Subject Overview

A bachelor-level study of wireless network principles, architectures, protocols, standards, design, security, performance, management and emerging technologies. The syllabus integrates communication theory with cellular, Wi-Fi, IoT, ad hoc, satellite and 5G/6G networks through analytical and practical perspectives.

Learning Goal

Students will be able to explain wireless network theory and terminology; analyze propagation, capacity, protocols and mobility; design and evaluate secure wireless systems; use simulation, measurement and optimization tools; make deployment and governance decisions; and assess AI-enabled and future wireless technologies.

Syllabus

1. Wireless Network Foundations

Learning Objective: Explain wireless network evolution, spectrum, frequency bands, network classifications, topologies, protocol stacks, standards bodies, services and performance metrics.

Category: foundation

2. Radio Propagation and Channel Models

Learning Objective: Analyze path loss, shadowing, fading, multipath, Doppler effects, link budgets, antenna characteristics and statistical channel models used in wireless design.

Category: foundation

3. Wireless Physical-Layer Techniques

Learning Objective: Apply modulation, coding, interleaving, spread spectrum, OFDM, diversity, equalization, MIMO and beamforming concepts to reliable wireless links.

Category: core

4. Spectrum Access and Medium Access Control

Learning Objective: Compare FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDMA, random access, carrier sensing, scheduling, duplexing, interference management and spectrum-sharing mechanisms.

Category: core

5. Cellular Network Principles

Learning Objective: Analyze cellular architecture, frequency reuse, sectoring, capacity, interference, handoff, power control and radio resource management.

Category: core

6. Mobile Network Architecture and Evolution

Learning Objective: Trace GSM, UMTS, LTE and 5G architectures; explain radio access, core networks, subscriber management, signaling, bearer establishment, roaming and network virtualization.

Category: core

7. Wireless LANs and Personal-Area Networks

Learning Objective: Evaluate IEEE 802.11 operation, Wi-Fi generations, association, access control, roaming, Bluetooth, Zigbee, NFC and practical WLAN deployment.

Category: application

8. IoT and Low-Power Wide-Area Networks

Learning Objective: Design wireless IoT connectivity using sensor networks, RFID, LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, LTE-M and lightweight protocols while considering energy, scale and reliability.

Category: application

9. Ad Hoc, Mesh, Vehicular, UAV and Satellite Networks

Learning Objective: Compare infrastructureless and non-terrestrial networking models, routing approaches, topology control, delay constraints, resilience and application scenarios.

Category: advanced

10. Mobility, Routing and End-to-End Performance

Learning Objective: Explain mobility management, location tracking, Mobile IP, wireless routing, transport-layer behavior, congestion control, QoS and cross-layer design.

Category: core

11. Wireless Network Security, Privacy and Resilience

Learning Objective: Assess authentication, encryption, key management, secure access, jamming, spoofing, rogue nodes, privacy threats, zero-trust practices and incident response.

Category: core

12. Network Planning, Measurement and Optimization

Learning Objective: Perform coverage and capacity planning, site selection, traffic estimation, KPI analysis, drive testing, link simulation, troubleshooting and techno-economic decision-making.

Category: application

13. Software-Defined, Virtualized and Cloud-Native Wireless Networks

Learning Objective: Explain SDN, NFV, network slicing, edge computing, Open RAN, private networks, orchestration and API-driven automation in digitally transformed telecom systems.

Category: contemporary

14. Cognitive Radio, AI and Intelligent Network Operations

Learning Objective: Apply cognitive radio, dynamic spectrum access, machine learning and analytics to channel estimation, traffic prediction, anomaly detection, optimization and autonomous network management while recognizing model risks.

Category: advanced

15. 5G-Advanced, 6G, Governance and Sustainable Wireless Futures

Learning Objective: Evaluate massive MIMO, ultra-reliable and low-latency services, integrated sensing and communication, terahertz links, reconfigurable surfaces, digital twins, spectrum policy, standards, ethics, accessibility, sustainability and future research directions.

Category: strategic