USE OF TRANSMISSION MEDIA IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK Transmission media may be classified into the following categories:

y Copper wire: this is the oldest form of electronic transmission medium. Its use dates back to the development of telegraph in the 1800s and earliest telephone systems. Early installations used open wires, but these were suspended by twisted pairs, which consist of a pair of insulates and twisted wires. y Coaxial cable: A coaxial cable consists of four concentric cylinders: an inner conductor, surrounded by an insulating cylinder, surrounded by an outer conductor, surrounded by a final protective cover. This combination is called coax. y Optical fiber: An optical fiber consists of two concentric cylinders\; an inner core surrounded by a cladding. Both the core and the cladding are made of transparent plastic or glass material. The core is used for guiding a light beam, whereas the cladding (which has a different refractive index) acts as a reflector to prevent the light from escaping from the core. y Radio: Radio signals have been used for a long time to transmit analog information. They are particularly attractive for long distance communication over difficult terrain or across the oceans, where the cost of installing cables can be too prohibitive. Another increasingly-popular form of radio is cellular radio, which is currently being used by carriers for providing mobile telephone networks. These operate in the VHF band and subdivide their coverage area into conceptual cells, where each cell represents a limited area which is served by a low-power transmitter and receiver station. y Infra-red: infra-red signals are suitable for transmission over relatively short distances (the signal is easily reflected by hard objects). The signal is generated and received using optical transceivers.

i. Explain fully the construction of the different media and their applications in telecommunication networks. ii. Compare the features of the different transmission media in terms of characteristics impedance, primary line coefficients, bandwidth, data rates, cost, reliability and coverage. iii. Consider the problem of providing a 2 Mbps physical connection between two LAN sites which are 10 Kms apart and are located in the same city. Discuss the merits of using different types of transmission media for this purpose.