E.

List at least five standard organizations and explain their roles in telecommunication
industry

6.0 Tutor Marked Assessment

A. Explain in detail, the telecommunication industry
B. Explain the evolution of telecommunication industry
C. List and explain in detail the benefit obtained by the evolution of telecommunication
industry
D. What are the opportunities associated with the telecommunication organization

7.0 Further Reading

1. https://www.proshareng.com/news/Mobile-Money-and-Telcos/The-Nigerian-
Telecommunication-Sector---/36424
2. https://collegegrad.com/industries/telecommunications
3. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/technology-media-and-
telecommunications/articles/telecommunications-industry-outlook.html
4. https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/global-telecommunication-market-size-share-
segmentation-structure-companies-trends-outlook-and-industry-profile-forecast-2019-to-
2026-2019-04-03
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_industry

8.0 REFERENCES

1. Webster’s Third International Dictionary, G&C Merriam Co., Springfield, MA, 1981.
2. IEEE Standard Dictionary of Electrical and Electronic Terms, 6th ed., IEEE Std 100-1996,
IEEE, New York, 1996.
3. Telecommunication Planning, ITT Laboratories of Spain, Madrid 1973.
4. R. L. Freeman, Telecommunication System Engineering, 4th ed., Wiley, New York, 2004
Unit 3: Benefits of Telecommunications and Impact on individual and global society
1.0 Introduction
This unit covers the introduction and the benefit of telecommunication, the impact and its
advantages to an individual, community and the global society as a whole. State the
benefit/importance of telecommunication on Nigeria and some other developing countries
economy and know the types of telecommunications existed and their different features

2.0 Learning Objectives

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
I. State the benefit of telecommunication
II. Explain the impact of Telecommunication on the development of the economy
III. State at least four ways telecommunication help the global society
IV. List at least five types of telecommunications existed and their different features

3.0 Main Content

3.1 Telecommunications and Society
Among the technological advances of the last 50 years, the expansion and technological
improvements of telecommunications infrastructure have been amazing due to the rate of its
expansion. The use of wire-line telecommunication network also large part of world population to
have easy access in term of telephony to communicate via fixed-line telephony. The introduction
of first and second-generation mobile communication networks since early 1980’s had revolunilize
the telecommunication industry. However, the progress in ICTs world is not limited to mobile
telephony only. Broadband internet technologies such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or Cable
Internet have created unprecedented opportunities for worldwide data transmission. In the previous
years, the deployment of next-generation networks has facilitated by use of optic fiber based
wireline technologies such as Fiber-to x technologies while x stands for (home, hub, office, cub,
building, etc.) or hybrid Fiber-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) and Fiber-to-the-Node (FTTN) technologies
have started to replace the use of copper or coaxial cable based broadband networks. The
introduction of the fourth generation (4G) mobile broadband technology Long Term Evolution
(LTE) and Advance LTE have brought substantial speed improvement for the wireless
telecommunications networks. Due to these advantages, broadband technologies have also gained
the attention of policy makers in recent times which had also increase the employment opportunity
in the telecommunication industry. While achieving these goals promises considerable economic
returns, they also go along with substantial costs, in particular for the construction of the necessary
new communications infrastructure which is partly or entirely fiber-based. It is hence a necessity
to carefully evaluate whether these returns will exceed the accompanying costs or whether the
expansion of new (high-speed) broadband networks will go along with economic losses. The
societal importance of telecommunications is well accepted and broadly understood, reflected in
its near-ubiquitous penetration and use. Noted below are some of the key areas of impact of
telecommunication in our daily activities:

 Telecommunications provides a technological foundation for societal

communications. Communication plays a central role in the fundamental operations of
a society from business to government and to families. In fact, communication among
people is the essence of what distinguishes an organization, community, or society
 from a collection of individuals. The use of communication from Web browsing to cell
phone calling to instant messaging has become increasingly integrated into how we
work, play, and live.
 Telecommunications enables participation and development. Telecommunications
plays an increasingly vital role in enabling the participation and development of people
in communities and nations disadvantaged by geography and topology, whether in
rural area or in developing nations in the global society and economy.
 Telecommunications provides vital infrastructure for national security. From natural
disaster recovery, to homeland security, to communication of vital intelligence, to
continued military superiority, telecommunications plays a pivotal role. When the
issue is countering an adversary, it is essential not only to preserve telecommunications
capability, but also to have a superior capability. There are potential risks associated
with a reliance on overseas sources for innovation, technologies, applications, and
services.

It is difficult to predict the future impact of telecommunications technologies, services, and

applications that have not yet been invented. For example, in the early days of research and
development into the Internet in the late 1960s, who could have foreseen the full impact of the
Internet’s widespread use today?

3.2 Telecommunications and its impacts on the U.S. and Nigeria Economy

The telecommunications industry is a major direct contributor to U.S. economic activity. The U.S.
Census Bureau estimates that just over 3 percent of the U.S. gross domestic income (GDI) in 2003
was from communications services and communications hardware. Some other categories are
narrower than the broad definition of telecommunications offered above. At 3 percent,
telecommunications thus represented more than a third of the total fraction of GDI spent on
information technology in 2003. In fact, the fraction attributable to telecommunications is probably
larger relative to that of IT than these figures suggest, given that much of the GDI from IT hardware
could apply to any of several industries such as computing, telecommunications, media, and
electronics. The telecommunications-related industries are also a major employer of labour.
Communications services employed 1 million U.S. workers in 2002, representing 1.1 percent of
the total private workforce, and communications equipment companies employed nearly 250,000
people. Telecommunications is a growing business sector which are markedly reduced investment
in some parts of the sector (following the bubble years of the late 1990s) may have given an
impression of low growth in the long run, a longer-term view taking into account the need for
humans and machines to communicate suggests that telecommunications will continue to grow
apace, as evidenced by the on going expansion of wireless and broadband access services
throughout the world.

Today, however, new wireless applications, low-cost manufacturing innovations, and handset
design are some of the areas in which the Asian countries are out investing the United States in
research and development (R&D) and are seeing resulting bottom-line impacts to their economies.
For the United States to compete in the global marketplace and across all sectors, it needs the
productivity that comes from enhancements in telecommunications. If the telecommunications
infrastructure in the United States were to fall significantly behind that of the rest of the world, the
global competitiveness of all other U.S. industries would be affected. Finally, telecommunications
is an important component of the broader IT industry, which is sometimes viewed as having three
technology legs: processing, (to transform or change information), storage (to allow
communication of information from one time to another), and communications (to transmit
information from one place to another). The boundaries between these areas are not very distinct,
but this decomposition helps illustrate the breadth of IT and the role that telecommunications plays.

