Course Descriptions
ENTS 609: Telecommunications Project (3)
The Telecommunications Project should be a study performed by the student in the area of telecommunication system design, application, management, or policy. Projects will be supervised individually by faculty members associated with the M.S. Program in Telecommunications. The nature of the project is flexible and will be determined jointly by the student and faculty supervisor. The work involved should be equivalent to a 3 credit regular course. A detailed final written report describing the project must be prepared by the student and approved by the faculty supervisor.
ENTS 620: Principles of Telecommunications (3)
This course focuses on fundamental concepts that play a key role in the study of telecommunication systems. The course begins with a review of probability and random variables and a review of signals and linear system theory. This is followed by the introduction of random processes including definitions and basic properties, stationary and ergodicity concepts, correlation and covariance functions, and the power spectral density. Specific examples of well known random processes such as Gaussian, Poisson, and Markov processes will be provided. The behavior of linear systems driven by random processes will be discussed. Basic concepts in estimation theory as applied to telecommunications will be presented. Specifically, linear least mean-square error, maximum likelihood estimation and maximum a posteriori estimation will be discussed.
ENTS 621: Design and Analysis of Telecommunication Systems (3)
Prerequisite ENTS 620. This course is intended to follow Principles of Telecommunications and concentrates on the design and analysis of various components of real-world communication systems. The course begins with analog communication systems where AM and FM modulation systems are discussed, including time/frequency representation of these signals, signal demodulation methods and performance in the presence of noise. This is followed by the study of several important issues in digital communications. These include: A/D and D/A conversion, baseband pulse shaping, digital modulation and demodulation (e.g. PSK, FSK, QAM), equalization, synchronization, and performance in the presence of channel noise. The implementation of these ideas in the T1 telephone hierarchy and in commercial modems will be examined. In addition, the effects of different transmission technologies on system-level design will be studied.
ENTS 625: Management and Organizational Behavior in the Telecommunications Industry (3)
This course covers the two areas: 1) management and organizational behavior and 2) strategic management. In both cases topics specific to the telecommunications industry will be stressed. Topics will include principles of leadership and personnel management, staffing and training, organizational structures, typical organizational structures in the telecommunications industry, introduction to the concept of strategy, industry analysis and competitive dynamics, and strategic cost analysis. Specific case studies in the telecommunications industry will also be addressed.
ENTS 630: The Economics of International Telecommunications Policy and Regulation (3)
This course will introduce participants to the economics of international telecommunications policy, including the simple analytics of the demand for services, the nature of production conditions in telecommunications and the feasibility of competition, optimal pricing of telecommunications services, and alternative approaches to regulating telecommunications carriers. The course will begin with a rigorous review of the microeconomic theory and its application to resource allocation in telecommunications. Empirical evidence on telecommunications demand, economies of scale and scope in telecommunications services, and productivity growth will be distilled from recent literature and industrial sources. Recent literature on "optimal regulation" will be applied to the problem of regulating telecommunications carriers that compete in some markets and have franchised monopolies in others.
ENTS 631: Competitive Strategies and Public Policies in Telecommunications (3)
Prerequisite ENTS 630. This course looks at competitive strategies for the network economy and the age of information goods. It will also cover how telecommunications policy and regulation impacts competitive strategy in the telecommunications industry, including how policy is made in the United States including the roles of the FCC, the Commerce Department, Congress, etc.; the history of telecommunications law and policy; and the major current policy issues and the arguments surrounding them (for example, product standards, deregulation, anti-trust, trade barriers, network neutrality). It will also provide a global perspective, by looking at other countries, how they regulate their telecommunications industries, with a focus on developing countries, and comparisons with U.S. telecommunications policy.
ENTS 632: Telecommunications Marketing Management (3)
This course concentrates on the strategic marketing, sales, and customer service challenges facing the computer and telecommunications industries. Marketing concepts, case studies, and problems will focus on building organizational networks of suppliers, strategic partners, and customers. Emphasis will be placed on the impacts of cost and price pressures, rapid technology shifts, and regulatory uncertainty as key features of the telecommunications environment. Topics will include basic marketing principles, specific business to business marketing issues, telecommunications industry structure (who sells to whom, strategic business alliances), case studies and applications of marketing principles to the telecommunications industry.
ENTS 635: Decision Support Methods for Telecommunications Managers (3)
The telecommunications industry has been growing rapidly over the past decade and is increasingly viewed as the engine of the new information economy. Given the increasing complexity of this sector, telecommunications managers need to understand the process of evaluating tradeoffs to make sound and strategic business decisions. The aim of this course is to introduce management science techniques for informed decision making. Topics covered will include data analysis and regression, optimization models and applications ( workforce scheduling, manufacturing, network design, facility location), sensitivity analysis, decision trees, risk analysis, project management, and simulation. Emphasis will be on telecommunications managerial problems, model development and the use of software packages for decision support.
