Following are the difference between time division multiplexing and frequency division multiplexing.
| TDM | FDM |
|---|---|
| TDM stands for time division multiplexing. | FDM stands for frequency division multiplexing. |
| TDM is preferred for the digital signals. | FDM is preferred for digital signals. |
| The signals to be multiplexed can occupy the entire bandwidth but they are isolated in the time domain. | The signals to be multiplexed are added in time domain. But they occupy different slots in the frequency domain. |
| Synchronization is required. | Synchronization is not required. |
| Cross talk like problem not occurs in TDM. | It suffers from cross-talk like problems due to imperfect band pass filter. |
| Only a few TDM channels will be affected due to fading. | Due to wideband fading in the transmission medium, all the FDM channels are affected. |