Section A discusses telecommunication regulation. It also compares the architectures of GSM, 3G, 4G and 5G mobile systems. Finally, Microwave Digital Radio systems and link budgets are analysed. Section B of this module provides a theoretical background for understanding and analysing OFDM signals, and then develops equations and block diagrams relating to OFDM signals and systems. The background theory includes signal spaces, the discrete fourier transform, the fast fourier transform and the complex envelope.
Telecommunication Regulation
Role of Comreg; Spectrum management, Numbering, Licences, Consultation studies. ETSI and ITU
Digital Mobile Systems
GSM architecture, Interfaces and Protocols, the AirInterface, MSC, BSC,HLR and AUC. 3G architecture: GERAN, UTRAN, RNC, NodeB and CN. 4G architecture: Evolved Packet Core,eNB MME, HSS, P-GW, and HSS.
Microwave Digital Radio (MDR)
MDR fundamentals. Line-of-sight propagation and losses, fading. MDR SystemDesign and related considerations, Diversity techniques, Protection switching,Radio Link Calculations. Path profiles.
Satellite Communications
Satellite orbit positions and links. Assignable satellite frequencies. Satellitecomponents. Types of modulation used. Ground stations. Multiple-accesstechniques for satellite and radio communications
Digital Passband Transmission
Overview of digital communication systems, Geometric representation of signals, basis functions, signal synthesis and detection, signal vectors, length of a vector, inner product, relationship between the energy of a signal and its vector length, the Schwarz inequality. AWGN channel and response of bank of correlators, mean and variance of correlator outputs, probability density function of the correlator outputs, coherent detection of signals in noise. Determination of signal basis functions, signal constellations, decision boundaries, spectra, for a selection of various coherent systems including: ASK, PSK, QPSK, 16-QAM FSK.
Fast Fourier Transform
Review of the Fourier Series, Fourier Transform and sampling Theory. Numerical Computation of the Fourier Transform: The Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT). Derivation of the DFT. Aliasing, Leakage, Zero Padding. Some Properties of the DFT. Development of the FFT and the IFFT.
Lowpass Representation of Bandpass Signals and Systems
Lowpass equivalent spectrum and signal, lowpass-to-bandpass transformation. The complex envelope. Application to a range of systems.
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
Motivation for using OFDM. The Complex Envelope of the OFDM Signal, Orthogonality of the OFDM Carriers, OFDM Spectrum and Orthogonality of Spectral Components, Generation of OFDM using the IFFT, Cyclic Prefix, Block Diagram of OFDM Transmitter and Receiver System. Peak to Average Power Ratio.
| Module Content & Assessment | |
|---|---|
| Assessment Breakdown | % |
| Other Assessment(s) | 30 |
| Formal Examination | 70 |