INTRODUCTION TO

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
ENGR. ZAN AIZUWAN BIN ZAINAL ABIDIN

1.0 INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

1.1 UNDERSTAND THE ELEMENT IN COMMUNICATION

SYSTEM
1.2 UNDERSTAND THE INFORMATION, MESSAGES & SIGNAL
1.3 UNDERSTAND THE MODULATION PROCESS & ITS NEED
1.4 LEARN NOISE, INTERFERENCE & DISTORTION
1.5 KNOW THE FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
1.6 UNDERSTAND VARIOUS TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

Block diagram of communications system

Encoding
modulation
(distortion)
Information
source

Transmitter

(distortion)
Channel

Noise
source

Decoding
demodulation
(distortion)
Receiver

Destination

Communications System
Block Diagram
Source encoder converts message into message signal or bits.
Transmitter converts message signal or bits into format

appropriate for channel transmission (analog/digital signal).

Channel introduces distortion, noise, and interference.

Receiver decodes received signal back to message signal.
Source decoder decodes message signal back into original

message.

Main Points
Communication systems send information

electronically over communication channels

Many different types of systems which convey many

different types of information

Design challenges include hardware, system, and

network issues

Communication systems recreate transmitted

information at receiver with high fidelity

Transmitter
The Transmitter (Tx) element processes a message

signal in order to produce a signal most likely to pass

reliably & efficiently through the channel.

Transmission Medium
Electrical medium between source and destination,

for example cable, optical fibre or free space, the

channel is characterized by its loss/attenuation,
bandwidth, noise/interference & distortion.

Receiver
The receiver (Rx) function is principally to reverse

the modulation processing of the transmitter in

order to recover the message signal, attempting to
compensate for any signal degradation introduced by
the channel.

Information

Is an ordered sequence of symbols that record or

transmit a message.
Information itself is that which is conveyed. The
amount of information contained in any given
message can be measured in bits.
Message

A message is information which is sent from

a source to a receiver.

Signal

a transmitter encodes a message into a signal, which

is carried to a receiver by the
communications channel.

Baseband
signals and systems whose range of frequencies is

measured from close to 0 hertz to a cut-off frequency, a

maximum bandwidth or highest signal frequency; it is
sometimes used as a noun for a band of frequencies
starting close to zero.
A basebandsignalis a signal that can include frequencies
that are very near zero, by comparison with its highest
frequency.
A signal "at baseband" is usually considered to include
frequencies from near 0 Hz up to the highest frequency in
the signal with significant power.

Bandpass
Bandpass is an adjective that describes a type of

filter or filtering process.

A band-pass filter is a device that passes
frequencies within a certain range and rejects
(attenuates) frequencies outside that range.

Modulation
Modulation is a process of mixing a signal with a

sinusoid to produce a new signal.

This new signal, will have certain benefits of an unmodulated signal, especially during transmission. If
we look at a general function for a sinusoid:
f(t) = Asin(t + )
A ~ magnitude, or amplitude of the sinusoid
~ frequency
~ phase angle

The sinusoidal signal that is used in the modulation

is known as the carrier signal, or simply "the

carrier".
The signal that is used in modulating the carrier
signal(or sinusoidal signal) is known as the "data
signal" or the "message signal".

Need of
Modulation
message signal or voice signals have low frequencies

=> Signal with low frequencies cannot travel longer

distance
=> to make message signals or voice signals travel longer
distance we approach a technique called modulation
=> modulation is a process in which the characteristics
like frequency , time , amplitude and phase of a carrier
signal is changed according to message signal

What is Demodulation?
Demodulation is the reverse process (to modulation)

to recover the message signal m(t) or d(t) at the

receiver.

m(t) = Analogue message

d(t) = Digital message

Noise
Any unwanted introduction of energy tending to

interfere with the proper reception & reproduction of

tranmitted signals.
Internal Noise & External Noise.

Internal Noise
Created by any of the active or passive devices found

in receivers.
Eg: Thermal Agitation Noise, Shot Noise, TransitTime Noise, Miscellaneous Noise( Flicker,
Resistance, Noise in mixers).
Thermal Agitation Noise noise generated in a
resistance or the sensitive component is random and
is referred to as thermal, agitation, white or Johnson
noise.

Internal Noise
Short Noise generated in all amplifying devices

and virtually all active devices. It is caused by

random variations in the arrival of electrons (or
holes) at the output electrode of an amplifying
device and appears as a randomly varying noise
current superimposed on the output.
Flicker modulation noise is found in transistors.
Resistance Thermal noise, sometimes called
resistance noise, it is also present in transistors.

External Noise
The various forms of noise created outside the

receiver come under the heading of external noise &

include atmospheric, extraterrestrial noise &
industrial noise.

Interference
Contamination of the channel by extraneous signals

(power lines, machinery, other channel users).

If the characteristics are known, then interference
can often be suppressed by filtering or subtraction.