Moreover, Nigeria’s telecommunication industry has grown by leaps and bounds since 2001, when
the first GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) licenses were issued to introduce mobile
telecommunications in a market very much underserved. The number of subscribers has since
skyrocketed from a paltry 400,000 by December of the same year to a staggering 120,748,754 by
the end of March 2018. In other words, the subscriber base has grown by 300% in the last 17 years.
With a population of more than 170 million, Nigeria’s subscriber base represents a teledensity of
81.97%. Teledensity is a measure of the percentage of the population that owns or has access to a
phone, measured per hundred people. In terms of sheer numbers, Nigeria is the largest
telecommunications market in Africa and the Middle East. But even more interesting, it still has
the ability to increase its figures; there are roughly 50 million unconnected Nigerians to mobile
communication network, and that is one of the reasons Nigeria’s telecommunications industry is
the fastest growing in Africa.

Besides basic telephony services, Nigeria has a largely untapped internet-related market. The
number of internet subscribers currently stands at slightly over 50 million, which is less than half
the number of total telephone subscribers. Here then lies a hotly contested market segment that is
attracting foreign investment in droves because of its great commercial potential; Nigeria’s
telecommunications industry currently contributes about 8.53% to the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP), and is thus a major player in driving the Nigerian economy. There are currently four
dominant players, namely, Airtel, 9 mobile, Globacom and MTN in cellular communications, and
while similar patterns in dominance by these 4 are observed in internet-related services, numerous
opportunities exist especially in the other ICT subsectors, such as the development of 4G networks,
cloud computing services, and the provision of faster-than-average internet speeds, using for
instance fiber-optic cables. Nigeria already has fiber-optic links at its shores, namely Main One,
Glo 1, and WACS, and numerous opportunities exist in providing the necessary infrastructure to
ensure these cables are fully utilized.

The greatest problem ailing Nigeria’s telecoms industry is one that tends to cut across all sectors
of the economy. Nigeria is plagued by power outages that inflate the cost of ensuring telecoms
infrastructure runs smoothly, but once that is addressed by the National Integrated Power Project,
which intends to commission 10 power plants by mid next year, the returns from investing in the
industry are expected to increase tremendously. Concomitant with an improvement in telecoms in
the country is a greater economic progress, as telecommunications facilitates many other
industries, on top of making direct contributions to the economy.

3.3 Telecommunications and Global Competitiveness

In this era of globalization, many companies are multinational, with operations including Research
& Development conducted across the globe such as, Huawei, HP, Qualcomm, and Microsoft all
have research facilities in other countries, and many European and Asian companies have research
laboratories in the United States. Increasing numbers of businesses compete globally. All this
company tried to create a segments and niches for themselves otherwise, they will not be able to
remain globally competitive. Both Asian and European nations are continuing to pursue strategies
that exploit perceived U.S. weakness in telecommunications and telecommunications related
research area as a way of improving their competitiveness in telecommunications industry, as well
as in information technology more broadly. Leapfrogging the United States in telecommunications
has, in the opinion of the committee, been an explicit and stated strategy for a number of Asian (in
broadband and wireless) and European (in wireless) nations for the past decade, with notable
success. These efforts have aimed to stimulate the rapid penetration of physical-layer technologies
for residential access (broadband access, especially in Asia) and wireless and mobile access
(cellular networks, especially in Europe).

4.0 Summary

In this unit, you have learnt that:

I. The importance of Telecommunication and its impact on the society

II. The evolution of telecommunication in the USA and its importance
III. Evolution and growth of telecommunication in Nigeria and its effect economically
IV. The global competitiveness among the leading world economies in relation to
telecommunication industry

5.0 Self-Assessment

A. Explain the benefit of telecommunication

B. Highlight the gains the telecommunication explosion have brought to Nigeria economy in
the past 20 years
C. List and explain the three major impact telecommunications had brought to the society
D. What is the impact of telecommunication on American economy
E. List four types of telecommunication systems and their features

6.0 Tutor Marked Assessment

A. Explain the roles play by ITU-R, ITU-T into telecommunication development.
B. In this era of global competitiveness, many telecommunication industries are in major
competition to dominate the market, what are the major areas of their focus to out-smart
their competitors?
C. Highlight the gains the telecommunication explosion have brought to Nigeria economy in
the past 20 years
D. List and explain the three major impact telecommunications had brought to the society
E. What is the impact of telecommunication on American economy
F. What is the effect of teledensity on economic growth in Nigeria?
G. What is the relationship between telecommunication sector revenue and economic growth
in Nigeria?
 H. What impact does investment in telecommunication sector have on economic growth in
Nigeria?

7.0 Reference
1. Anao, A.R. (2002), Positioning Nigeria for Effective Response to the Challenges of
Emerging Technologies and Globalisation Vanguard. www.globalpolicy.org
2. Alleman, J, C. Hunt, D. Michaels, P. Rappoport & L. Taylor, (2004), “Telecommunications
and Economic Development: Empirical Evidence from Southern Africa”, International
Telecommunications Society, Sydney.
3. The Importance of Telecommunications and Telecommunications Research." National
Research Council. 2006. Renewing U.S. Telecommunications Research. Washington, DC: The
National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11711.

8.0 Further Reading

1. https://www.ncc.gov.ng/docman-main/speeches/764-the-role-of-telecoms-sector-to-
diversification-of-the-nigerian-economy/file
2. https://e-projectmatters.com/project?category=economics&project_id=16&title=impact-
of-telecommunication-sector-on-economic-growth-in-nigeria.html
3. https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-components-of-a-telecommunications-system.html
4. https://www.techwalla.com/articles/microwave-radio-communications-advantages-
disadvantages

https://www.nap.edu/read/11711/chapter/3#12
Module 2 Basic Components and Benefits of Telecommunications and Impact on
individual and global society
Unit 1 Telephony Fundamentals: An Introduction to Basic Telephony Concepts
Unit 2 Exploring different types of Telecommunication systems
Module 2

Unit 1: Telephony Fundamentals: An Introduction to Basic Telephony Concepts

1.0 Introduction
This unit covers the basic concept of telephony, the telephony fundamental and importance of
telephone in the development of telecommunication industry.

2.0 Learning Objectives

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
I. Explain the basic principle of basic telephony
II. Explain the relevance of Telecommunication and Networks as related to basic telephony
III. Describe the simple telephone connection
IV. Explain the telephone network
V. Describe the concept of Traffic Engineering

3.0 Main Contents

3.1 Definition and Concept

Telecommunication deals with the service of providing electrical communication at a distance.

The service may be private or open to public correspondence. Examples of the latter are
government-owned telephone companies, often called administrations or private corporations,
which sell their services publicly. As telecommunications has moved from proprietary to open,
standards-based systems, advanced voice solutions have grown richer and more cost effective.
Several basic telephony concepts are critical to working with these solutions: call control, media
processing, in-band and out-of-band signaling, and local, dedicated first-party control versus
shared, network-based third-party control.

