Telecommunication

Learning objectives
Explain briefly the concept of “telecommunications”
Describe the functional components of a telecommunication network
Discuss data transmission terms
Explain Communication channels
Telecommunication….
▪Telecommunication means “communications at a distance”
▪Tele in Greek means at a distance
▪"Telecommunications may be defined as the transmission of representations of information
between remote locations by electronic means. This information may be in the form of Voice,
Video, or data generated by, a computer". (Kenney, 1981)
▪"A transmission network, an arrangement of transmission paths and switching centres through
which signals are conveyed by a physical transmission medium. Information coming from a
source, or to a receiver, is converted via a terminal into signals appropriate to the characteristics
of the particular network". (Bawden and Blakeman).
Telecommunication….
▪A telecommunication process, thus consists of data to be transmitted (our messages), devices
called terminals to send and receive messages, and a communications channel (see the fig.).

▪The source may be a simple telephone microphone, keyboard

▪The destination may be a simple telephone speaker, monitor
Data transmission
All electronic transmission takes place by means of wave patterns. There are two major patterns.
Analog signal:
▪There is a continuous up and down pattern
▪No break or discontinuities in signal
▪Represent speech
Digital signal:
▪The signal intensity maintains a constant level for some periods of time and then abruptly changes to
another constant level.
▪Wave patterns are translated into discrete bits and are separated by intervals.
▪Represents binary 1s and 0s.
Analog vs. digital signal
Frequency
▪The term "frequency" defines the number of oscillations that happen in a data transmission per
second.
▪Frequency is the rate at which a wave or cycle alternates between high and low (analog mode)
or on and off (digital mode).
▪It is commonly measured in Hertz (Hz). One cycle per second is called a Hertz (HZ).
Electronic Transmission Frequencies
Media Frequencies
Radio Broadcasting 30-3000 KHz

Television Broadcasting 3-30 MHz (megahertz).

Satellite Communication 3-30 GHz(gigahertz)
Microwave communication 30-300 GHz
Lasers, fiber optics 300 GHz Tern hertz Range
Bandwidth
▪ Bandwidth is the range of frequencies. Bandwidth is defined as the
difference in the upper and lower frequency components present in a signal.
▪Thus, it specifies the amount of data being transmitted per second.
▪The figure below shows the bandwidth of a signal ‘f’ with lower and upper
frequencies as fl and fu respectively:
Bandwidth
▪Suppose a signal which is to be transmitted has different frequencies such as 6000MHz,
4200MHz, 1500 MHz, and 820 MHZ. So, here the signal bandwidth will be specified by the
difference of the lowest and highest frequency component.
Bandwidth = 6000 MHz – 820 MHz = 5180 MHz
▪Frequency vs. Bandwidth
Basis for Comparison Frequency Bandwidth
Basic It defines the number of It defines the
complete cycles in unit amount of data
time. transmitted in unit
time.
Unit of measurement cycles/sec or Hz bits/sec
Denoted as f B
Problem
A composite signal contains frequencies between 500MHz and 1GHz. What is the bandwidth of
a signal ?

Solution:
Bandwidth = 1000MHz - 500MHz = 500MHz
1GHz = 1000MHz
 Transmission channels
Data or information may be transmitted a few feet within a single office building or over thousands of
miles. When planning for telecommunications, corporate management must consider what type of
transmission channel is most appropriate for organizational needs and whether to use private or public
carriers.
Types of channel
1. A simplex communications, line or channel enables communication of information in one direction
only. No interchange is possible. There is neither any indication of readiness to accept transmission
nor any acknowledgement of transmission received.
2. A half-duplex system allows sequential transmission of data in both directions, but this involves a
delay when the direction is reversed.
3. The ability to transmit simultaneously in both directions requires a duplex or full-duplex channel a
more costly system. An advantage in computer processing is that output can be displayed on a
terminal while input is still being sent.
Types of channels
Communication media
Comparison of wiring technologies
Wireless Transmission Media

Figure: Electromagnetic waves spectrum

Difference between Unicast, Broadcast
& Multicast
Data is transported over a network by three simple methods i.e. Unicast, Broadcast, and
Multicast. So let’s begin to summarize the difference between these three:
Unicast: from one source to one destination i.e. One-to-One
Broadcast: from one source to all possible destinations i.e. One-to-All
Multicast: from one source to multiple destinations stating an interest in receiving the traffic i.e.
One-to-Many
 Feature Unicast Multicast Broadcast

A communication where a
A communication where a A communication where a
message is sent from one
Definition message is sent from one message is sent from one sender
sender to a group of
sender to one receiver. to all receivers.
receivers

Data is sent to a single Data is sent to a group of Data is sent to all recipients in a
Transmission
recipient recipients network

Uses a unique destination Uses a special multicast

Addressing Uses a special broadcast address
address address

Not all devices may be Not all devices may be

Delivery Guaranteed delivery
interested in the data interested in the data

Generates the least Generates moderate Generates the most amount of

Network Traffic
amount of network traffic network traffic network traffic

More secure because data Moderately secure because

Less secure because data is sent
Security is sent to a specific data is sent to a specific
to all devices in the network
recipient group of devices

Video streaming, online

Examples Email, file transfer DHCP requests, ARP requests
gaming

Destination Single receiver Grop of receivers All receivers

Bandwidth usage Moderate Moderate High

Latency Low Moderate High

Mobile Telecommunication
Technologies
The ability to be connected to the network on-the-go makes it very convenient to communicate
with people via call or instant messages. It is also handy to access the Internet using the mobile
phone network through wireless connection. Besides, the Internet of Things (IoT) is letting us
control and communicate with other smart devices as well.
The different landmark achievements in mobile communication technologies are classified as
different generations. They are identified as 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G.
▪The first generation (1G) mobile network system came around 1982. It was used to transmit
only voice calls. The analog signals were used to carry voices between the caller and receiver.
▪The second generation (2G) mobile network system came around 1991. Instead of analog
signals, voice calls were transmitted in digital form thus providing improved call quality. This
increased capacity allowed more people to talk simultaneously, and led to improved security as
the signals could be encrypted. It also enabled an additional service to send SMS and MMS
(Multimedia messages).
Mobile Telecommunication
Technologies..
▪The third generation (3G) mobile network technology was developed during late 90s, but it was
introduced commercially around 2001. It offered both digital voice and data services. 3G
provided Internet access via the same radio towers that provide voice service to the mobile
phone. It facilitated greater voice and data capacity. Therefore, more simultaneous calls could
happen in the same frequency range and also a significantly faster data transfer speed.
▪Demand for faster data is always increasing and thus 4G mobile networks were developed. It
has a higher data transfer rate and can span over a larger area. That is why it is used in MAN
applications. 4G systems support interactive multimedia, voice, video, wireless internet and
other broadband services.
▪The fifth generation or 5G is currently under development. It is expected to be a milestone
development for the success of IoT and Machine to Machine (M2M) communications. Machine
to machine (M2M) is direct communication between devices — wired and wireless. 5G is
expected to allow data transfer in Gbps, which is much faster than 4G. It is expected to be able
to support all the devices of the future such as connected vehicles and the Internet of Things.
5G
5G provides higher speed and lower latency than 4G.
▪ Data transfer rate of 5G is 20 times higher than that of 4G.
▪ Download speed of 5G is 10 GB/sec
▪ 5G is used for the Internet of Things, enhanced mobile broadband and
real-time broadband.
▪ 100 times more efficient traffic
▪ 100 times network efficiency
▪ 10 times lower latency
▪ Increased computing ability