beam,
fiber optic cable, satellite, etc.

Every channel introduces some amount of

distortion, noise and interference
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Receiver
Extracts message from the received signal

Operations: Amplification, Demodulation, Filtering

Goal: The receiver output is a scaled, possibly

delayed version of the message signal (ideal
transmission)

Examples: TV set, radio, web client

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Output Transducer
Converts electrical signal into the form desired by
the system

Examples: Loudspeakers, PC
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Classification

State Elements (Transmitter, Channel, Receiver)

Limitations of a Communication System

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Fundamental Limits on Communication Systems

What are the fundamental limits on communication

systems?
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Fundamental Limits on Communication Systems

Fundamental laws of physics e.g.

= and = 2

There also exist some fundamental laws in

communications
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Fundamental Limits on Communication Systems

Bandwidth

Noise
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Concept of Bandwidth (B)

Applies to both signals and systems
Signal bandwidth is the measure of signal
fluctuation in time
A system bandwidth is the ability of the system to
follow signal valuations.
Electrical system contains energy storage elements
stored energy cannot be changed instantaneously
hence placing a fundamental limit on system
bandwidth
There is limited bandwidth on the electromagnetic
spectrum used for communication
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Spectrum

Most precious resource in communications is

frequency spectrum

The frequency spectrum has to be shared by a

large number of users and applications:

AM Radio, FM Radio, TV, cellular telephony,

wireless local-area-networks, satellite, air traffic
control
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Spectrum

Frequency range for guided wireline transmission (Proakis)

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Spectrum

Frequency Range for wireless electromagnetic channels (Proakis)

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Spectrum Problem

Many frequencies are largely unoccupied

Other spectrum are partially occupied

Some are heavily used and crowded

How do we solve the problem of spectrum utilisation?

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Fundamental Limits on Communication Systems

Bandwidth

Noise (To be discussed in details in lesson 1.3)

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Concept of Noise (N)

Internal Noise, predominantly Thermal noise

Other forms of noise will be discussed in lesson 1.3,

e.g. Shot Noise, Flicker Noise

Thermal noise springs from Kinetic Theory

Noise degrades fidelity in analog communication

systems, errors in digital communication
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Hartley-Shannon Law (for AWGN Channels)

= 2 (1 + )

The rate of information transmission can not exceed
the channel capacity.

This sets an upper limit on the performance of a

communication system

This is the theoretical maximum rate at which

information passes error free over the channel
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

What can we do?

Increasing Power
Cooperative Systems

= 2 (1 + )

Increasing Bandwidth
Cognitive Radio

More Channels
MIMO
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Ways to address the fundamental challenges
MIMO Systems: Exploits multiple antennas to
generate multiple channels
Diversity
Multiplexing
Cooperative Communication
Amplify and forward
Decode and forward
Multiple relays and multi-hop communication
Cognitive Radio
A novel way to improve utilisation of electromagnetic
radio spectrum( solve spectrum underutilisation problem)
Implemented using Software Defined Radio
Key features Awareness, Intelligence and Dynamic
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Primary Resources and Operational Requirements
Hence we could also have the following classification
of communication systems:
Power-limited channel
Wireless channels
Satellite channels
Deep-space links
Band-limited channels
Telephone channels
Television channels
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Trade-offs in communication systems design

Trade-off is between signal-to-noise and channel

bandwidth. This can be achieved in one of the following
ways:

Signal-to-noise ratio is increased to accommodate a

limitation imposed on channel bandwidth

Channel bandwidth is increased to accommodate a

limitation imposed on signal-to-noise ratio.
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Goals in communication systems design
To maximize transmission rate, R
To maximize system utilization, U
To minimize bit error rate, Pe
To minimize required systems bandwidth, W
To minimize system complexity, Cx
To minimize required power, Eb/No
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Examples Communication systems
Radio
Television
Wireless communications
Satellite communications
Deep space communications
Telephony
Data networks
Internet
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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Review Questions?

1. What are the advantages of wireless communication

systems over wired communication systems?

2. State the elements of a Generic Communication Systems.

3. Explain the conflicting requirements in the design of

communication systems (Assignment 2).

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

Information is Useless on its own!

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1.1. Introduction to Communications Systems

References
William Stallings, 2010, Data and Computer Communications,
9th Edition, Pearson, ISBN-10:0132172178 or ISBN-13: 978-
0132172172.

Michael P. Fitz, 2007, "Fundamentals of Communication

Systems, 1st Edition, McGraw-Hill Professional, ISBN-10:
0071482806 or ISBN-13: 978- 0071482806.

John G. Proakis and Masoud Salehi , 2013, Fundamentals of

Communication Systems, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall, ISBN-
10: 0133354857 or ISBN-13: 978- 0133354850