3.2 Telecommunication Networks

The public switched telecommunication network (PSTN) is immense. It consists of hundreds of

smaller networks interconnected both mobile and fixed lines. They may or may not have common
ownership. In certain areas of the world the wired and wireless portions of the network compete.
One may also serve as a backup for the other upon failure. These networks, whether mobile or
fixed, have traditionally been based on speech operations. Meanwhile, another network type has
lately gained great importance in the scheme of things which is called enterprise network. This
network supports the government enterprise as a private business. Its most common configuration
is a local area network (LAN) and is optimized for data communications. Also the enterprise
network also has a long-distance counterpart, called a WAN or wide area network.
Telecommunication engineering has traditionally been broken down into two basic segments
which are transmission and switching. This division was most apparent in conventional telephony.
Transmission deals with the delivery of a quality electrical signal from the transmitter to the
receiver over a communication while switching connects one point X to Y, rather than to Z.
3.3 The Simple Telephone Connection

Telephone is a device that connect people to the outside world by a pair of wires. It consists of a
handset and its cradle with a signalling device, consisting of either a dial or push buttons. The
handset is made up of two electroacoustic transducers, the earpiece or receiver and the mouthpiece
or transmitter. The transmitter or mouthpiece converts acoustic energy into electric energy by
means of a carbon granule transmitter. The transmitter requires a direct-current (dc) across its
electrodes which can be referred to as talk battery while in modern telephony system while in
modern telephone systems it is supplied over the line (central battery) from the switching centre.
The Current from the battery flows through the carbon granules or grains when the telephone is
lifted from its cradle. When sound impinges on the diaphragm of the transmitter, this causes
variations of air pressure which are transferred to the carbon, and the resistance of the electrical
path through the carbon changes in proportion to the pressure. A pulsating direct current results.
The typical receiver consists of a diaphragm of magnetic material, often soft iron alloy, placed in
a steady magnetic field supplied by a permanent magnet, and a varying magnetic field caused by
voice currents flowing through the voice coils. Such voice currents are alternating (ac) in nature
and originate at the far-end telephone transmitter. These currents cause the magnetic field of the
receiver to alternately increase and decrease, making the diaphragm move and respond to the
variations. Thus an acoustic pressure wave is set up, more or less exactly
reproducing the original sound wave from the distant telephone transmitter. At the receiver which
converts electrical energy back to acoustic or sound energy has a comparatively low efficiency of
less than 5%. Sidetone is the sound of the talker’s voice heard in his (or her) own receiver. Sidetone
level must be controlled. When the level is high, the natural human reaction is for the talker to
lower his or her voice. Thus by regulating sidetone, talker levels can be regulated. If too much
sidetone is fed back to the receiver, the output level of the transmitter is reduced as a result of the
talker lowering his or her voice, thereby reducing the level (voice volume) at the distant receiver
and deteriorating performance. For instance, if two telephone sets is connected by a pair of wire
and a battery is connected at the middle of the connecting wire as shown in the figure below.

Figure 1: Simple diagram showing two telephone connected together

Distance D is the overall separation of the two handsets and is the sum of distances d1 and d2. d1
and d2 are the distances from each handset to the central power supply. We find that there are two
limiting factors to the extension of the wire pair between the handsets. These are the voltage
drop, limiting the voltage across the handset transmitter, and the attenuation. For 19-gauge wire,
the limiting distance is about 30 km, depending on the efficiency of the handsets. If the limiting
characteristic is attenuation and we desire to extend the pair farther, amplifiers could be used in
the line. If the battery voltage is limiting, then the battery voltage could be increased. With the
telephone system depicted in Figure above only two people can communicate. As soon as we add
the number of telephone increases, some difficulties begin to arise. The simplest approach would
be to provide each person with two handsets. Thus party A would have one set to talk to B,
another to talk to C, and so forth which will make the system cumbersome. As stations are added
to the system, the alerting problem becomes quite complex.

3.4 Telephone Networks

Telephone network can be described as a systematic development of interconnecting transmission
media arranged so that one telephone user can talk to any other within that network. The evolving
layout of the network is primarily a function of economics. For example, subscribers share
common transmission facilities; switches permit this sharing by connection. Supposing two
locality are separated by distance of 40 km and each locality has about 150 telephone subscribers.
In order to get both locality connected, a network switch need to be connected at both locality so
as to reduce the number of two-pair telephone box to be connected before there can be information
exchange. The telephone lines connecting a subscriber to the switch or exchange that serves the
subscriber are called lines, subscriber lines, or loops. Concentration is a line-to-trunk ratio. A
telephone subscriber looking into the network is served by a local exchange, this means that the
subscriber’s telephone line is connected to the network via the local exchange or central office. A
local exchange has a serving area, which is the geographical area in which the exchange is located;
all subscribers in that area are served by that exchange. The term local area, as opposed to toll area,
is that geographical area containing a number of local exchanges and inside which any subscriber
can call any other subscriber without incurring extra call charges by service provider.

3.5 Essentials Of Traffic Engineering

In telephoning communication, one of the most important features is to determine the number of
trunks require to connect between two exchanges. We could say we are dimensioning the route.
To dimension a route correctly, we must have some idea of its usage how many people will wish
to talk at once over the route. The usage of a transmission route or a switch brings us into the
realm of traffic engineering, which are usually defined by two parameters and they are: (1) the
calling rate or the number of times a traffic path is used per unit time and (2) the holding time or
occupancy period by a call. A traffic path is a channel time slot, frequency band, line, trunk,
switch or circuit over which individual communications pass in sequence. To dimension a traffic
path or size a telephone exchange, we must know the traffic intensity representative of the normal
busy season. There are weekly and daily variations in traffic within the busy season since traffic
is random. It can be noted that from workday to another, there will a variation of the number of
 calls within certain hour of the day, it can be noted that busy hour (BH) vary as much as 25%.
Nevertheless, suitable forecasts of BH traffic can be made.
3.5.1 Busy Hour Definitions
1. Busy Hour. The busy hour refers to the traffic volume or number of call attempts, and is that
continuous 1-h period lying wholly in the time interval concerned for which this quantity (i.e.,
traffic volume or call attempts) is greatest.
2. Peak Busy Hour. The busy hour each day; it usually is not the same over a number of day
3. Time Consistent Busy Hour. The 1-h period starting at the same time each day for which the
average traffic volume or call-attempt count of the exchange or resource group concerned is
greatest over the days under consideration.
4.0 Summary
In this unit, you have learnt that:
I. Explain the basic principle of basic telephony
II. Telecommunication and Networks as related to basic telephony
III. Describe the simple telephone connection
IV. Explain the telephone network
V. Know the concept of Traffic Engineering
VI. The concept of busy hour
VII. The factor the responsible for busy hour
5.0 Self-Assessment
VI. Explain the basic principle of basic telephony
VII. Explain the relevance of Telecommunication and Networks as related to basic telephony
VIII. Describe the simple telephone connection
IX. Explain the telephone network
X. Describe the concept of Traffic Engineering

