COMSATS

Principles of Communication Systems (PCS)

EEE 351

Lecture # 01 & 02
Basic Understanding of Communication Systems

Department of Electrical Engineering

CIIT Attock Campus
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Instructor Information

Shujaat Ali Khan Tanoli

• Ph.D. (Telecommunications)
• Assistant Professor
• Ph.D. in Telecommunications, 2011, AIT, Thailand.
• Exchange Research Candidate, 2010, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
• ME in Telecommunications, AIT, Thailand
• B.Sc. Computer Engineering, 2006, COMSATS, Abbottabad

Email: shujattanoli@gmail.com
• Cell : +92-333-5023503

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Course Books

Text book:
• Digital Communications: Fundamentals and Applications, By Bernard Sklar,
Prentice Hall, 2nd ed, 2001.
• Modern Digital and Analog Communication Systems 3rd edition, B.P. Lathi,
Oxford University Press
• Required Software: MATLAB, LABVIEW

References:
• Digital Communications, 4th Edition, J.G. Proakis, McGraw Hill, 2000. 
• Communication Systems Engineering, by John G. Proakis, second Edition.
• Wireless Communication: Principles and Practice, T. S. Rappaport.
• Contemporary communication systems using MATLAB, by Proakis and Salehi

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Methodology : Course

• Lectures

• Assignments

• Exams: Two Sessional exams + one end term exam

• Lab assignments (MATLAB)

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Methodology : Lectures

• Total of about 32 lectures, each of one and half hours

• Will be delivered using PowerPoint presentations in conjunction with

whiteboard

• Shall email the soft copy of the lecture; hard copy may be obtained.

• Studying the relevant sections of the Text Book, remains your

responsibility, very strongly recommended

• Exams will cover the complete material given in the covered chapters
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Methodology : Assignments
Assignments
• Some assignments will cover mostly book chapter
• May also include questions from other sources
• Some assignments will be based on MATLAB
• May be submitted in hard copy, or emailed to me
shujattanoli@gmail.com
• Some assignments will be in conjunction with a quiz or viva on the
pattern of the questions given in the assignment.
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Methodology : Exams

Sessional and Final Exams

• There will be three exams
• Each exam will consist of
• MCQs of 25 %
• Short questions of 25 %
• Long questions of 50 %
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GRADING / EVALUATION CRITERIA

• Assignments/ Quizzes 25%

• Sessional 25%
• Final Exam 50%

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Methodology : Class Participation

• To get the right answer, you have to ask the right

question.
• Ignorance is a weakness; hiding this weakness is a
crime.
• So ask question anyway.
• Remember that deen begins with faith, but science
begins with doubt.
• So do not accept what I say as it is; learn to doubt and
question it.
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ACADEMIC ETHICAL STANDARDS

Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes
Students are expected to come to class on time
Students are expected to participate in class discussions
and demonstrations.
Students must respect the decorum of the classroom.
Students must adhere to the academic ethical standards
e.g. involvement in unfair means, plagiarism and
misbehavior.
Use of cell phones and other electronic devices is not
permitted in class. Students are to adhere to University
policy concerning a code of conduct during all class
meetings.
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Introduction to Communication

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A Communication System
B

A
Engineering System

Social System

History and fact of communication

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What is Communication System?

• A Communication is a system in which independent entities exchange information.

• Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another.

Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts,
opinions or information by speech, writing or signs".

• Although there is such a thing as one-way communication, communication can be

perceived better as a two-way process in which there is an exchange of information.
• Electrical communication is the process of exchange of information using electrical
signals.
– Provides wider coverage
– More economical, efficient and reliable.

