What aspect of signal performance does attenuation directly affect?

Attenuation directly affects signal strength, which refers to the reduction in the strength of a signal as it travels through a medium. As a signal propagates through cables or any physical medium, it loses power due to resistance, absorption, scattering, and other factors. This loss can lead to a weakened signal at the receiving end, making it more difficult for the receiver to interpret the original data accurately.

When attenuation occurs, it can lead to errors in data transmission since the receiver might not be able to distinguish the signal from the background noise or might not receive enough signal strength to process the information effectively. Therefore, understanding the effects of attenuation is crucial for ensuring reliable communication over networks.

While other factors like time delay, frequency response, and transmission speed can be influenced by various aspects of signal performance, they are not directly impacted by attenuation in the same way that signal strength is.