1.4

• Wired Connections


  • Copper Cables
  • Fibre Optic Cables
• Copper Cables


  • Cheaper
  • Susceptible to electromagnetic interference
  • More likely to suffer from attenuation
  • Malleable (easier to bend)
  • Less likely to break
  • Lower bandwidth
• Fibre Optic Cables


  • Very fast
  • Expensive
  • Signals transmitted as waves of light through glass
  • Not affected by electromagnetic interference
  • Less attenuation
  • Higher bandwidth
  • More fragile
• Wireless Connections


  • Bluetooth
  • Microwave
  • Satellite
  • GSM / 5G
• Bluetooth


  • Temporary short-range communication
  • Close proximity is a disadvantage
  • No other hardware required
• Microwave


  • Transmit large amount of data
  • Antennas must be in line of sight
  • Affected by bad weather
• Satellite


  • Point-to-multipoint communication
  • Delay between data transmission and reception
• GSM / 5G


  • Allow mobile phones to connect to a network
  • Advances in mobile technology classified by generations
• Connection Characteristics


  • Strength
  • Range
  • Latency
  • Bandwidth
  • Storage Capacity
  • Contention
• Latency


  Delay when sending data across a network
• Bandwidth


  Maximum amount of data that can be sent across a network at once
• Contention


  Whether a network is dedicated (uncontended) or shared between users (contended)