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ECE 495W The Wireless Revolution

Lecture Hours: 1. Credits: 1.

This is a Special Content course. No more than 6 credits of Special Content type courses may apply towards the ECE Requirements of the BSEE. Excess hours can be used as Unrestricted Electives.

Experimental Course offered: Spring 2004, Fall 2004

Prerequisites: None.

Corequisites: None.

Catalog Description: This is an interdisciplinary course addressing technological, as well as some regulatory, economic and social issues arising in the rapidly developing field of wireless communications. This course is intended to introduce students to a major technological revolution that will shape society and business in the years to come. This course is directed primarily at students in their junior through senior years, with interest in fields such as engineering, science, technology, economics, public policy, and similar quantitative disciplines.

Required Text(s): None.

Recommended Reference(s):

  1. The Communications Miricle: The Telecommunications Pioneers, J. Bray.
  2. Anytime, Anywhere: Entrepreneurship & the Creation of the Wir, L. Galambos and E. J. Abrahamson.
  3. Wireless: The Revolution in Personal Telecommunications, I. Brodsky.
  4. Telecommunication Policy for the Information Age, G. W. Brock.
  5. A Social History of Technology, R. S. Cowan.
  6. Personal and Wireless Communications, K. I. Park.

Course Outcomes:

A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated:

  1. an understanding of wireless communications, systems and applications with an emphasis on evolution and impact on society. [1,3,7;a,c,h,k]

Assessment Method for Course Outcomes:

The assesment process is based on one final exam and one project. A subset of the final exam questions will be employed to assess the attainment of the desired outcome.

This course was inspired by the course ELE 391 entitled - The Wireless Revolution: Telecommuncations for the 21st Century created by Professor V. Poor at Prinston University.

Counts an a Computer Engineering Elective if taken concurrently with ECE 495W

Lecture Outline:

Week(s) Topics
1 Introduction
4 Wireless Technology (digital transmission, access techniques, networking, applications)
1 Past, Present, and Future of Wireless
1 Midterm Exam
1 Economic/business aspects of wireles. Wireless standards.
2 Networking and Security
4 Application of wireless (ultrawideband, global positioning system, telematics, etc.)

Engineering Design Content:
            Analysis

Engineering Design Consideration(s):
            Economic
            Environmental
            Political
            Social