ENTS 640: Telecommunication Networks (3)
The course covers the basic principles of communication networks including open system interconnect (OSI) and the concept of layered communication, physical layer communication, digital communication schemes, multiuser communication, basic principles of TDM, FDM, CDMA, parity, checksum, error correction, basic queuing concepts, operation of different types of LANs, principles of routing, and different routing algorithms such as link-state and distance vector, comparison of packet switching and circuit switching, TCP/IP protocol suite, IPV4, IPv6, transmission control protocol (TCP), congestion control in TCP, active queue management, random early drop (RED), Internet control message protocol (ICMP), user datagram protocol (UDP), and routing in the internet.
ENTS 641: Telecommunication Protocols (3)
Prerequisite ENTS 640. The objective of this course is to introduce approaches used in the specification, design, analysis, verification, and testing of communication protocols. The components of protocol structure and architecture will be described and some practical protocols descriptions will be given. Various service requirements, techniques for error control, failure recovery, and protocol conversion issues will be introduced. Formalisms for protocol verification, design, and analysis will be developed. Within these formulations, various protocols will be defined, correctness properties will be investigated, verification techniques will be described, and approaches to conformance testing will be discussed. Protocols for local, metropolitan, and wide-area networks will be discussed.
ENTS 650: Network Security (3)
This course treats topics related to the assurance of security and integrity in communication networks of various types. Topics will include the design and analysis of message integrity assurance techniques, the detection of unauthorized message creation and modification including message stream modification and request/response modification, practical solutions such as message replay, user authentication, message-origin authentication, and encryption. Supporting analytical studies of these techniques will be based on information and complexity theory.
ENTS 653: PCS System Implementation (3)
Formerly ENTS 689A. This course will examine engineering issues associated with designing and deploying a PCS cellular wireless communications system in the current world environment. The course will focus on implementation issues such as the impact of real world concerns on the deployment strategy and the use of good engineering practice to overcome obstacles. Students will create and modify mock deployments using professional tools for cell planning and interference analysis. Students will also be exposed to drivetesting tools and concepts for migration to future technologies (3G and beyond).
ENTS 654: Optimization and Analysis of GSM Networks (3)
Formerly ENTS 689D. This course will examine the techniques needed to successfully optimize a functioning GSM network. Students will conduct extensive drivetests of a working network in the Washington DC area using state- of-the-art drivetest equipment and will analyze the recorded data with post-processing analysis tools. Students will learn to recognize problems based on network behaviors and will also learn what courses of action are available to correct them. Lab work and data collection will constitute a majority of the class work.
ENTS 655: Digital Signal Processing (3)
This course is designed to give participants the knowledge to analyze and design digital signal processing systems and to simulate the designed system’s operation on computer workstations. Topics will include sampling, aliasing, the sampling theorem, the Z-transform and discrete time systems analysis, direct and computer-aided design of recursive and nonrecursive digital filters, the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and the fast Fourier transform (FFT), digital filtering using the FFT, analog to digital and digital to analog conversion, effects of quantization and finite-word-length arithmetic. Some applications of digital signal processing in various voice, image, and video processing situations including cellular networks and multimedia communications will be discussed.
ENTS 656: Introduction to Cellular Communication Networks (3)
Prequisite: ENTS 620 or equivalent. A study of the major concepts and techniques involved in wireless digital communications with emphasis on cellular or PCS systems. Properties of mobile radio channels; intersymbol interference, multipath, and fading effects; interleaving and diversity; multiple access schemes (TDMA, FDMA, CDMA, SDMA); interuser interference, traffic issues, and cell capacity; power control strategies; frequency reuse and channel assignment; handoff, paging, and location update; cell layout; introduction to cellular and PCS standards.
ENTS 657: Satellite Communication Systems (3)
This course will examine satellite telecommunication systems with an emphasis on the mobile satellite systems (MSS). Topics will include a historical perspective, orbital mechanics and constellations, choice of orbital parameters, propagations considerations, link budgets, interference issues and other obstacles, and existing and proposed mobile satellite systems. The course will also look at some of the business aspects such as the cost of deploying and maintaining these systems. This course uses the following Satellite Tool Kit software: http://www.agi.com/images/agi_banner.gif
ENTS 665: Advanced Wireless Communications Networks (3)
Prerequisites: ENTS653 or ENTS656. Formerly ENTS 689E
This course presents some of the key concepts and technologies used in the design of third generation (3G/3G+) wireless networks and standards. The course starts with an overview of CDMA concepts and technologies followed by detailed discussion on their implementation in 2G/IS95 CDMA networks. The course then presents new concepts and methodologies adopted in the third generation wireless network and systems to efficiently support high speed multimedia high-speed data traffic.
As many techniques and concepts are similar across different 3G standards, this course will initially focus on the details of channelization and protocol designs for one family of 3G technologies, i.e. CDMA2000 and 1X-EV DO Rev. 0/A. Based on this foundation overviews of other 3G standards will be presented, starting with EDGE and followed by WCDMA and HSPA, so as to emphasize their similarities and differences with CDMA2000 family.
In addition to air interface features, the course also presents network elements and architectures and as well as engineering considerations for 3G radio network dimensioning.
