Channel

A channel may be physically modeled by calculating a process that modifies a transmitted signal. In wireless communications, this may occur by calculating the reflection of every item found in the environment. External interference can be simulated into the receiver by adding a sequence of random numbers. A channel can also be modeled statistically or combined with the physical method. In wireless communications, it can be modeled by fading the transmitted signal. The fading term simplifies the physical process and captures modification in the strength of a signal over the course of transmission. The statistics of fading may be determined by previous measurements or physical simulations. There are several examples of channels: - the connection between the initiating and ending nodes of a circuit - the single path made available by a transmission medium: physical separation such as a cable or electrical separation such as a frequency - a single, pair, or band of frequencies - typically represented by a letter, number, or code to indicate the settings of a radio station - representation of a television station All the above are forms of communications channels that share and transfer information. All information is transmitted through a signal.