Chapter 6

Bandwidth Utilization:
Multiplexing and
Spreading
Partially Edited and
Presented by
Dr. Md. Abir Hossain

6.1 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Note

Bandwidth utilization is the wise use of

available bandwidth to achieve
specific goals.

Efficiency can be achieved by

multiplexing; privacy and anti-jamming
can be achieved by spreading.

6.2
 6-1 MULTIPLEXING

• Multiplexing is the set of techniques that allows the

simultaneous transmission of multiple signals across a
single data link.
• Whenever the bandwidth of a medium linking two devices
is greater than the bandwidth needs of the devices, the
link can be shared.
• In a multiplexed system, n lines share the bandwidth of
one link

Topics discussed in this section:

Frequency-Division Multiplexing
Wavelength-Division Multiplexing
Synchronous Time-Division Multiplexing
6.3 Statistical Time-Division Multiplexing
 Figure 6.1 Dividing a link into channels

A multiplexer combines A Demultiplexer separates

many input stream into a the combined single input
single stream stream into many stream

6.4
 Figure 6.2 Categories of multiplexing

6.5
 Figure 6.3 Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM)

• Frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) is an analog multiplexing technique

that combines analog signals
• In FDM, signals generated by each sending device modulate different carrier
frequencies.
• These modulated signals are then combined into a single composite signal that
can be transported by the link.
• Carrier frequencies are separated by sufficient bandwidth to accommodate the
modulated signal.
• These bandwidth ranges are the channels through which the various signals
travel.
• Channels can be separated by strips of unused bandwidth—guard bands—to
prevent signals from overlap- ping.
6.6
 Figure 6.4 FDM process

Baseband signal range 300Hz ~ 3KHz

Carrier (4G) signal frequency is about

1700/2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2500 MHz

6.7
 Figure 6.5 FDM demultiplexing example

6.8
 Example 6.1

Assume that a voice channel occupies a bandwidth of 4

kHz. We need to combine three voice channels into a link
with a bandwidth of 12 kHz, from 20 to 32 kHz. Show the
configuration, using the frequency domain. Assume there
are no guard bands.
Solution
We shift (modulate) each of the three voice channels to a
different bandwidth, as shown in Figure 6.6. We use the
20- to 24-kHz bandwidth for the first channel, the 24- to
28-kHz bandwidth for the second channel, and the 28- to
32-kHz bandwidth for the third one. Then we combine
them as shown in Figure 6.6.
6.9
 Figure 6.6 Example 6.1

6.10
 Example 6.2

Five channels, each with a 100-kHz bandwidth, are to be

multiplexed together. What is the minimum bandwidth of
the link if there is a need for a guard band of 10 kHz
between the channels to prevent interference?

Solution
For five channels, we need at least four guard bands.
This means that the required bandwidth is at least
5 × 100 + 4 × 10 = 540 kHz,
as shown in Figure 6.7.

6.11
 Figure 6.7 Example 6.2

6.12
 The Analog Carrier System

• To maximize the efficiency of their infrastructure,

telephone companies have traditionally
multiplexed signals from lower-bandwidth lines
onto higher-bandwidth lines.
• In this way, many switched or leased lines can be
combined into fewer but bigger channels.
• For analog lines, FDM is used. One of these
hierarchical systems used by telephone
companies is made up of groups, supergroups,
master groups, and jumbo groups (see Figure 6.9)

6.13
 The Analog Carrier System

• In this analog hierarchy, 12 voice channels are multiplexed onto a

higher-bandwidth line to create a group. A group has 48 kHz of
bandwidth and supports 12 voice channels.
• At the next level, up to five groups can be multiplexed to create a
composite signal called a supergroup.
• A supergroup has a bandwidth of 240 kHz and supports up to 60
voice channels. Supergroups can be made up of either five groups
or 60 independent voice channels.
• At the next level, 10 supergroups are multiplexed to create a master
group. A master group must have 2.40 MHz of bandwidth, but the
need for guard bands between the supergroups increases the
necessary bandwidth to 2.52 MHz. Master groups support up to 600
voice channels.
• Finally, six master groups can be combined into a jumbo group. A
jumbo group must have 15.12 MHz (6 × 2.52 MHz) but is
augmented to 16.984 MHz to allow for guard bands between the
master groups.
6.14
 Figure 6.9 Analog hierarchy

6.15
 Wavelength Division Multiplexing
• Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is designed to use the high-data-rate
capability of fiber optic cable.
• WDM is conceptually the same as FDM, except that the multiplexing and
demultiplexing involve optical signals transmitted through fiber-optic channels
• WDM combining different signals of different frequencies. The difference is that the
frequencies are very high (signal range from 50 GHz ~ 800 GHz).
• WDM combine multiple light sources into one single light at the multiplexer and do
the reverse at the demultiplexer
• One application of WDM is the SONET network, in which multiple optical fiber
lines are multiplexed and demultiplexed.
• For more please visit Four types of wavelength division multiplexing(WDM)
technology (fibermall.com)

