Differences Between TDM and FDM

1. The time-division multiplexing (TDM) includes sharing of the time through utilizing time slots for the signals. On the other hand, frequency-division multiplexing (FDM) involves the distribution of the frequencies, where the channel is divided into various bandwidth ranges (channels).
2. Analog signal or Digital signal any could be utilized for the TDM while FDM works with Analog signals only.
3. Framing bits (Sync Pulses) are used in TDM at the start of a frame in order to enable synchronization. As against, FDM uses Guardbands to separate the signals and prevent its overlapping.
4. FDM system generates different carriers for the different channels, and also each occupies a different frequency band. In addition, different bandpass filters are required. On the other hand, the TDM system requires identical circuits. As a result, the circuitry needed in FDM is more complex than needed in TDM.
5. The utilization of physical link in case of TDM is more efficient than in FDM. The reason behind this is that the FDM system divides the link in multiple channels which does not make use of full channel capacity.