6.0 Tutor Marked Assessment

I. Differentiate between one-way and both-way circuits.
II. What is the drawback of one-way circuits and both-way circuits?
III. Hierarchical networks are used universally in national and international telephone
networks. Differentiate between high-usage (HU) connectivities and final route.
IV. What is on hook and off hook? When a subscriber subset (the telephone) goes “off hook,”
what occurs at the serving switch? List two items.
V. Suppose that the sidetone level of a telephone is increased. What is the natural reaction of
the subscriber?
7.0 Further reading
1. https://www.nap.edu/read/11711/chapter/3
2. https://www.google.com/search?q=simple+telephone+connection&source=lnms&tbm=isch&
sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKuvXt8JHlAhWWi1wKHY-
lBnQQ_AUIESgB&biw=1525&bih=730#imgrc=rHntpw8ZWRYW0M:
3. https://slideplayer.com/slide/244761/
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephony

8.0 References
1. International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, Reference Data for Radio Engineers, 5th ed.,
Howard W. Sams, Indianapolis, 1968.
2. R. R. Mina, “The Theory and Reality of Teletraffic Engineering,” Telephony, a series
of articles (April 1971).
3. R. Syski, Introduction to Congestion Theory in Telephone Systems, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh,
1960.
4. G. Dietrich et al., Teletraffic Engineering Manual, Standard Electric Lorenz, Stuttgart, Germany,
1971.
5. E. Brockmeyer et al., “The Life and Works of A. K. Erlang,” Acta Polytechnica
Scandinavia, The Danish Academy of Technical Sciences, Copenhagen, 1960.
6. A Course in Telephone Traffic Engineering, Australian Post Office, Planning Branch, 1967.
7. Arne Jensen, Moe’s Principle, The Copenhagen Telephone Company, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1950.
8. R. L. Freeman, Reference Manual for Telecommunication Engineering, 3rd ed., John Wiley & Sons,
New York, 2002.
9. Traffic Routing, CCITT Rec. E.170, ITU Geneva, October 1992.

Unit 2: Telecommunication Transmission Media

1.0 Introduction
This unit covers the different types of telecommunication media, their significance and
importances.

2.0 Learning Objectives

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
I. Explain at least five types of telecommunication media.
II. Highlight the area of application of at least five types of telecommunication media
III. Explain the meaning of simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex telecommunication system
IV. List the modern telecommunication systems

3.0 Main Content

The main aim of telecommunication service provider is to produce high-quality voice, video, and
data communication between the transmitter and the receiver in respective of distances, whether
the distance between locations is 1 or 10,000 km. the location distance between the receivers and
transmitter determines the type of transmission methods used for transmission of the message. The
communication over a distance on the order of a few meters, such as within a locality is done by
using twisted pair cable optic fiber or small aperture radios. If routing of information is done
within the building, this is done by a switch which is called private branch exchange (PBX). As
distances increases to town or city, the local telephone network is usually used. In the early days
of telecommunications, all interexchange traffic was done using numerous pairs of copper wires
(one pair for each interconnection). This was very cumbersome, because interexchange cables were
required, and such connections required hundreds or thousands of copper pairs. A technique known
as multiplexing was subsequently devised for passing multiple simultaneous telephone calls down
one pair of copper wires. There are a few different types of telecommunication systems, or rather
technologies that exist in the market today and even though the very first system to be created in
the 18th century. Considering that the internet and telephone are considered two of the most
important telecommunication systems, there are also many other advanced and evolving
technologies that joins these two innovative technologies, which all were designed with the intent
to enhance the human capability of the future, as well as everything it has to offer. The technology
used by satellite communications overlaps terrestrial microwave radio technology to a large extent.
The radio nature and operating frequencies are the same. The main differences lie in the scale of
the components. Because the satellite link is over 36,000 km long, high-power transmitters and
very low-noise receivers are necessary. Also, the size and weight of the satellite electronics must
be kept to an absolute minimum to minimize launch costs. Considerable attention has recently been
devoted to very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite technology. As the definition of VSAT
implies, these systems have earth station terminals that use antennas of only 1 to 4 m in diameter.
This is a significant reduction from the 30-m-diameter antennas used in the original earth station
designs of the 1970s

3.1 Types of Telecommunication Media

3.1.1 The Optical Fiber Transmission System
One of the oldest and most common forms of telecommunication systems used historically and in
modern times is optical telecommunication. Optical telecommunication can be defined as the use
of light to transmit information. Some of the more notable and familiar examples of optical
telecommunication systems include navigation lights, flares, semaphore communication and
smoke signals. Fiber-optics and infrared sensors are also types of optical telecommunication. The
optical fiber link in the figure below has some similarities to the microwave link. Both systems
transmit the same output from the digital multiplexer (i.e., the baseband). The bit stream in the case
of the optical fiber system can be used directly to turn a laser on and off to send light pulses down
the fiber cable. Eventually, optical fiber systems might use a heterodyning or homodyning
technique to improve the overall performance of the system. Regenerators are used at intervals to
boost the signal, as in the microwave radio system. The distance between regenerators is gradually
increasing for optical fiber systems as optical amplifier technology improves. Conversely, the line-
of-sight microwave radio system regenerator spacing is limited by a physical, not a technological,
constraint. The increasing regenerator spacing of optical fiber systems is an important factor in
enabling overall costs to be reduced. The spacing of optical regenerators is limited by the dispersive
characteristics of the fiber. As usual, the receiver incorporates a detector, an amplifier, and a means
of restoring the original baseband bit stream ready for demultiplexing to voice, data, or TV signals.
The error performance is significantly superior to radio. It is widely believed that fiber optics is
not only here to stay, but has the potential to transform our lifestyles in the decades to come.

