5G and Wireless Technologies Course

Lesson 1 • Multiple Access Methods

Compares FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, and OFDMA as strategies for sharing spectrum among users. Motivates the OFDMA choice in 4G and 5G standards.

Lesson 2 • Cellular Network Architecture Overview

Describes cells, base stations, handover, and core network roles. Sets the architectural context for understanding 5G's evolution from earlier generations.

Lesson 3 • Radio Wave Propagation

Explains path loss, reflection, diffraction, and multipath fading. Connects propagation physics to real-world coverage planning challenges.

Lesson 4 • Electromagnetic Spectrum Basics

Covers frequency bands, wavelength, and how spectrum is allocated for wireless use. Establishes the physical layer vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • 4G LTE Air Interface

Details OFDMA downlink, SC-FDMA uplink, MIMO layers, and LTE frame structure. Provides the technical baseline from which 5G NR improvements are measured.

Lesson 2 • First and Second Generation Systems

Examines analogue 1G voice and digital 2G GSM/CDMA data services. Highlights why circuit-switched architectures limited scalability.

Lesson 3 • LTE Advanced and VoLTE

Explores carrier aggregation, enhanced MIMO, and voice over LTE deployment. Demonstrates how incremental enhancements set the stage for 5G requirements.

Lesson 1 • NR Physical Channels and Signals

Maps downlink and uplink physical channels, reference signals, and synchronisation signals. Provides the channel-level detail needed for protocol stack analysis.

Lesson 2 • 5G NR Design Goals and Use Cases

Defines eMBB, URLLC, and mMTC use cases and their conflicting requirements. Motivates the flexible NR design choices covered in subsequent sections.

Lesson 3 • Flexible Numerology and Frame Structure

Explains subcarrier spacing options, slot durations, and mini-slot scheduling. Shows how numerology selection balances latency, coverage, and overhead.

Lesson 4 • NR Frequency Bands and Spectrum

Covers FR1 sub-6 GHz and FR2 mmWave bands, band combinations, and coexistence. Connects spectrum choice to coverage, capacity, and deployment strategy.

Lesson 1 • Network Slicing Architecture

Explains slice templates, S-NSSAI identifiers, and end-to-end slice management. Connects slicing to the eMBB, URLLC, and mMTC use cases defined earlier.

Lesson 2 • 5G Core Network Functions

Details AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, and other core functions and their service-based interfaces. Shows how microservice design enables flexible, cloud-native deployment.

Lesson 3 • Non-Standalone and Standalone Deployment

Compares NSA Option 3x and SA Option 2 architectures, migration paths, and trade-offs. Prepares students to evaluate operator deployment strategies.

Lesson 4 • Edge Computing and MEC Integration

Covers multi-access edge computing placement, UPF anchoring at the edge, and latency benefits. Links MEC to URLLC and enterprise use case requirements.

Lesson 1 • Network Planning Tools and Workflow

Introduces RF planning software workflows, drive test data integration, and iterative optimisation. Prepares students to execute end-to-end planning projects.

Lesson 2 • Coverage and Capacity Planning

Integrates link budgets, traffic models, and cell dimensioning into a unified planning workflow. Teaches students to balance coverage and capacity objectives.

Lesson 3 • Antenna and Site Design

Covers active antenna unit selection, tilt optimisation, and site acquisition constraints. Connects antenna choices to the massive MIMO concepts from Chapter 3.

Lesson 4 • Heterogeneous Network Deployment

Explains macro, micro, pico, and femtocell layering and interference management. Shows how HetNet design extends coverage and offloads macro capacity.

Lesson 1 • RRC Procedures and States

Details RRC_IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE, and RRC_CONNECTED states and transition triggers. Connects RRC design to battery efficiency and latency optimisation goals.

Lesson 2 • Handover and Mobility Procedures

Covers Xn-based and N2-based handovers, conditional handover, and inter-RAT mobility. Demonstrates how 5G mobility preserves session continuity.

Lesson 3 • Registration and Session Management

Traces UE registration, PDU session establishment, and QoS flow binding through the 5GC. Builds on core network function knowledge from Chapter 4.

Lesson 4 • Security Architecture and Procedures

Explains 5G authentication (5G-AKA, EAP-AKA'), key hierarchy, and integrity protection. Addresses the security enhancements over 4G introduced in 5G standards.

Lesson 1 • AI-Driven Network Optimisation

Introduces SON, closed-loop automation, and ML-based anomaly detection for 5G optimisation. Previews the intelligent network management concepts expanded in later chapters.

Lesson 2 • Mobility and Handover Optimisation

Tunes A3 event offsets, time-to-trigger, and conditional handover parameters to reduce drops. Balances ping-pong handovers against late handover failures.

Lesson 3 • Coverage and Interference Optimisation

Uses RSRP, SINR, and beam metrics to identify and resolve coverage holes and interference. Applies antenna and power parameter tuning to improve signal quality.

Lesson 4 • Capacity and Throughput Optimisation

Addresses PRB utilisation, scheduler tuning, and carrier aggregation activation to boost throughput. Connects capacity bottlenecks to traffic demand patterns.

Lesson 1 • Integrated Sensing and Communication

Introduces ISAC waveform design, sensing signal processing, and dual-function base stations. Highlights a key 5G-Advanced differentiator for automotive and smart city use cases.

Lesson 2 • NR Sidelink and V2X Communication

Explains PC5 sidelink interface, resource allocation modes, and V2X use cases. Demonstrates how direct device communication extends 5G beyond infrastructure.

Lesson 3 • NR-U and Unlicensed Spectrum

Covers NR operation in unlicensed bands, LBT mechanisms, and coexistence with Wi-Fi. Expands the spectrum strategy discussion from Chapter 3.

Lesson 4 • URLLC Enhancements and IIoT

Details mini-slot scheduling, configured grants, and reliability mechanisms for industrial IoT. Connects URLLC features to factory automation and remote control use cases.