WDM is an analog multiplexing

technique to combine optical signals.
6.16
 Figure 6.10 Wavelength-division multiplexing

6.17
 Figure 6.11 Prisms in wavelength-division multiplexing and demultiplexing

6.18
 Figure 6.12 Time Division Multiplexing

• Time-division multiplexing (TDM) is a digital process that allows several connections

to share the high bandwidth of a link
• Instead of sharing a portion of the bandwidth as in FDM, time is shared.
• Each connection occupies a portion of time in the link
• In the figure, portions of signals 1, 2, 3, and 4 occupy the link sequentially.
• We can divide TDM into two different schemes: synchronous and statistical

6.19
 Note

TDM is a digital multiplexing technique

for combining several low-rate
channels into one high-rate one.

6.20
 Figure 6.13 Synchronous time-division multiplexing
• In synchronous TDM, each input connection has an allotment in the output even if it
is not sending data.
• In synchronous TDM, the data flow of each input connection is divided into units,
where each input occupies one input time slot
• A unit can be 1 bit, one character, or one block of data.
• Each input unit becomes one output unit and occupies one output time slot but the
duration of an output time slot is n(number of connection) times shorter than the
duration of an input time slot.
• If an input time slot is T s, the output time slot is T/n s, where n is the number of
connections.

6.21
 Note

In synchronous TDM, the data rate

of the link is n times faster, and the unit
duration is n times shorter.

6.22
 Example 6.5

In Figure 6.13, the data rate for each input connection is

3 kbps. If 1 bit at a time is multiplexed (a unit is 1 bit),
what is the duration of (a) each input slot, (b) each output
slot, and (c) each frame?

Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The data rate of each input connection is 1 kbps. This
means that the bit duration is 1/1000 s or 1 ms. The
duration of the input time slot is 1 ms (same as bit
duration).

6.23
 Example 6.5 (continued)

b. The duration of each output time slot is one-third of

the input time slot. This means that the duration of the
output time slot is 1/3 ms.

c. Each frame carries three output time slots. So the

duration of a frame is 3 × 1/3 ms, or 1 ms. The
duration of a frame is the same as the duration of an
input unit.

6.24
 Example 6.6

Figure 6.14 shows synchronous TDM with a data stream

for each input and one data stream for the output. The
unit of data is 1 bit. Find (a) the input bit duration, (b)
the output bit duration, (c) the output bit rate, and (d) the
output frame rate.
Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The input bit duration is the inverse of the bit rate:
1/1 Mbps = 1 μs.

b. The output bit duration is one-fourth of the input bit

duration, or ¼ μs.
6.25
 Example 6.6 (continued)

c. The output bit rate is the inverse of the output bit

duration or 1/(4μs) or 4 Mbps. This can also be
deduced from the fact that the output rate is 4 times as
fast as any input rate; so the output rate = 4 × 1 Mbps
= 4 Mbps.

d. The frame rate is always the same as any input rate. So

the frame rate is 1,000,000 frames per second.
Because we are sending 4 bits in each frame, we can
verify the result of the previous question by
multiplying the frame rate by the number of bits per
frame.
6.26
 Figure 6.14 Example 6.6

6.27
 Example 6.7

Four 1-kbps connections are multiplexed together. A unit

is 1 bit. Find (a) the duration of 1 bit before multiplexing,
(b) the transmission rate of the link, (c) the duration of a
time slot, and (d) the duration of a frame.

Solution
We can answer the questions as follows:
a. The duration of 1 bit before multiplexing is 1 / 1 kbps,
or 0.001 s (1 ms).

b. The rate of the link is 4 times the rate of a connection,

or 4 kbps.
6.28
 Example 6.7 (continued)

c. The duration of each time slot is one-fourth of the

duration of each bit before multiplexing, or 1/4 ms or
250 μs. Note that we can also calculate this from the
data rate of the link, 4 kbps. The bit duration is the
inverse of the data rate, or 1/4 kbps or 250 μs.

d. The duration of a frame is always the same as the

duration of a unit before multiplexing, or 1 ms. We
can also calculate this in another way. Each frame in
this case has four time slots. So the duration of a
frame is 4 times 250 μs, or 1 ms.
6.29
 Interleaving
n TDM can be visualized as two fast-rotating switches,
one on the multiplexing side and the other on the
demultiplexing side.
n The switches are synchronized and rotate at the same
speed, but in opposite directions.
n On the multiplexing side, as the switch opens in front
of a connection, that connection has the opportunity
to send a unit onto the path.
n This process is called interleaving.
n On the demultiplexing side, as the switch opens in
front of a connection, that connection has the
opportunity to receive a unit from the path.