Figure 1. The optical Fiber link

3.2 Mobile Radio System
Radio telecommunication is a widely used tool. One of the primary advantages of radio
communication is that it can be used to communicate with individuals over long distances. Since
the advent of the 20th century, radio telecommunication systems have evolved at a rapid pace and
have become one of the most fundamental elements of modern day technology infrastructure.
Radio telecommunication systems have been implemented on both a professional and consumer-
grade level, which further expands the reach of this highly versatile technology. The term radio
does not solely cover devices such as radios, the standard cable television is a form of popular
radio telecommunication that many individuals use on a daily basis. Since there is availability of
portable radio equipment telephone. In the industrialized world the day might not be too far away
when city dwellers consider a portable telephone to be as much a part of their normal attire as a
wrist watch. The term city dweller is used because portable telephones link up to the main national
telephone network via very expensive equipment installed in the main city or urban areas.
Gradually, coverage of entire countries is being accomplished, although the economics of such an
enterprise might be prohibitive for many developing countries. Radio waves have a large
attenuation as they travel through the atmosphere, so in order to keep the required customer
transmitter power to an acceptably low level, the distance between the customer and the nearest
base station to link into the telephone network must be kept as small as possible. This has led to
the need for numerous base stations arranged in a type of honeycomb, otherwise known as the
cellular structure. In early mobile systems, each customer used a particular communication
frequency for the duration of each call. Because of the limited frequency spectrum available, the
number of subscribers able to use the systems simultaneously would appear to be quite small.
However, the cellular system lends itself to frequency reuse, whereby subscribers in different areas
use identical frequencies of communication and, by careful design, do not suffer any noticeable
interference with each other.
 Figure 2: Mobile Radio Link

3.3 Other types of Modern Communication Systems

Modern technology has enabled the creation of a myriad of new communication tools, sites and
software. Likewise, improvements and additions are constantly being made to existing devices to
maintain the highest quality of communication possible. There are many types of communication
available; the choice depends on where you are, how much time you have and how much you
prefer to pay.
3.3.1 Cellular Phones

Figure 3: Mobile Cellular Phone

The capabilities of cell phones have continued to increase since their introduction in the late 1980s.
The feature possess by the mobile phone such as text messaging and wireless phone conversations,
many mobile phones are equipped to enable their users has the ability to send and receive email,
pictures and recorded videos. Spread spectrum technology has further increased the ability to use
cell phones, allowing talkers to carry on their conversations hands-free with the use of a small,
one-sided headset.

3.3.2 Skype

Skype is a downloadable software that enables users to make free phone calls and send messages
via the Internet. The service also offers video phone calling, allowing users to watch each other in
real time as they talk. Use of Skype's free features requires a broadband Internet connection as does
its paid features. Both businesses and private individuals have benefited from the convenience and
immediacy of Skype's communication services

3.3.3 Instant Messaging

Instant messaging enables users to communicate with each other on the Internet via short written
(or sometimes spoken) messages delivered almost immediately after the content is created. Instant
messaging is a less cumbersome form of email as well as a faster way of facilitating complete
conversations in real time. MSN, Yahoo, Facebook and America Online are a few of the services
that offer messaging tools and programs for their users.

3.3.4 Twitter

Twitter is a popular social networking site created in 2008. While the concept is not unlike similar
social sites such as MySpace and Facebook, Twitter is unique in that users can write (or "tweet")
messages from either their computer or cell phone in short, concise updates, as often as they please.
The concept of Twitter revolves around the idea that people can stay updated on the events of
others' lives without spending a lot of time sifting through extraneous information or more
elaborate weblogs. Another perk is the fact that Twitter is completely free and requires no special
software.

3.3.5 Email

Although email is not brand new, there are definitely new and innovative ways of accessing this
tool remotely and without the usage of a computer. Many PDAs and cell phone services offer
access to email, with the capability of sending and receiving messages from the devices
themselves. This technology can be extremely helpful for those who must stay in constant
communication with family members, co-workers or other acquaintances without being bound to
larger computers or laptops.

3.4 Additional Types of Telecommunication Systems

3.4.1 Simplex:

In simplex transmission mode, the communication between sender and receiver occurs in only
one direction. The sender can only send the data, and the receiver can only receive the data. The
receiver cannot reply to the sender. Simplex transmission can be liken as a one-way road in
which the traffic travels only in one direction and no vehicle is coming from opposite direction.
Another example is by using keyboard / monitor relationship, keyboard can only send the input
to the monitor while monitor will receive and display it on the screen. The monitor cannot reply
or send a feedback to the keyboard.
 Figure 4: Simplex Communication System

3.4.2 Half Duplex

The communication between sender and receiver occurs in both directions in half duplex
transmission, but only one at a time. The sender and receiver can both send and receive the
information, but only one is allowed to send at any given time. Half duplex is still considered a
one-way road, in which a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction of the traffic has to wait till
the road is empty before it can pass through. Also, the use of walkie-talkies where both the speakers
can speak from both end but not simultaneously.

Figure 5: Half-duplex Communication System

3.4.3 Full Duplex

In full duplex transmission mode, the communication between sender and receiver can occur
simultaneously. The sender and receiver can both transmit and receive at the same time. Full
duplex transmission mode is like a two-way road, in which traffic can flow in both directions at
the same time.

Figure 6: Full duplex Communication System

4.0 Summary
In this unit, you have learnt that:
I. The meaning of transmission media
II. The different type of transmission media
III. The meaning of optical and mobile radio communication
IV. Modern transmission techniques
V. The difference between simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex transmission
5.0 Self-Assessment Questions
A. List at four transmission media and explain them briefly
B. In order to exchange information between two distance places, choose a particular
transmission media and state the reason why choosing such.
C. Distinguish between simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex with the aid of neat diagram
D. Write a comprehensive notes on the following
(i) Optical transmission system (ii) mobile radio system
E. List three modern telecommunication systems and explain them briefly

6.0 Tutor Marked Assessments

A. In order to exchange information between two distance places, choose a particular
transmission media and state the reason why choosing such.
B. Distinguish between simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex with the aid of neat diagram
C. Write a comprehensive notes on the following
F. Optical transmission system (ii) mobile radio system
D. With the aid of clear diagram, explain the process of sending information between two
locations.

7.0 Reference
1. J. Riordan, Stochastic Service Systems, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1962.
2. L. Kleinrock, Queueing Systems, Vols. 1 and 2, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1975.
3. T. L. Saaty, Elements of Queueing Theory with Applications, McGraw-Hill, New
York, 1961.
4. J. E. Flood, Telecommunication Networks, IEE Telecommunications Series 1, Peter
Peregrinus, London, 1975.
5. “Telcordia Notes on the Networks,” Telecordia Special Report SR-2275, Issue 4,
Telecordia, Piscataway, NJ, October 2000.
6. National Telephone Networks for the Automatic Service, International Telecommunication
Union—CCITT, Geneva, 1964.
7. D. Bear, Principles of Telecommunication Traffic Engineering, IEE Telecommunications
Series 2, Peter Peregrinus, London, 1976.
8. R. L. Freeman, Reference Manual for Telecommunication Engineering, 3rd ed., John
Wiley & Sons, New York, 2002.
9. Traffic Routing, CCITT Rec. E.170, ITU Geneva, October 1992.
8.0 Further Readings