• Types of information:
Voice, data, video, music, email etc.
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Telecommunication

Telegraph
Fixed line telephone
Cable
Wired networks
Internet
Optical fiber communications
Public Switched Telephone Network (voice, fax, modem)
Satellite systems
Radio, TV broadcasting
Cellular phones
Computer networks (LANs, WANs, WLANs)
Communication bus inside computers to communicate between CPU and
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Wireless Communications
Satellite
TV
Cordless phone
Cellular phone
Wireless LAN, WiFi
Wireless MAN, WIMAX
Bluetooth
Ultra Wide Band
Wireless Laser
Microwave
GPS
Ad hoc/Sensor Networks

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Motivation to Study Principle of communications

 Recent Developments
– Satellite Communications
– Telecommunication: Internet boom
– Wireless Communication
– 3 G, LTE, Wimax, Cognitive radio etc
– Internet of things IoT
 Job Market
– One of the fastest growing industries
– Probably one of easiest and highly paid jobs
 Research Potential
– Enormous

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AC Signal and Frequency

• An alternating current signal is • Frequency (f) of an AC signal is

a signal that reverses its
polarity in a periodic manner.
• The period of polarity reversal
determines the ‘Time Period’
and ‘Frequency’ of the signal.
• Time Period (T) of an AC signal
is defined as the time taken to
complete one cycle and is
usually measured in ‘Seconds’.
defined as ‘the number of
cycles completed in unit time
(usually one second)’.
• The relationship between the
frequency and time period is
given as
Frequency(f)=1/Time Period(T)
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Electromagnetic Radiation

• Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) is • The important parameters of an

the energy radiated by the charged electromagnetic wave are
particles which travels through – Frequency.
space via photon wave particles. – Wavelength.

• Frequency (f) of an electromagnetic

• In vacuum, the EMR propagates in
wave is same as defined earlier.
straight lines at a characteristics
speed equal to the speed of light
(c). • Wavelength (λ) of an
electromagnetic wave is defined as
spatial distance between two fixed
• Electromagnetic waves have both
points which could be crests,
electric and magnetic fields troughs or the zero crossings.
perpendicular to each other and
λ = c/f 
the direction of propagation.
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Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Electromagnetic Spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of Electromagnetic Radiation.

• The electromagnetic spectrum varies from below low frequencies to gamma radiation.

• The frequency and wavelength are inversely proportional to each other so the lowest
frequencies correspond to greatest wavelength and vice versa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum
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Regions of Electromagnetic Spectrum

• The electromagnetic spectrum is
classified into eight major
regions/bands with respect to
frequency.

• These regions include (arranged in

descending frequency order)
– Gamma Radiation.
– X-ray Radiation.
– Ultraviolet Radiation.
– Visible Radiation.
– Infrared Radiation.
– Tera Hertz Radiation.
– Microwave Radiation.
– Radio Waves
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum
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Communication System- Basic Model

• The most basic model of a communication system comprises of the
following components
– Message Source. – Receiver.
– Input Transducer. – Output Transducer.
– Transmitter. – Output Message.
– Communication Channel. – Destination.
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Communication System- Basic Model
• Message Source
– Originates the message which could be
a voice, image, video or other type of
data.
• Input Transducer
– Usually electrical transducer which
converts the input stimulus to an
electrical waveform. Usually required
when the original message is not an
electrical signal.
• Transmitter.
– Modifies the baseband signal for
efficient transmission through channel.
• Transmission Channel
– Medium through which the transmitter
output is sent. It could be a wire, coaxial
cable, optical fiber, waveguide or radio link.
• Receiver.
– Reverses the modification done by the
transmitter after receiving a signal from the
transmission channel.
• Output Transducer
– Converts the electrical signal back to its
original form- the message.
• Message Destination
– The entity/ unit for which the message is
communicated.
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Signal Distortion
• The transmission channel can be • Linear distortion can almost be
regarded as a filter which attenuates completely removed by an
and distorts the signal passing equalizer with the gain and phase
through it. characteristics opposite to that of
the transmission channel.
• The signal attenuation is usually
proportional to the transmission
distance. Longer distances lead to
• Non linear distortion can only
more attenuation and distortion. partly be removed using
equalizer. Removal of this kind of
• The major cause of the distortion is distortion requires more
because of the different amounts of advanced methods.
attenuation and phase shift
experienced by the transmitted
signal.
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Noise and Signal to Noise Ratio