6.30
 Figure 6.15 Interleaving

6.31
 Example 6.8

Four channels are multiplexed using TDM. If each

channel sends 100 bytes /s and we multiplex 1 byte per
channel, show the frame traveling on the link, the size of
the frame, the duration of a frame, the frame rate, and
the bit rate for the link.
Solution
The multiplexer is shown in Figure 6.16. Each frame
carries 1 byte from each channel; the size of each frame,
therefore, is 4 bytes, or 32 bits. Because each channel is
sending 100 bytes/s and a frame carries 1 byte from each
channel, the frame rate must be 100 frames per second.
The bit rate is 100 × 32, or 3200 bps.
6.32
 Figure 6.16 Example 6.8

6.33
 Example 6.9

A multiplexer combines four 100-kbps channels using a

time slot of 2 bits. Show the output with four arbitrary
inputs. What is the frame rate? What is the frame
duration? What is the bit rate? What is the bit duration?

Solution
Figure 6.17 shows the output for four arbitrary inputs.
The link carries 50,000 frames per second. The frame
duration is therefore 1/50,000 s or 20 μs. The frame rate
is 50,000 frames per second, and each frame carries 8
bits; the bit rate is 50,000 × 8 = 400,000 bits or 400 kbps.
The bit duration is 1/400,000 s, or 2.5 μs.
6.34
 Figure 6.17 Example 6.9

6.35
 Empty Slots & Statistical TDM
n Synchronous TDM is not as efficient as it could be.
n If a source does not have data to send, the
corresponding slot in the output frame is empty.
n See next figure, the first output frame has three
slots filled, the second frame has two slots filled,
and the third frame has three slots filled.
n No frame is full.
n Problem.
n Solution?
n Statistical TDM can improve the efficiency by
removing the empty slots from the frame.

6.36
 Figure 6.18 Empty slots

6.37
 Multilevel Multiplexing
n Multilevel multiplexing is a technique used
when the data rate of an input line is a
multiple of others.
n For example, in Figure 6.19, we have two
inputs of 20 kbps and three inputs of 40
kbps.
n The first two input lines can be multiplexed
together to provide a data rate equal to the
last three.
n A second level of multiplexing can create an
output of 160 kbps.

6.38
 Figure 6.19 Multilevel multiplexing

6.39
 Multiple-Slot Allocation

n Sometimes it is more efficient to allot

more than one slot in a frame to a single
input line.
n For example, we might have an input line
that has a data rate that is a multiple of
another input.
n We insert a demultiplexer in the line to
make two inputs out of one.

6.40
 Figure 6.20 Multiple-slot multiplexing

6.41
 Statistical Time-Division Multiplexing

n As we saw in the previous section, in

synchronous TDM, each input has a reserved
slot in the output frame.
n This can be inefficient if some input lines
have no data to send.
n In statistical time-division multiplexing, slots
are dynamically allocated to improve
bandwidth efficiency.
n Figure 6.26 shows a synchronous and a
statistical TDM example.

6.42
 Figure 6.26 TDM slot comparison

6.43
 Definitions
n Addressing
n In synchronous TDM, there is no need for
addressing; synchronization and pre-assigned
relationships between the inputs and outputs
serve as an address. In statistical multiplexing,
there is no fixed relationship between the inputs
and outputs because there are no preassigned or
reserved slots. The addressing in its simplest form
can be n bits to define N different output lines
with n = log2 N. For example, for eight different
output lines, we need a 3-bit
address.

6.44
 Definitions
n Slot Size
n Since a slot carries both data and an address
in statistical TDM, the ratio of the data size to
address size must be reasonable to make
transmission efficient. For example, it would
be inefficient to send 1 bit per slot as data
when the address is 3 bits. This would mean
an overhead of 300 percent. In statistical
TDM, a block of data is usually many bytes
while the address is just a few bytes.

6.45
 Definitions

n No Synchronization Bit
There is another difference between
synchronous and statistical TDM, but this
time it is at the frame level. The frames in
statistical TDM need not be synchronized,
so we do not need synchronization bits.

6.46
 Definitions
n Bandwidth
In statistical TDM, the capacity of the link is
normally less than the sum of the capacities
of each channel. The designers of statistical
TDM define the capacity of the link based on
the statistics of the load for each channel. If
on average only x percent of the input slots
are filled, the capacity of the link reflects this.
Of course, during peak times, some slots
need to wait.

6.47
 Please start preparation for first class
Test Exam.
THANK YOU.

5.48