Solveeit Logo

Question

Question: What is attenuation in the communication system?...

What is attenuation in the communication system?

Explanation

Solution

Hint: Attenuation is a term in networking or signal communication which can be defined as Loss of signal strength in networking cables or connections. Attenuation can occur in any type of signal, whether is digital or analog.

Complete step by step answer:
In the communication system, signals are transmitted from place to another using transmitter and receiver. Now, when the signal is transmitted from the transmitter, many times the signal received by the receiver is interrupted or does not match with the transmitted signal. This occurs due to loss of signal while being transmitted this phenomenon is called Attenuation.
Attenuation can be defined as Loss of signal strength in networking cables or connections. It is measured in Decibels (dB.). Now, in case of conventional and fiber optics cable the attenuation is measured in terms of decibels per foot. Less the attenuation per distance, more the efficient cable is.
When, signal has to be transmitted to long distances, repeaters are used which boosts the signal and reduces attenuation. Repeaters greatly increase the maximum attainable range of signal.
Now, in networking, if the attenuation increases the transmission such as phone call or email gets distorted. There are many reasons in networking due to which attenuation takes place such as, range, interference, wire size etcetera.
In case of wi-fi signal attenuation can be considered as signal loss or weakening at longer distances from the router in the household.
Thus, we can say that in communication systems or networking, attenuation plays a major role and more ways should be adopted to avoid loss of signal due to attenuation.

Note: Line attenuation on a Digital subscriber line (DSL) measures the loss between provider at station and receiver at home. If the line attenuation is too large then the data rates a person can use gets restricted. So, the attenuation is kept between 5 dB to 50 dB, and lower the value more benefits the user.