Transmission media

The transmission media are the central part of the telecommunications systems. They affect the transmitted signals by different types of disturbances and degradations mainly due to their characteristics. Knowing these transmission media is an absolute necessity for telecommunications students. The transmission media are the means that allow the transmission of information from the transmitter to the receiver with a minimum of dispersion, distortion, disturbance, and alteration. This is achieved by taking into account certain characteristics such as Bandwidth, attenuation, noise sensitivity, SNR, characteristic impedance, reflection and transmission coefficient, SWR and data rate.There are four types of transmission media: Electrical metallic conductors namely coaxial cables and twisted pairs. Optical fibers using light as a transmission medium. Microwave systems that allow the connection of remote sites using radio waves. Finally, free space infrared light beams used in optical communication.