• Noise is a broad term defining • External Noise Sources
any signal that is unwanted/ not – Signals on neighboring channels.
required. ‘Noise signals are – Human made noise by faulty switches.
usually termed as random and – Automobile ignition radiation.
– Fluorescent light.
unpredictable signals.’
– Natural noise caused by lightning,
storms, solar .
• The noise is subdivided into
‘External’ and ‘Internal’ noise. • Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
– Ratio of signal power to noise power.
– Signal power reduces along the
• Internal Noise Sources transmission while noise accumulates
– Thermal agitation of electrons. with increasing distance.
– Recombination of charged carriers. – Can amplification improve SNR?
– Random Emissions.
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Base-Band & Pass-Band Signals & Systems
Base Band
• Baseband refers to a category of signals
and systems having operational
frequency/ Bandwidth very close to 0 Hz.
• Baseband signals include human voice
(20Hz-5KHz), TV camera signal (0Hz-
5.5MHz). Office and home telephone
systems are classified as baseband
systems.
• Baseband transmission sends information
without modulation. It is suitable only for
short distance communication only.
PCS
Pass Band
• Pass-band refers to the category of
signals and systems in which the
signal to be transmitted is shifted to
a higher frequency before
transmission and shifted back to
the original frequency after
reception. This shifting is done by
modulation and demodulation.
• Pass-band systems have different
frequency and bandwidth ranges
depending upon the systems being
used.
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Base-Band OR Pass-Band?
Base Band
• A telephone call within certain
geographical area.
• Transmission of video from a
camera to TV using wires.
Pass Band
• An international telephone call
routed through microwave or
satellite links.
• Transmission of video through
satellite using radio link.
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Communication System
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Analog or Digital
Common misunderstanding:
– Most transmitted signals are ANALOG.
– NO DIGITAL SIGNAL CAN BE TRANSMITTED except on close-range wired link
Analog Message: continuous in amplitude and over time
– AM, FM for voice sound
– Traditional TV for analog video
– First generation cellular phone (analog mode)
– Record player
Digital messages are constructed from a finite number of
messages.
Digital message: 0 or 1 or discrete value
– VCD, DVD
– 2G/3G cellular phone
– Data on your disk
o Digital age: why digital communication prevails?
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Digital Communication System

Transmitter

Source Source Channel

Modulation D/A
input Coder Coder

Channel Distortion and noise +

Reconstructed
Signal Source Channel
demodulation A/D
output decoder decoder

Receiver

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Modulation
• Process of varying a carrier signal in order to
use that signal to convey information
– Modulation means
change
– Change means info
• Carrier signal can reach far away, but
information signal cannot
• The parameter that may be varied:
amplitude, phase, and frequency
• Analog: e.g. AM or FM
• Digital: e.g. Frequency-shift key (FSK)
• Demodulation reverses the process of
modulation. It involves the detection and
retrieval of the info signal

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Source Coding
Basic Digital Communication Transformations
◦ Formatting/Source Coding
◦ Transforms source info into digital symbols (digitization)
◦ Selects compatible waveforms (matching function)
◦ Introduces redundancy which facilitates accurate decoding despite errors
It is essential for reliable communication
The reverse process is called source decoding
Examples
◦ Digital camera is an encoder;
◦ TV/computer is a decoder
◦ Camcorder
◦ Phone 32
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Channel Coding
Purpose
◦ Deliberately add redundancy to the transmitted information, so that if the error
occurs, the receiver can either detect or correct it.
◦ Techniques used to enhance info signal so that they are less vulnerable to channel
impairment (e.g. noise, fading, jamming, interference)
Source-channel separation theorem
◦ If the delay is not an issue, the source coder and channel coder can be designed
separately, i.e. the source coder tries to pack the information as hard as possible
and the channel coder tries to protect the packet information.
Popular coder
◦ Linear block code
◦ Cyclic codes
◦ Convolutional code
◦ LDPC codes, Turbo code, 0.1 dB to Channel Capacity
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Channel Coding Governed by Shannon Capacity

Shannon Theory
◦ It establishes that given a noisy channel with information capacity C
and information transmitted at a rate R, then if R<C, there exists a
coding technique which allows the probability of error at the
receiver to be made arbitrarily small. This means that theoretically,
it is possible to transmit information without error up to a limit C.
◦ The converse is also important. If R>C, the probability of error at the
receiver increases without bound as the rate is increased. So no
useful information can be transmitted beyond the channel capacity.
Shannon Capacity

C  B log 2 (1  SNR) bit / s

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Why digital?
 Digital techniques need to distinguish between discrete symbols
 allows regeneration and amplification
 Easy to regenerate the distorted signal
 Regenerative repeaters along the transmission path can detect a digital
signal and retransmit a new, clean (noise-free) signal
 These repeaters prevent accumulation of noise along the path
 more immune to channel noise and distortion
 Good processing techniques are available for digital signals
 Data compression (or source coding)
 Error Correction (or channel coding)
 Equalization
 Security

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Why Digital Communications?

