Table of contents

The course is connected to the following study programs

Teaching language

English, potentially Norwegian and English if there are no exchange students taking the course.

Recommended previous knowledge

IKT204 Data Communication and ELE213 Signal Processing or similar.

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, the student will

  • have knowledge of radio frequencies, baseband and digital modulation, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), spread spectrum and code division multiple access (CDMA), forward error correction (FEC), access mechanisms and the underlying principles
  • have an overview of the most important wireless technologies (RFID, Bluetooth, WiFi, LTE, 5G etc.)
  • understand different modulation schemes and be able to compare their differences
  • understand the concept of FEC and be able to perform basic calculations
  • understand the concept of various medium access schemes/protocols
  • be able to distinguish different characteristics of communication systems and choose the appropriate technology for a specific system
  • be able to participate in professional discussions within communication and share their experiences with others.

Contents

The course provides a broad introduction to wireless communication and the wide range of technologies that enable modern connectivity. It focuses on fundamental principles at the physical and data link layers of the OSI model, including the basics of wireless communication, digital modulation, access methods, and error correction. Students gain an overview of key wireless systems such as short‑range technologies (Bluetooth, NFC, RFID), WLAN, cellular networks, IoT communication solutions, and satellite systems. Throughout the course, the emphasis is on understanding how these technologies differ, what they are used for, and how core communication techniques are applied across diverse wireless environments.

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures and exercises.

Estimated workload for the average student is approximately 210 hours.

Examination requirements

Mandatory work must be approved in order to be eligible for the exam. Information about the scope of this work will be announced in Canvas at the beginning of the semester.

Examinations

4 hours written examination. Graded assessment.

Student evaluation

The person responsible for the course decides, in cooperation with student representative, the form of student evaluation and whether the course is to have a midway or end of course evaluation in accordance with the quality system for education, chapter 4.1.

Offered as a free-standing course

Yes. Subject to availability or capacity.

Admission Requirement if given as a free-standing course

Higher Education Entrance Qualification including mathematics R1 and R2 and physics Fysikk 1, or a pass in the preliminary course examination for engineers (which is also offered at University of Agder).

Reduction of Credits

This course’s contents overlap with the following courses. A reduction of credits will occur if one of these courses is taken in addition:

Course Reduction of Credits
ELE215 – Access in Wireless Networks. 7.5
ELE203 – Mobile Communication. 3
ELE208 – Signal Processing. 2
Last updated from FS (Felles studentsystem) Oct. 15, 2026 7:02:03 PM