COMS3100/7100
Introduction to
Communications
Lecture 2: Introduction
This lecture:
I What is communication and how do we do it?
I A model for communications
I Analogue vs. digital
I Capacity & reliability
Ref: Carlson ch. 1, Couch ch. 1, Haykin ‘Background & Preview’,
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 1 / 19
What is Communication?
Communication is the transmission of
information.
I Our aim is to reproduce as accurately as
possible at the receiver a message sent
from the transmitter.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 2 / 19
What is Communication? (2)
What sorts of messages might we
communicate?
I speech I video
I music I text
I images I sensor
readings, etc.
Hello
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 3 / 19
What is Communication? (3)
How do we `package up' a message for
transmission?
I As a signal.
Hello 0101010101
1010101010
1010010101
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 4 / 19
Measuring Information
Can we measure an amount of information?
I Quantity of information is subjective.
I It is measured by the receiver, as a level
of `surprise'.
I Communication is most ef icient when
the transmitter is `in tune' with what is
surprising to the intended receiver.
I H (1928) proposed measuring
information in terms of (number of) bits.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 5 / 19
How?
We communicate through a medium or a
channel.
I Ink on a page.
I Sound through air.
I Electromagnetic (EM) radiation through:
I air (or free space), I twisted pair,
I coaxial cable, I optical ibre.
IMagnetisation of a ferromagnetic
material.
N.B. Data storage is a form of
communication — to ourselves!
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 6 / 19
How? (2)
IA communication system should be
suited to the channel.
The system is in luenced by the mode of
communication:
I one-to-one (e.g., point-to-point),
I one-to-many (e.g., broadcasting),
I many-to-many (e.g., networking).
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 7 / 19
EM Spectrum
For telecommunication (τ ɛλɛ meaning `far
off') an attractive option is to use EM
radiation through air, i.e., radio.
I Excellent propagation over long
distances at some frequencies.
I Avoids necessity to run a wire!
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 8 / 19
EM Spectrum(2)
But everyone else wants to use radio too.
⇒ Government regulates who can use what.
I The International Telecommunications
Union (ITU) works to reserve certain
areas of spectrum worldwide,
I e.g., for mobile phones, wireless internet
(Wi-Fi).
450 MHz 800-980 MHz 1.5 GHz 1.8 GHz 1.9 GHz 2 GHz 2.4 GHz 3.7 GHz 5.2 GHz 5.8GHz
ISM GSM GPS DECT Winforum PCS ISM WLL HiperLAN ISM
NMT 450 ISM GSM (US) 802.11 b/g 802.11a
Paging Bluetooth
CDPD HomeRF
PHS Zigbee
CT1, 2
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 9 / 19
EM Spectrum(3)
Australian spectrum plan
I In Australia, spectrum is managed by
Australian Communications and Media
Authority (ACMA).
I In the USA, the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) manages the spectrum
and de ines local standards.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 10 / 19
A Model for Communications
Tx Signal
Transmitter
Encoder
(TX)
Noise,
Interference
distortion
Channel
Rx Signal
Receiver
Decoder
(RX)
Communications
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 11 / 19
A Model for Communications (2)
I We start with a source that is not
necessarily electrical.
I The source is transduced into an
electrical signal, the input to the
communication system.
I In the transmitter, it is modulated
and/or coded and/or transduced into a
transmit signal suitable for the channel.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 12 / 19
A Model for Communications (3)
I The signal may be corrupted by noise,
interference and distortion as it passes
through the channel.
I The received signal is
demodulated/decoded/transduced to
produce an output signal.
I This signal is transduced into a form
suitable for the destination.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 13 / 19
Analogue vs. Digital Comms
Some information is inherently digital in
nature,
I e.g., text,
but very often information `starts & ends
life' in analogue form.
I Nevertheless, digital communication is
increasingly popular even when the
information is inherently analogue.
I Digitising an analogue signal causes an
irreversible loss of idelity.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 14 / 19
Analogue vs Digital Comms (2)
I So why is digital comms popular?
I Digital signal processing components are
cheap, readily available, programmable,
with predictable, stable performance.
I Also, can confer resistance to noise.
O Digital ""
Quality of ""
An ""
signal reproduced alogu ""
at receiver e ""
"
/
Noise or distance
or attenuation.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 15 / 19
Constraints
In designing a system, many constraints
may need to observed, including:
I transmitted power,
I signal-to-noise ratio (SNR),
I bandwidth,
I data rate,
I maximum transmitted signal amplitude,
I idelity or bit error rate (BER),
I latency,
I interference,
I ‘business factors’ (cost, risk, etc.).
It is the task of the communications
engineer to be able to design systems
within such constraints.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 16 / 19
Reliable Communications
S (1948) made the startling
discovery that, over certain channels, it is
possible to:
I transmit data at a certain rate — up to
the channel capacity
I yet, despite the corrupting effects of
noise,
I receive the data with an arbitrarily low
bit error rate!
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 17 / 19
Reliable Communications (2)
The secret is in channel coding.
I S didn't show how to construct a
practical channel code.
I After more than 50 years of research,
starting to get quite close to theoretical
limits only recently:
I turbo codes, low-density parity check
codes.
I Determination of channel capacity is the
province of information theory.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 18 / 19
Theory and Practice
Physics and information theory show us
what is possible. . .
. . . but we must build with what we have,
reaching out for the ideal.
COMS3100/COMS7100 Intro to Communications Lecture 2 - Introduction 19 / 19
