Mobile Telecommunications: Complicated Technology Made Easy

This course describes the radio and core sub-networks of a mobile network. It reminds us a little on how it all began with 2G GSM and moves through 3G UMTS to 4G LTE and beyond.  

We take a journey through the different network topologies, network elements, protocols, signals, standards, interfaces and functionalities that make up a mobile telecom network. As we explore this fascinating world, we get to understand the terminology, and to "join the dots" between the many layers that belong to mobile telecommunications.  

This course is not about specific vendor equipment. It is course about the technology that is used by telephone companies all over the world. This course makes a very complicated topic very easy to understand and the knowledge can be applied to any vendor equipment. It does this by teaching the technology in the order it was implemented and thus allows the student to build upon knowledge already gained. 

It avoids for example, the inability to understand 4G technology because certain concepts in UMTS had never been fully understood. 

The course covers;

3G Radio Access Networks (RAN) 

• Cell Site Configuration 
• A comparison of handover types
• The evolution of UMTS from AMPS and GSM
• The physical components of a cell site
• UMTS architecture and interfaces
• An explanation of “spreading” and how it is used in W-CDMA
• Physical, logical and transport channels explained
• Synchronisation

3G Core Networks

• Understanding the difference between user planes and control planes
• Internal and external core network interfaces
• Introducing the Non-stratum Access layer and understanding its relevance to the core network
• Core network elements and typical topologies
• The function of each NE for packet switching and circuit switching
• How paging works
• The meaning and use of the IMSI, MSISDN, IMEI, ICCID & SIM and the information they contain  
• How subscriber data is routed and processed
• How 3G subscribers are authenticated and how their data is encrypted
• A mobile subscriber to fixed line subscriber call case

 International Roaming

• The difference between inbound and outbound roamers
• The functionality of international roaming by considering the call case of an outbound roamer 
• The functionality of international roaming by considering the call case of an inbound roamer
• Dealing with short numbers when roaming
• How roaming is charged for including call cases involving voicemail
• How international roaming agreements between operators are created 
• How international roaming is tested prior to being implemented
• How CDRs and TAP files are used for billing
• How clearing-houses are used to settle international accounts
• The contents of a contract between subscribers and operators

Long Term Evolution (LTE)

• The evolution from 3G technology from an operator’s perspective
• The evolution from 3G technology from a customer’s perspective
• The differences between LTE, LTE-A and 4G
• All IP networks and NGN as applied to LTE
• LTE E-UTRAN’s functionality, architecture, network elements and interfaces
• LTE Radio; use of OFDMA, SC-FDMA and MIMO
• LTE use of spectrum
• LTE EPC’s functionality, architecture, network elements and interfaces
• LTE Protocol stack
• Voice options in LTE including VoLTE, OTT and Fallback

The course encourages students to understand what they don't know, to ask the right questions and to validate the answers they have found through research.