Modulation
Modulation is the process of varying a carrier signal in order to use that signal to convey information. The three key parameters of a sinusoid are its amplitude, its phase and its frequency, all of which can be modified in accordance with an information signal to obtain the modulated signal. There are several reasons to modulate a signal before transmission in a medium. These include the ability of different users sharing a medium (multiple access), and making the signal properties physically compatible with the propagation medium. A device that performs modulation is known as a modulator and a device that performs the inverse operation of demodulation is known as a demodulator. A device that can do both operations is a modem (a contraction of the two terms).
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