Distortion
The common types of distortion are:
gain variations with frequency caused by the channel
filtering effect.
Gain variations with time as experienced in a
radio/infrared channel.
Distortion can be introduces within Tx, Rx & channel. In
Some cases it can be corrected using channel equalizers, &
gain & frequency control systems. Unlike noise &
interference, distortion disappears when the signal is turned
off.

S/N Power Ratio

Signal-to-Noise (SNR)
is a measure used in science and engineering to quantify how much a

signal has been corrupted by noise.

It is defined as the ratio of signal power to the noise power corrupting
the signal.

P=averagepower
A=RMSAmplitude(eg:RMSVoltage)

S/N Power Ratio

Expressed in terms of decibels (dB).
A ratio higher than 1:1 indicates more signal than noise
Eg : A receiver has an input signal of 1.2W. The S/N

ratio is
= 10 log1.5
= 10(0.176)
= 1.76 dB

Noise Figure
Express the noise quality of the receiver.
The ratio of the S/N power at the input to the S/N

power at the output.

The noise figure also called the noise factor;

S/N ratio at the o/p will be less than the S/N ratio at

the i/p, therefore, the F will always be greater than 1.

The lower the noise figure, the better the amplifier.

Noise Temperature
Method to express the noise in the amplifier or

receiver.
Thermal noise is proportional to temperature.
Expressed in degrees Fahrenheit or Celsius.

If the temperature in Celsius, add the 273 to get

temperature in kelvin.

Noise Temperature
If the noise factor = 1.5 , the noise temperature;

TN = 290 (F - 1)

= 290 (1.5 - 1)
= 290 (0.5)
= 145 K

Frequency Spectrum

Frequency Spectrum

Bandwidth
Is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum occupied by

a signal.
the difference between the upper and lower frequency
limits of the signal or the equipment operation range.
It is typically measured in hertz (Hz).

A key characteristic of bandwidth is that a band of a given

width can carry the same amount of information,

regardless of where that band is located in the frequency
spectrum.

Eg: The bandwidth of the voice frequency range from

300 to 3000 Hz. The upper freq is f2 and the lower

freq is f1. the bandwidth then is
BW = f2 f1
= 3000 300
= 2700 Hz

Wavelength

Wavelength of a sine wave, , can be measured between

any two points with the same phase, such as between

crests, or troughs, or corresponding zero crossings as
shown.
The wavelength of a sinusoidal waveform traveling at
constant speed v is given by:
c=f
c=phasespeed/velocity, speed of light ,about 3 x
108m/s
f=wavesfrequency

Data Communication
The term telecommunication means
communication at a distance. The word data
refers to information presented in whatever form
is agreed upon by the parties creating and using
the data. Data communications are the exchange
of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable.

Data Communication
coveringthreegeneralareas:datacommunications,

networking,andprotocols.
Datacommunicationsdealswiththetransmissionof
signalsinareliableandefficientmanner.
Networkingdealswiththetechnologyandarchitecture
ofthecommunicationsnetworksusedtointerconnect
communicatingdevices.
Protocolsdealswiththeprotocolbeingusedin
communicationandnetworking

Contemporary Data Comms

trends

traffic growth at a high & steady rate

development of new services
advances in technology

significant change in requirements

emergence of high-speed LANs

corporate WAN needs
digital electronics

A Communications Model

Source - generates data to be transmitted

Transmitter - converts data into transmittable signals
Transmission System - carries data from source to destination
Receiver - converts received signal into data
Destination - takes incoming data

Data Communications Model

Transmission Medium
selection is a basic choice

internal use entirely up to business

long-distance links made by carrier

rapid technology advances change mix

fiber optic
wireless

transmission costs still high

hence interest in efficiency improvements

Transmission Connectivity
Transmission system-transmit information by using

various media: wireless, cable, radio, optical fiber

Information representation: analog voice signal, bits,
character, image
Backbone; main trunk connection of Internet

Cont..
Switch: interchanges, transfer information flow from

1 transmission line to another, reduce connection

from N(N-1) to N
Router: route the data
Forwarding: move the data
Multiplexer is used to connect 2 access networks:
provides high-speed connection; existence of
Metropolitan Networks

Mobile Radio Communication

Wireless

- Radio terminal that uses radio frequency (electromagnetic

waves)without physical connection to the radio station.
Mobile

- Any radio terminal that can be moved during operation.

- Radio terminal attached to a high speed mobile platform.
Portable

- Radio system that can be handheld.

- Used at walking speed.
Mobile phone, is it wireless, mobile or portable?

MODERN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

SYSTEMS

1. WALKIE TALKIE
Push on and off
Half duplex
Low quality
Short Distance
No privacy to user

2. PAGING
anon-speech,one-way,personalselectivecallingsystemwithalert,
withoutmessageorwithdefinedmessagesuchasnumericor
alphanumeric
Simplex and up to 1000 character (Low quality) can be sent
Strength : inexpensive, small receiver, wide area, no antenna required, discrete
communication of messages
Weakness: no confirmation of received message
Form of paging: Public (wide area) and Private (on site)
The Paging Network Controller (PNC) handles the user interface and the user
features of a paging system via PSTN
The Transmission Network (TN) is the infrastructure through which the pages
are distributed to Paging Base Stations (PBS) which are located over a wide
geographical area.

