Understanding Wireless: Radio Technologies and Spectrum Policies that are Transforming Society

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Many industries and communities are expanding their use of wireless, with futuristic applications and endeavors, ever more connected people and things, utilizing wider bandwidths and higher frequencies, and putting tremendous pressure on the shared natural resource for wireless, the radio frequency spectrum. Because the radio spectrum is regulated by government organizations at the national and international levels, maximizing its benefits for society requires collaboration and interdisciplinary work among professionals in a range of roles, including business and government leaders, engineers and scientists, economists, lawyers, regulators, and policymakers. This survey-style course offers an opportunity to gain a basic understanding of the technical, regulatory, and economic aspects of the wireless revolution and its impact on society. It is intended for engineering students from all disciplines, as these technologies and related regulatory considerations play a role in almost all engineered systems. The course will cover topics including: how a wide range of societal applications (connectivity, energy, transportation, weather forecasting, environmental remote sensing, public safety, national defense) utilize wireless; basic elements of radio transmitters and receivers; representation, transmission and reception of information in electrical form; the physical propagation behaviors of radio signals; and the technical and regulatory mechanisms for sharing a common medium.