1. https://benthamscience.com/journals/international-journal-of-sensors-wireless-
communications-and-control/ 9.
2. https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/03068290010336397
3.
https://www.google.com/search?q=half+and+full+duplex&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved
=0ahUKEwiYncCRuJTlAhVGSsAKHZ9eDwoQ_AUIESgB&biw=1525&bih=730#imgrc=gf43
g9sPW8o3uM:
4. http://telecom.hellodirect.com/docs/Tutorials/DuplexExplained.1.080801.asp
5. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/transmission-modes-computer-networks/
Module 3 Introduction to analog and digital transmissions
Unit 1 Introduction to Analog and Digital Transmission
Unit 2 Analog and Digital transmission
Unit 3 Multiplexing Techniques
Module 3
Unit 1: Introduction to analog and digital transmissions
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit covers the introduction and definition basic components and benefits of analog and digital
communications
2.0 Learning Objectives
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
I. Define analog and digital communication
II. List the advantage of digital transmission
III. State the basic digital modulation technique in digital communication
IV. List the difference between analog and digital transmission
V. List at least four advantages of digital transmission
VI. Explain at least five disadvantages of digital transmission

3.0 Main content

Transmission is the method by which computer networks send electrical signals. Data
communication is concerned with the process of exchanging data electronically between two
communication devices. In a local area network, all communication functions performed through
direct cables. Computers located far away are connected through a particular form of the data
communication link. The existing telephone or telegraphic network may also use for connecting
computers located at remote locations. The information transmits in the form of electromagnetic
signals through a transmission medium. Whether you are collecting numerical statistics from other
computers, whether you are sending animated graphics from a design station or ringing a remote
control center, information is being transmitted over network connections. The information can be
a voice, image, numeric data, characters or codes, any message that is legible and has meaning for
the target user, whether it is human or a machine. There are 2 broad types of signals, analog and
digital, which study in detail below.

3.1 Analog Transmission

An analog signal is a continuous waveform that changes smoothly over time. As the wave moves
from X to Y, the waves moves through an infinite number of values. When someone speaks a wave
created that continues in the air, this wave can capture by a microphone and converted into an
analog signal.

Information is first converted into an electrical signal known as baseband electrical signal. The
transmission does by sending this baseband signal directly. A unique process called modulation is
used in the analog transmission to accommodate more than one information signal into a single
channel. Modulation means varying any one of the parameters of a high-frequency waveform
proportional to the amplitude of the baseband signal. The parameters of the carrier often used for
the modulation are amplitude, frequency, and phase.

An analog wave form (or signal) is characterized by being continuously variable along amplitude
and frequency. In the case of telephony system, the voice from speaker’s mouth insert the air
pressure on the transducer which changes the around your mouth. Those changes in air pressure
are amplified and converted to voltage or current changes. Those fluctuations in current are an
analog of the actual voice pattern.

Fig 3.1: Analog signal waveform (https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/analog-vs-digital/analog-signals)

When it comes to an analog circuit, we need to also define the frequency band in which it operates.
The human voice, for example, can typically generate frequencies from 100Hz to 10,KHz, for a
bandwidth of 9,900Hz. For the provision of a voice-grade analog circuit, bandwidth-limiting filters
are put on that circuit to filter out all frequencies above 4,000Hz. That's why analog circuits can
conduct only fairly low-speed data communications. The maximum data rate over an analog
facility is 33.6Kbps when there are analog loops at either end. Analog facilities have limited
bandwidth, which means they cannot support high-speed data. Another characteristic of analog is
that noise is accumulated as the signal traverses the network. As the signal moves across the
distance, it loses power and becomes impaired by factors such as moisture in the cable, dirt on a
contact, and critters chewing on the cable somewhere in the network. By the time the signal arrives
at the amplifier, it is not only attenuated, it is also impaired and noisy. Also another problems with
a basic amplifier is that it is a dumb device. But along with an increased signal, the amplifier
passes along an increased noise level. So in an analog network, each time a signal goes through an
amplifier, it accumulates noise. After you the mix of the signal and the noise, it will be difficult to
separate the two and thus resulting in high error rates.

3.2 Digital Transmission

Digital signal transmission is the transferring of signal over the channel in discrete format. The
signal is much simpler as compare to analog signal. Rather than being a continuously variable
wave form, it is a series of discrete pulses, representing one bits and zero bits. Each computer uses
a coding scheme that defines what combinations of ones and zeros constitute all the characters in
a character set.
 Figure 3.2 Digital transmission (https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/analog-vs-digital/digital-signals)

How the ones and zeros are physically carried through the network depends on whether the network
is electrical or optical. In electrical networks, one bits are represented as high voltage while zero
bits are represented as null, or low voltage. In optical networks, one bits are represented by the
presence of light, and zero bits are represented by the absence of light. Because a digital signal is
easier to reproduce than an analog signal, we can treat it with a little less care in the network. In
digital transmission, the use of dumb amplifiers, digital networks use regenerative repeaters. As a
strong, clean, digital pulse travels over a distance, it loses power, similar to an analog signal. The
digital pulse, like an analog signal, is eroded by impairments in the network. But the weakened
and impaired signal enters the regenerative repeater, where the repeater examines the signal to
determine what was supposed to be a one and what was supposed to be a zero. The repeater
regenerates a new signal to pass on to the next point in the network, this is used to eliminate noises
in the transmitted signal and vastly reduce the error rate.

3.3 Analog versus Digital Transmission

The table below summarizes the characteristics of analog and digital networks.

Features Analog signal characteristics Digital signal characteristics

Network Poor; a great work is needed for network Good; smart devices produce alerts,
manageability maintenance and control because alarms, traffic statistics, and performance
measurements, and technicians at a
network control center (NCC) can
remotely monitor and manage the various
network elements
Power High because the signal contains a wide Low because only two discrete signals (0
requirement range of frequencies and amplitudes or 1 are transmitted
Security Poor; when you tap into an analog circuit, Good; encryption can be used
you hear the voice stream in its native form,
Error rates High; 10–5 bits (that is, 1 in 100,000 bits) is Low; with twisted-pair, 10-7 (that, is 1 in
guaranteed to have an error 10 million bits per second) will have an
error, with satellite, 10-9 (that is, 1 in 1
billion per second) will have an error, and
with fiber, 10-11 (that is only 1 in 10 trillion
bits per second) will have an error

3.4 Advantages of digital signals

1. Due to attenuation effects on signal transmitted, digital signal can be amplified, rebuilt due to
signal regeneration properties.
2. It can detect and correct errors at the receiving end.
3. Due to ease of modification, digital signal can be transform to any desirable format
4. Digital signals are less affected by ambient noise compared to analog signals.
3.5 Disadvantages of digital signals
1. The process of converting analog signal to digital signal is complex, hence it consumes time
2. It requires precise synchronization between the clock times of the transmitter concerning
those of the receiver.
3. The digital signal requires more bandwidth than the analog signal to be transmitted.