ENTS 670: Introduction to Business and Entrepreneurship (3)
Formerly ENTS 689J. This is a fundamentals course that provides a broad introduction to various business issues faced by any small business or startup. Course instructors present the key issues involved in outlining a clear value proposition and profitable business model, managing and monitoring finances, developing a winning team, addressing legal considerations, executing on operations including marketing sales, manufacturing and service.
ENTS 672: The Global Economic Environment (3)
Formerly ENTS 689O. This course is intended to provide the future manager, particularly in the telecommunications industry, with the tools necessary to intelligently interpret the national and international economic environment including the impact of economic policies on the economy and the firm. The course develops basic macroeconomic theory to enable managers to critically evaluate economic forecasts and policy recommendations and then applies these concepts in a series of case studies.
ENTS 675: Network Planning and Design (3)
Telecommunication networks have been growing in complexity and size at a phenomenal rate over the past several years. Along with these developments come more challenging problems in the design and planning of telecommunication networks to suit particular business (or technological) settings. This course focuses on the tools and techniques for the economic design of telecommunication networks that meet the requirement (for example, reliability or performance) goals of an organization. In particular, it emphasizes the application of queuing methods, optimization & network models, and heuristic search techniques for the design of modern communication networks. Applications to Call Center Design, Virtual Private Network Design, Local Distance Networks, and Wireless & Satellite Communications will be discussed.
ENTS 689B: Special Topics: Introduction to Digital Communication Systems (3)
The objective of this course is to convey the principles of analog and digital communication systems design. Students will analyze the performance and relative merits of different modulation/demodulation, signal processing, and error control schemes in communication systems. The course provides an understanding of the design of modern digital communication systems.
ENTS 689C: Telecommunications Operations Management (3)
Operations managers are concerned with the production of goods or the delivery of services. Their role in an organization is the design, management, and control of the systems that deliver services or produce products. This course introduces students to problems and analysis related to the design, planning, control, and improvement of telecommunications manufacturing and service operations. These analysis can be used in decisions ranging from tactical planning to strategic planning. Topics covered include process analysis, project analysis, production planning and scheduling, quality management, supply chain management, capacity and facilities planning, models to describe and reduce congestion, workforce scheduling. Cases from the telecommunications industry (for example, the design and management of call centers) will be covered.
ENTS 689F: Special Topics: Fundamentals of Wireless LANs (3)
This course covers engineering concepts and business-practices related to Wireless LAN technologies. First half of the course will go into engineering details of Wireless LANs. Starting with the basics of radio technologies used for Wireless LANs to deployment related issues like site-survey and RF-efficient installation of antennas will be covered. Wireless LAN Security will be covered in greater details with current practices and standards in use (WEP, RADIUS, Open Authentication, 802.1x).
Second half of the course will provide detailed study of industry practices of Wireless LAN deployment and applications. Various business models will be discussed through case studies and white papers. Towards the end of the class, “In-building Coverage Solutions” will be taught. In-building Repeaters (which are used to cover various indoor venues like Tunnels, Multi-Story buildings and mobile venues like Railway System, Planes) will be studied. Various components of In-building-coverage solutions (Distributed Antenna System (DAS), Donor Cell, Directional Coupler, Splitter, Micro and Macro Cells etc) will be discussed. WWAN technologies (Wireless Wide Area Networks) will be introduced.
ENTS 689I: Special Topics: Network Immunity (3)
The course is practically oriented toward the knowledge and skills for secure operation of systems and networks. The course will be composed of three segments. The first segment is an overview of cryptography protocols and security algorithms. The second segment is focused on immunity of individual machines or systems. The third segment covers immunity of networks to attacks and threats. For more information, please click here.
ENTS 689K: Special Topics: Telecommunications Entrepreneurial Practicum (3-6)
ENTS 689L: Special Topics: Advanced Topics in Computer Networks (3)
In this course we will introduce advanced topics in networking research, including ubiquitous networking, mobile ad hoc networks, and sensor networks. Design goals, protocols, techniques, algorithms, and applications in these areas will be covered. Mechanisms from physical layer to transport layer to support these networks will be presented. The emphasis is the understanding of important methodologies in designing and evaluating these networks, the state of the art in networking technologies, and the future trend.
ENTS 689N: Special Topics: OFDM Related Technologies (3)
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a wideband modulation scheme that is designed to cope with the problems of the multipath reception. In recent years OFDM has found significant attentions toward wireless applications. These technologies are becoming the competitors of 3GPP and 3GPP2. As a matter of fact they are referred to as 4G technologies. In this course we will first describe OFDM, its advantages and disadvantages, OFDMA, and then explain the principals of several technologies using OFDM. To be able to attend to this course, the students need to have some basic knowledge of signal processing and probability theory and also some knowledge of digital communication, like different modulation schemes.
ENTS 689P: Special Topics: Project Management for Telecommunications (3)
This course will introduce modern project management. The course begins with an overview of the nuts and bolts of project management. From here it expands into Adaptive and Extreme project management. The focus of the course then shifts to the individual skills required to be an effective project manager, such as time management, leadership, and motivation. Once skills of the individual have been addressed, the course looks at social networks and how they could impact project management.
