Communication channel
In telecommunications and computer
networking, a communication
channel, or channel,
refers either to a physical transmission
medium such as a wire, or to a logical connection over a multiplexed medium such as a radio channel. Communicating
data from one location to another requires some form of pathway or medium.
These pathways, called communication channels, use two types of media: cable
(twisted-pair wire, cable, and fiber-optic cable) and broadcast (microwave,
satellite, radio, and infrared).
A channel is used to convey an information signal, for example a digital bit stream, from one or several senders (or transmitters) to one or several receivers. A channel has a
certain capacity for transmitting information, often measured by its bandwidth in Hz or its data rate in bits
per second.
Transmission media are classified as one of the following:
·
Guided (or
bounded)—waves are guided along a solid medium such as a transmission line.
·
Wireless (or unguided)—transmission and reception are achieved by means of an antenna.
