OC61603 WirelessNet | University of Rwanda

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Master of Science in Information Communication Technology (Operational Communication)

Module Code: OC61603

Module Name: Wireless Networks Designs

Description

The telecommunications industry has seen significant changes during the past three decades. There has been rapid growth in wireless communications, as seen by large expansion in mobile systems. Wireless communications have moved from first-generation (1G) systems primarily focused on voice communications to third-generation (3G) systems dealing with Internet connectivity and multi-media applications. The fourth-generation (4G) systems was designed to connect wireless personal area networks (WPANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs) and wireless wide-area networks (WWANs).

With the Internet and corporate intranets becoming essential parts of daily business activities, it has become increasingly advantageous to have wireless offices that can connect mobile users to their enterprises. The potential for technologies that deliver news and other business-related information directly to mobile devices poses not only new challenges but also opened up entirely new revenue streams for service providers.

Prior to the emergence of 3G services, mobile data networks such as general packet radio service (GPRS) over time division multiple-access (TDMA) systems and high-speed packet data over IS-95 code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems were already very popular. At the same time, after the introduction of Bluetooth and imode technology in 1998, local broadband and ad hoc wireless networks have entered stage to attract a great deal of attention.

Aim

Provisioning data services over the wireless data networks including ad hoc networks requires smart data management protocols and new transaction models for data delivery and transaction processing, respectively. Over the past decade, wireless data networking has developed into its own discipline. There is no doubt that the evolution of wireless networks has had significant impact on our lifestyle. This module is designed to provide a unified foundation of principles for data-oriented wireless networking.

Indicative contents

The contents for this module consist of 10 topics divided into three parts. The first part covers fundamental concepts, the second part has its focus on the mobile networking aspects with several topics devoted to the discussion of WPAN, WLAN, WWAN, the third part takes on the other aspects of wireless communications such as mobility management and cellular network planning.