What form of transmission allows many signals to travel simultaneously over one medium?

What form of transmission allows many signals to travel simultaneously over one medium?

• A. Modulation
• B. Routing
• C. Multiplexing
• D. Switching

Answer: (C)

Sharing a single communication medium among multiple signals is achieved through multiplexing. It works by combining several separate signals into one composite stream that travels over the same channel, then separating them at the destination. Techniques like time-division multiplexing allocate different time slots to each signal, frequency-division multiplexing uses different frequency bands, and code-division multiplexing uses unique codes, all allowing many signals to coexist on one wire, fiber, or radio channel at once. Modulation prepares a signal for transmission but doesn’t inherently mix multiple signals on one medium. Routing is about choosing paths through a network, and switching is about moving data through network nodes; neither creates simultaneous sharing of a single link. For example, traditional phone systems used different frequencies to carry several conversations on one line, illustrating how multiplexing makes efficient use of a single medium.

Sharing a single communication medium among multiple signals is achieved through multiplexing. It works by combining several separate signals into one composite stream that travels over the same channel, then separating them at the destination. Techniques like time-division multiplexing allocate different time slots to each signal, frequency-division multiplexing uses different frequency bands, and code-division multiplexing uses unique codes, all allowing many signals to coexist on one wire, fiber, or radio channel at once. Modulation prepares a signal for transmission but doesn’t inherently mix multiple signals on one medium. Routing is about choosing paths through a network, and switching is about moving data through network nodes; neither creates simultaneous sharing of a single link. For example, traditional phone systems used different frequencies to carry several conversations on one line, illustrating how multiplexing makes efficient use of a single medium.