Attenuation Details

Attenuation happens in a variety of settings, very commonly in our own homes. The signal from a transmitting device or cable line can decrease for several reasons. One reason is the distance from the source. However, wiring may also become an issue. A technician can resolve this issue by placing new wires or adding amplifiers to existing cables to increase speeds and decrease attenuation. When placing these amplifiers, administrators must be cautious not to overload the existing cables. Too many amplifiers can add too much to the router, resulting in higher amounts of attenuation.

Example of Attenuation

Tanner owns a coffee house. This coffee house is located near a college and is a popular spot for students to study. As the business grew, seating filled up daily, with many students logging onto the free wi-fi. Soon, too many people logged onto the internet, and connection speeds slowed down significantly. This quickly changed students' ability to complete work and affected business.

Tanner knew he needed to address his internet connection immediately. The majority of his business came from students looking for a place to work. Tanner reached out to his internet provider, who then sent a service tech out to evaluate the connection issue. The service tech diagnosed the issue and decided that an overloaded router was causing the attenuation.

The tech offered Tanner several solutions. However, the most effective option was to add a second router in a new location of the building. This new location and the full second router would give the business an extra signal. The additional signal would, in turn, create a faster connection for more people. After Tanner installed new routers, students noticed the change in internet speed. They were then able to connect to the internet and again do their work at the coffee house. Tanner's business saw an increase in sales due to the decrease in attenuation of wi-fi signal.

Attenuation vs. Attention

While these two words sound alike, they are pretty different from each other. Attenuation is often used in the tech industry to describe the lack or loss of signal speeds from a transmission device. The word attention does not relate to the field of technology. Attention is the focused observation of a person or topic.

For example, people often give attention to speakers or presenters during the time they are presenting the information. Special care must be had by the audience to truly hear the information laid out and absorb it correctly. If people do not pay attention to people or instructions, they can make serious mistakes.

These mistakes can range from minor inconveniences to considerable consequences—it depends on the situation. In worst-case scenarios, if someone doesn't pay attention during risky and dangerous situations, they risk injuring themselves and others. Therefore, while attenuation minimizes or removes entirely, attention is quite the opposite in that people need to increase the amount of attention they pay in many circumstances.