Point-to-Point Wireless Telecommunication Links

Point-to-point wireless telecommunication links are the backbone of many systems we rely on every day—from deep-space probes transmitting scientific discoveries across billions of miles, to the microwave backhaul networks that quietly carry data between cell towers, to fixed wireless access systems delivering broadband to homes and businesses. Even the most advanced multi-user wireless networks ultimately rely on the same fundamental building block: a reliable link between a transmitter and a receiver. In this course, you’ll explore some aspects of how that link works and why understanding it is essential in today’s interconnected world. Starting with the simplest one-way wireless system, you’ll learn how information is encoded, modulated, transmitted, and recovered over radio waves. Along the way, you’ll uncover the core techniques—analog and digital modulation, filtering, error control, and frequency-division strategies—that underpin modern technologies such as satellite communications, 5G infrastructure, scientific telemetry, and emerging wireless broadband solutions. By the end of the course, you’ll not only understand how a point-to-point link operates but also why these principles continue to drive innovation across the wireless ecosystem. This foundation will build upon and prepare you for other courses in the series and give you insight into the engineering decisions shaping today’s most critical communication systems. This course was developed with the support of SpectrumX, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Spectrum Innovation Center. NSF SpectrumX is funded via Award 2132700 and operated under cooperative agreement by the University of Notre Dame. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.