Transmission media can be defined as physical path between transmitter and receiver in a data transmission system. And it may be classified into two types as shown.
1. Guided Media: Transmission capacity depends critically on the medium, the length, and whether the medium is point-to-point or multipoint (e.g. LAN). Examples are coaxial cable, twisted pair, and optical fiber. Example wired transmission.
2. Unguided Media: provides a means for transmitting electro-magnetic signals but do not guide them. Example wireless transmission.
Characteristics and quality of data transmission are determined by medium and signal characteristics. For guided media, the medium is more important in determining the limitations of transmission. While in case of unguided media, the bandwidth of the signal produced by the transmitting antenna and the size of the antenna is more important than the medium.