 Hardware is more flexible
 permits the use of microprocessors, mini-processors, digital switching and VLSI
 Concept of Software Defined Radio (SDR)

 Shorter design and production cycle

 The use of LSI and VLSI in the design of components and systems have
resulted in lower cost

 Easier and more efficient to multiplex several digital signals

 Digital multiplexing techniques – Time & Code Division Multiple Access - are
more efficient than analog techniques such as Frequency Division Multiple
Access
 Can combine different signal types – data, voice, text, etc. 37
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Why Digital Communications?

• Possible to trade Bandwidth with power in a more efficient

manner: better overall performance

• Digital signals can be coded to yield extremely low rates and

high fidelity as well as privacy

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Why Digital Communications?

Disadvantages

– Requires reliable “synchronization”

– Requires A/D conversions at high rate
– Requires larger bandwidth
– Non-graceful degradation

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Power, Distortion, Noise

•Transmit Power
–Constrained by device, battery, health issue, etc.
•Noise and Interference
–AWGN: Additive White Gaussian noise
–Interferences: power line, microwave, other users (CDMA phone)
•Channel responses to different frequency and different time
–Satellite: almost flat over frequency; changes slightly over time
–Cable or line: response varies differently with frequency; changes slightly over time.
–Fiber: perfect
–Wireless: worst.
• Multipath reflection causes fluctuation in frequency response.
• Doppler shift causes fluctuation over time
• Time-variant

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Performance Metrics
•Analog Communication Systems
ˆ (t )  m(t )
– Performance metric is fidelity: want m
– SNR typically used as performance metric

•Digital Communication Systems

 P  p ( b  b) 
– Metrics are data rate (Rˆbps) and probability of bit error
b

– Symbols already known at the receiver

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Quality of a Link /Service (QoS)

• Signal to noise ratio (SNR)
– Bit error rate
– Frame error rate
– Packet drop rate
– Peak SNR (PSNR)
– SINR/SNIR: signal to noise plus interference ratio
• Human factor

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Goals in Communication System 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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Information Representation
– Communication system converts information into electrical
electromagnetic/optical signals appropriate for the transmission
medium.
– Analog systems convert analog message into signals that can propagate
through the channel.
– Digital systems convert bits (digits, symbols) into signals
– Computers naturally generate information as characters/bits
– Most information can be converted into bits
– Analog signals converted to bits by sampling and quantizing (A/D
conversion)

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Digital Signal Nomenclature

• Digital Message
– Messages constructed from a finite number of symbols; e.g., printed
language consists of 26 letters, 10 numbers, “space” and several
punctuation marks.
– Hence a text is a digital message constructed from about 50 symbols
– Morse-coded telegraph message is a digital message constructed from
two symbols “Mark” and “Space”
• M - ary
– A digital message constructed with M symbols
• Digital Waveform
– Current or voltage waveform that represents a digital symbol

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Digital Signal Nomenclature

• Bit Rate
– Actual rate at which information is transmitted per
second
• Baud Rate
– Refers to the rate at which the signaling elements are
transmitted, i.e. number of signaling elements or
symbols per second.
• Bit Error Rate
– The probability that one of the bits is in error or simply
the probability of error
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References
[1] B.P. Lathi, Modern Digital and Analog Communication Systems, 3rd Edition,
Oxford University Press Inc.

[2] Wikipedia. [Online] Wikimedia Foundation. [Cited: 27-01-2014]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum

[3] Dr. Wajih Abu-Al-Saud, Lecture 07, EE 370-3 (082), King Fahd University of
Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Arabia, 2007.
URL to full text: http://faculty.kfupm.edu.sa/EE/wajih/files/EE%20370/EE
%20370,%20Lecture%2007.pdf