Data Communication Media

There are various media used for data communication now-a-days. We can identify two main types of data communication media,

                                                1. Guided media

                                                2. Unguided media (Radiated media)

Guided media

If a particular physical medium is used for data communication, it is called guide media. The data communication is guided through wires and cables. There are several types of guided media,

1. Twisted wire pair - the normal wires used for daily activities

2. Co-axial Cables - consist of a copper net woven around a copper wire

3. Fiber optics - a fast, reliable and a popular communication medium

Unguided (Radiated) media

No physical medium is used here to build the relationship. Communicating data using media which are not physical is simple and common today.

1. Radio transmission - Radio transmission, which is very familiar to our normal lives, communicating through radio waves.

2. Infra-red - Infra-red, which possesses a very low frequency, can also be used for data communication. These are largely used for data communication when cable less keyboards, Mice and printers are used.

3. Microwaves - Microwaves are used to communicate data to a long distance and short signals which contain higher frequency are used here

4. Communication satellites - Data can be communicated using satellites which are placed high in the sky.