4.0 Summary
In this unit, you have learnt that:
I. The meaning of analog and digital transmission
II. Definition of analog transmission
III. Definition of digital communication
IV. The difference between analog and digital transmission

5.0 Self-Assessment Questions

A. Distinguish the difference between analog and digital transmission.
B. Clearly explain the advantages of using digital techniques in information transmission.
C. State at least five differences between analog and digital transmission
D. State at least five advantages of digital signal transmission
E. State at least three disadvantages of digital signal transmission

6.0 Tutor Marked Assessments

A. Distinguish the difference between analog and digital transmission.
B. Clearly explain the impact of multiplexing to information transmission.
C. Highlight the multiplexing techniques required in signal transmission
D. In tabular form, distinguish between digital and analog transmission
E. List the advantages and disadvantages of digital signals

7.0 References
1. An Introduction to Analog and Digital Communications - Simon S. Haykin, Michael Moher
Simon S. Haykin, Michael Moher
2. Telecommunication System Engineering: Analog and Digital Network Design
Book by Roger L. Freeman
3. Lathi, B. P., Modern Digital and Analog Communication Systems, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1998.

8.0 Further Reading

1. http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=24687&seqNum=4
2. https://benthamscience.com/journals/international-journal-of-sensors-wireless-
communications-and-control/ 9.
3. https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/03068290010336397
4. https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/analog-vs-digital/digital-signals
5. http://ecomputernotes.com/computernetworkingnotes/communication-networks/analog-versus-
digital
Unit 2: Introduction Multiplexing
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This unit covers the introduction and definition multiplexing technique use in digital
communications
2.0 Learning Objectives
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
I. Explain the concept of multiplexing
II. List at least six types of multiplexing
III. Explain the concept of digital modulation techniques
IV. List at least four types of digital modulation

3.0 Main content

3.1 Multiplexing

Multiplexers are extremely important to telecommunications. Their main reason for being is to
reduce network costs by minimizing the number of communications links needed between two
points. As with all other computing systems, multiplexers have evolved. Each new generation has
additional intelligence, and additional intelligence brings more benefits. The types of benefits that
have accrued, for example, include the following:

 The capability to do data compression so that you can encode certain characters with fewer
bits than normally required and free up that additional capacity for the movement of other
information.
 The capability to do error detection and correction between the two points that are being
connected to ensure that data integrity and accuracy are being maintained.
 The capability to manage transmission resources on a dynamic basis, with such things as
priority levels. Multiplexer helps to solve the problem of rerouting priority information when
the need is arises.
 The more intelligent the multiplexer, the more actively and intelligently it can work on your
behalf to dynamically make use of the transmission resources you have.

Figure 3.3 Network without multiplexer Figure 3.4 Network with multiplexer
Figure 3.3 illustrates a network without multiplexers. Assuming the network is for a department
stores. The CPU is at Location A, a data center that's in another location that manages all the credit
authorization functions for all these stores. Location B, has another branch of Bob's stores in
different locations. Many customers will want to make purchases using the store credit cards, so
we need to have a communications link back to the credit authorization center so that the proper
approvals and validations can be made. Given that it's a sales transaction, the most likely choice of
communications link is the use of a leased line from each of the various locations.

Remember that the use of leased lines is a very expensive type of network connection. Because
this network resource has been reserved for one company's usage only, nobody else has access to
that bandwidth, and providers can't make use of it in the evenings or the weekends to carry
residential traffic. The use of lease line in the present area, though it is the most expensive approach
to networking but it gives manager the power to control the bandwidth use. The solution to the
above challenges is to put in multiplexers as shown in figure 3.4. Multiplexers always come in
pairs, so if you have one at one end, you must have one at the other end. They are also symmetrical,
so if there are five outputs available in station A, there must also be five inputs in station B. The
station A, short leased lines, referred to as tail circuits, run from the centrally placed multiplexer
to each of the individual locations. Thus, five locations are sharing one high-cost leased line, rather
than each having its own leased line. Intelligence embedded in the multiplexers allows the network
manager to manage access to that bandwidth and to allocate network services to the endpoints.

3.4 Various multiplexing techniques

There are various types of multiplexing techniques which including Frequency Division
Multiplexing (FDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Statistical Time Division
Multiplexing (STDM), intelligent multiplexing, inverse multiplexing, and Wavelength Division
Multiplexing (WDM)/Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). All these techniques
enable multiple channels to coexist on one link.

3.4.1 Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)

FDM is an environment in which the entire frequency band available on the communications link
is divided into smaller individual bands or channels figure 3.5. Each user is assigned to a different
frequency. The signals all travel in parallel over the same communications link, but they are
divided by frequency, that is, each signal rides on a different portion of the frequency spectrum.
Frequency, which is an analog parameter, implies that the type of link you see with FDM is usually
an analog facility. A disadvantage of frequency division multiplex is that they can be difficult to
reconfigure in an environment in which there's a great deal of dynamic change.
 Figure 3.5: Frequency division multiplexing

3.4.2 Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)

The second multiplexing technique to be delivered to the marketplace was TDM. There are various
levels of TDM, a dedicated time slot is provided for each port or point of interface on the system.
Each device in a predetermined sequence is allotted a time slot during which it can transmit. That
time slot would enable one character of data, or 8 bits of digitized voice, to be placed on the
communications link. The allocated time slots have to be framed in order for the individual
channels to be separated out. A problem with a standard time-division mux is that there is a one-
to-one correlation between each port and time slot, so if the device attached to Port 2 is out for the
day, nobody else can make use of Time Slot 2. Hence, there is a tendency to waste bandwidth when
vacant slots occur because of idle stations. However, this type of TDM is more efficient than
standard FDM because more sub channels can be derived.

Figure 3.6: Time division multiplexing

FDM and TDM can be combined. For example, you could use FDM to carve out individual
channels and then within each of those channels apply TDM to carry multiple conversations on
each channel. In fact, this is the way that some digital cellular systems work (for example, Global
Systems for Mobile Communications [GSM]).

3.4.3 Statistical Time Division Multiplexing (STDM)

STDM was introduced to overcome the limitation of standard TDM, in which stations cannot use
each other's time slots. Statistical time-division multiplexers, dynamically allocate the time slots
among the active terminals, which means that you can actually have more terminals than you have
time slots A stat mux is a smarter mux and it has more memory than other multiplexes, so if all the
time slots are busy, excess data goes into a buffer. If the buffer fills up, the additional access data
gets lost, so it's important to think about how much traffic to put through the stat mux to ensure
that performance variables are maintained. By dynamically allocating the time slots, you get the
most efficient use of bandwidth. Additionally, because these are smarter multiplexes, they have
the additional intelligence mentioned earlier in terms of compression and error-control features.
Because of the dynamic allocation of time slots, a stat mux is able to carry two to five times more
traffic than a traditional time-division mux. But, again, as you load the stat mux with traffic, you
run the risk of delays and data loss occurring.
 Figure 3.7: Statistical Time Division Multiplexing

3.4.3 Intelligent Multiplexing (IM)

An intelligent multiplexer is often referred to as a concentrator, particularly in the telecom world.

