■ In a data transmission system, the transmission medium is
the physical path between transmitter and receiver.
■ guided – Copper wire / optical fibre
For guided media, electromagnetic waves are guided along a solid medium, such as copper twisted pair, copper coaxial
cable, and optical fibre.
■ Unguided – Free space wireless
For unguided media, wireless transmission occurs through
the atmosphere, outer space, or water
■ key concerns are data rate, distance and susceptibility to noise
■ Design Factors**
■ Bandwidth - Higher the channel bandwidth, higher the data rate supported.
■ Transmission impairments - Attenuation distortion, delay distortion
■ Interference - Interference from competing signals in overlapping
frequency bands can distort or wipe out a signal