Abstract

Bandwidth is an important factor in the successful transmission of information over communication channels. Bandwidth directly affects the data rate, signal quality and overall system performance. This paper goes on to provide an analysis of signal bandwidth, the relationship of bandwidth to channel capacity and the factors that influence the efficiency of data transmissions, especially with the theoretical models of Shannon’s Capacity Theorem and Nyquist Criterion which allow one to characterize the effects of bandwidth, noise and modulation schemes to characterize limits in transmissions. Additionally, this work uses simulations in MATLAB to illustrate the effects of bandwidth on data rate and whether there is sufficient transmission bandwidth to counteract distortion and inter symbol interference (ISI). The analysis shows that using the right bandwidth with an effective modulation scheme and noise level can greatly improve communication system performance.