Rather than being a device used in pairs, it is used as a singular device, a line-sharing device whose
purpose is to concentrate large numbers of low-speed lines to be carried over a high-speed line to
a further point in the network. A good example of a concentrator is in a device called the digital
loop carrier (DLC), which is also referred to as a remote concentrator or remote terminal, twisted-
pairs go from the local exchange to the neighborhood. Before the advent of DLCs, you needed a
twisted-pair for each household. If the demand increased beyond the number of pairs you had
available out of that local exchange, you were out of luck until a new local exchange was added.
With digital technology, you can make better use of the existing pairs. Instead of using each pair
individually per subscriber from the local exchange to the subscriber, you can put a DLC in the
center. At the DLC, the use of a series of either fiber-optic pairs or microwave beams to connect
the local exchange to this intermediate DLC, and those facilities are primarily used to carry
multiplexed traffic. Also, at the DLC, the individual twisted-pairs are break to the household. This
allows elimination of much of what used to be an analog plant leading up to the local exchange. It
also allows to provide service to customers who are outside the distance specifications between a
subscriber and the local exchange. So, in effect, that DLC can be used to reduce the loop length.
Traditional DLCs are not interoperable with some of the new DSL offerings, including ADSL and
SDSL.
 Figure 3.8: Intelligent multiplexing

3.4.4 Inverse Multiplexing

The inverse multiplexer arrived on the scene in the 1990s. It does the opposite of what the
multiplexers described so far do. Rather than combine lots of low-bit-rate streams to ride over a
high-bit-rate pipe, an inverse multiplexer breaks down a high-bandwidth signal into a group of
smaller-data-rate signals that can be dispersed over a range of channels to be carried over the
network. A primary application for inverse multiplexers is to support of high-bandwidth
applications such as videoconferencing. The channels are carried across the network separately
and at the destination point, a complementary inverse mux again reaggregates, resynchronizes, and
reproduces that high-bandwidth signal so that it can be projected on the destination video monitor.
Inverse multiplexing therefore allows you to experience a bit of elastic bandwidth. You can allocate
existing capacity to a high-bandwidth application without having to subscribe to a separate link
just for that purpose.

Figure 3.9: Inverse multiplexing

3.4.5 Wavelength Division Multiplexers (WDM)

WDM was specifically developed for use with fiber optics. In the past, we could use only a fraction
of the available bandwidth of a fiber-optic system. This was mainly because we had to convert the
optical pulses into electrical signals to regenerate them as they moved through the fiber network.
And because repeaters were originally electronic, data rates were limited to about 2.5Gbps. In
1994, something very important happened: optical amplifiers called erbium-doped fiber amplifiers
(EDFAs) were introduced. Erbium is a chemical that's injected into the fiber. As a light pulse passes
through the erbium, the light is amplified and continues on its merry way, without having to be
stopped and processed as an electrical signal. The introduction of EDFAs immediately opened up
the opportunity to make use of fiber-optic systems operating at 10Gbps.

3.10: Wavelength Division Multiplexers (WDM)

3.5 What is Digital modulation?

Digital Modulation and is a generic name for modulation techniques that uses discrete signals to
modulate a carrier wave. In comparison, FM and AM are analog techniques. The three main types
of digital modulation are Frequency Shift Keying (FSK), Phase Shift Keying (PSK) and Amplitude
Shift Keying (ASK). DM eliminates transmission noise and offers improved robustness to signal
interference. However, it is not uncommon for DM to introduce time delay due to the processing
required.

Digital Modulation provides more information capacity, high data security, quicker system
availability with great quality communication. Hence, digital modulation techniques have a greater
demand, for their capacity to convey larger amounts of data than analog modulation techniques.
There are many types of digital modulation techniques and also their combinations, depending
upon the need. Some of digital modulation techniques are as listed below

(i) Amplitude Shift Keying: The amplitude of the resultant output depends upon the input data
whether it should be a zero level or a variation of positive and negative, depending upon
the carrier frequency.
(ii) Frequency Shift Keying: The frequency of the output signal will be either high or low,
depending upon the input data applied.
(iii) Phase Shift Keying: The phase of the output signal gets shifted depending upon the input.
These are mainly of two types, namely Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) and Quadrature
Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), according to the number of phase shifts. The other one is
Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK) which changes the phase according to the previous
value.
(iv) M-ary Encoding: M-ary Encoding techniques are the methods where more than two bits
are made to transmit simultaneously on a single signal. This helps in the reduction of
bandwidth.
4.0 Summary
In this unit, you have learnt that:
V. Definition of analog transmission
VI. Definition of digital communication
VII. The difference between analog and digital transmission
VIII. The meaning of multiplexing
IX. Different types of multiplexing

5.0 Self-Assessment
1.0 Distinguish the difference between analog and digital transmission.
2.0 Clearly explain the impact of multiplexing to information transmission.
3.0 Highlight the multiplexing techniques required in signal transmission

6.0 Tutor Marked Assessment

A. With the aid of diagram, explain the frequency division multiplexing
B. With the aid of clear diagram, inverse and intelligent multiplexing.

7.0 References
1. Cover, T., and J. Thomas, Elements of Information Theory, New York: Wiley, 1991.
2. Downing, J. J., Modulation Systems and Noise, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1964.
3. Erickson, G., “A fundamental introduction to the compact disc player,”
4. Gitlin, R. A., J. F. Hayes, and S. B. Weinstein, Data Communication Principles, New York:
Plennum, 1992.
5. Gold, B. and N. Morgan, Speech and Audio Signal Processing, New York: Wiley, 1999.
6. Guttman, I., S. S. Wilks, and J. S. Hunter, Introductory Engineering Statistics, 2nd ed.,
New York: Wiley, 1971.
7. Haykin, S., Adaptive Filter Theory, 4th ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2002.
8. Haykin, S., Communications Systems, 4th ed., New York: Wiley, 2001.

8.0 Further Reading

1. An Introduction to Analog and Digital Communications - Simon S. Haykin, Michael Moher
Simon S. Haykin, Michael Moher
2. http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=24687&seqNum=4
3. https://benthamscience.com/journals/international-journal-of-sensors-wireless-
communications-and-control/ 9.
https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/03068290010336397
4. Telecommunication System Engineering: Analog and Digital Network Design
Book by Roger L. Freeman