Module Directory

This module introduces the principles and methods for designing, planning, and optimising modern wireless communication networks. It examines how coverage, capacity, interference, and mobility requirements shape network layouts and parameter choices, and how these decisions interact with medium access and resource management mechanisms.

The module combines essential physical-layer considerations (such as propagation, link budgets, and cell-edge behaviour) with MAC-layer optimisation techniques, including resource scheduling, power control, and mobility management, to illustrate how system-level performance is achieved in practice. Emphasis is placed on the design and optimization of dense and heterogeneous wireless networks, where trade-offs among coverage, capacity, energy efficiency, and user experience must be carefully balanced.

Students are introduced to modelling and analysis tools used in network planning, as well as optimisation concepts that underpin parameter tuning and performance improvement. Building on these foundations, the module provides an overview of how emerging technologies and architectural trends, such as network densification, advanced antenna systems, and Open/programmable RAN concepts, can be used to enhance network performance, while recognising their role within a broader design and planning workflow.

The aims of this module are

1. To provide students with a clear and coherent understanding of how modern wireless networks are designed, planned, and optimised to meet coverage, capacity, interference, and mobility requirements.


2. To focus on the interaction between physical-layer and MAC-layer mechanisms and how these jointly shape network performance in dense and heterogeneous deployments.


3. Through system-level analysis and modelling, develop students’ ability to evaluate key resource management and optimisation trade-offs, while establishing a strong conceptual foundation.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Explain the fundamental principles of wireless network design and planning, including coverage, capacity, interference, and mobility considerations in modern cellular systems.


2. Analyse how physical-layer characteristics (such as propagation, link budgets, and cell-edge behaviour) influence network layout and achievable system performance.


3. Evaluate MAC-layer resource management techniques, including scheduling, power control, and mobility management, and their impact on throughput, fairness, and quality of service.


4. Apply basic modelling and optimisation concepts to assess and improve network performance in dense and heterogeneous wireless deployments.


5. Interpret trade-offs among coverage, capacity, energy efficiency, and user experience in network planning and optimisation scenarios.


6. Discuss the role of emerging technologies and architectural trends (such as advanced antenna systems, densification, and programmable RAN concepts) within the broader context of network design and optimisation.

Outline Syllabus

Part I: Foundations of Wireless Network Design

• Role of network design, planning, and optimisation in modern wireless systems


• Performance metrics: coverage, capacity, spectral efficiency, latency, and reliability


• Overview of modern cellular network architectures and deployment scenarios

Part II: Physical-Layer Considerations for Network Planning

• Propagation effects, path loss, shadowing, and fading in network-level analysis


• Link budgets and cell coverage estimation


• Interference characterisation and cell-edge performance


• Impact of antenna configurations and transmission parameters on coverage and capacity
  (PHY here is explicitly tied to planning decisions, not waveform theory)

Part III: Network Layout and Capacity Planning

• Cell planning, frequency reuse, and interference coordination concepts


• Network densification and heterogeneous networks (macro, micro, pico, moving small cells)


• Capacity and coverage trade-offs in dense deployments

Part IV: MAC-Layer Resource Management and Optimisation

• Scheduling principles and fairness–throughput trade-offs


• Power control and energy-efficient operation


• Mobility management and handover design considerations


• Impact of MAC-layer decisions on system-level performance

Part V: Modelling and Optimisation Concepts

• Network modelling abstractions for planning and performance analysis


• Introduction to optimisation problems in network design


• Parameter tuning and performance trade-off analysis
  (This is where students learn what optimisation means … not how AI solves it)

Part VI: Advanced Design Levers and Emerging Trends

• Cell-edge enhancement techniques and coordination concepts


• Role of advanced antenna systems (e.g. massive MIMO, cell-free ideas) in network design


• Reconfigurable environments and their implications for planning


• Overview of programmable RAN concepts (O-RAN, RIC) from a design and optimisation perspective

This module will be delivered via:

• Classroom only