3. PRIVATE MOBILE RADIO (PMR)

Use one radio channel, duplex operation.
Serve needs of certain group
Control fleet of mobile e.g. police, taxi, etc.
Use common channel
Buy or rent equipment
Pay to system operator for accessing fee
Limitation
Congestion
Limited number of channels
Low capacity system
High transmission power from RBS
Interference because no frequency re-use
Lack of control over users and lack of privacy
No link to PSTN
Limited support of voice and data transmission

4. TRUNKED RADIO
Duplex operation
Users share a pool of channels
Increased availability since user only allocated a channel when needed
Possible to recognize the private mobile radio
Channels allocated are only available to users of that system
Optional access to PSTN
High grade of service and quality of speech
Spectrum saving and low installation cost
Privacy
User-friendly
Wide range of user facilities (selective calling, variable group and priority call)
Large operational coverage area
Easy accommodation of new users

5. CORDLESS SYSTEM
The cordless telephone, as its name implies, replaces the cord to the handset
with a radio link, giving user degree of mobility.
Cordless telephone consists of (1) Base unit and (2) Portable unit.
The range to the fixed base unit can be many tens of meters, depending on its
location.
The principal difference between cellular and cordless communication
technologies is the degree of mobility provided to the subscriber.
Cellular system allow mobile subscriber to communicate continuously over
wide areas by providing handover to adjacent cells while cordless system
restrict mobility to a finite area.
First generation cordless (CT-1) system are based on analogue technologies
and characterised by variable quality and are prone to interference with nearby
system. Other disadvantages:
poor speech quality
limited range
bulky
short battery life
poor security

SWAP - Shared Wireless

Access Protocol
CTM - Cordless Terminal
Mobility

Digital Cordless System

6. CELLULAR SYSTEM
Provides wireless connection to the PSTN for any user location within
the radio range of the system.
Large number of user over large geographical area, WITH limited
frequency spectrum.
Service quality comparable to landline (fixed) telephone systems.
Cell concept
Coverage of BTS is limited to a small geographical area.
Frequency reuse, same radio channel may be reused by another
BTS located some distance away.
Handoff (handover)
Transfer of call to next cell when the user moves from one cell to
another

 MSC coordinates the activities of all base stations.

Also known as MTSO Mobile Telephone Switching Office as it

is responsible for connecting all mobiles in cellular system to the PSTN.
Typically handles 100,000 user and 5000 simultaneous
conversation at one time.
Accommodates all billing and system maintenance function.
ME and BTS communication is defined by commonairinterface(CAI)
BTS to ME forwardvoicechannels(FVC)
ME to BTS reversevoicechannels(RVC)
Forwardcontrolchannels(FCC)andreversecontrolchannels
(RCC) around 5% of total radio channel
also known as setupchannels.
Call initiation, service request, beacon

First Generation (1G) Cellular System

Analog mobile phone systems
Advance Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) in the USA

40 MHz spectrum in 800MHz band, extended by another 10MHz.

30kHz channel per user, FDMA
Large cell, omnidirectional antennas
European Total Access Communication Systems (ETACS)
Identical to AMPS, except uses 25kHz channel and telephone
number format (due to country code in Europe and area code in
the US)

First Generation (1G) Cellular Systems (Analog)

Second Generation (2G) Cellular Networks

3x spectrum efficiency compared to 1G, 3x increase in capacity
Digital modulation standard, TDMA/FDD and CDMA/FDD
4 main standards, 3 TDMA and 1 CDMA

Global System Mobile (GSM)

8 time slotted users for each 200kHz radio channel.
Common in Europe, Asia, Australia, South America and some
part in the US (only in PCS spectrum band).
Interim Standard 136 (IS 136)
North America Digital Cellular
3 time slotted users for each 30kHz channel
North America, South America and Australia

 Pacific Digital Cellular (PDC)

Japanese version of IS 136

Interim Standard 95 Code Division Multiple Access (IS 95)
Also known as cdmaOne
64 orthogonally coded and simultaneously transmit users in
1.25MHz channel.
Deployed in Korea, Japan, China, South America and
Australia.
Support data transmission, 9.6kbps
Short Messaging Service
Originally only works between users in the same network

Second Generation (2G) Cellular Systems (Digital)

2.5 Generation (2.5G)

Emphasis on data transmission for web browsing, email etc
No major replacement to 2G equipment.

Base station add-ons, software upgrade

Support Wireless Applications Protocol (WAP)
Compress standard webpages for view on
wireless device.
Migration path depends on original 2G
technology

2.5 Generation (2.5G)

Exp:

- High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD)

- General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
- Enhanced Data rates for GSM (or Global) Evolution
(EDGE)
- IS 95B

Third Generation, 3G
High speed internet access (Mbps)

Live music, interactive web session, simultaneous voice and data

access with multiple parties.
Standards based on proposals submitted by various interested parties.
Exp:
IMT-2000
TD-SCDMA (China 3G Implementation)
W-CDMA (UMTS)
cdma2000