FUNDAMENTALS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: RAOUL RAFTOPOULOS

Expected Learning Outcomes

The educational objectives of the course Fundamentals of Telecommunications are the following:

Knowledge and understanding: the student will acquire the basic knowledge of analog and digital techniques for long-distance information transmission and the fundamentals of telecommunication networks, in particular network architecture and protocols.
Applying knowledge and understanding: the applied knowledge, acquired through exercises and laboratory work, will concern the ability to design and configure telecommunication systems, starting from a sound understanding of all the techniques characterizing the different stages of signal processing and information management between source and destination; the student will also develop problem-solving skills and the ability to work in teams.
Making judgements: the course will foster autonomy of judgement and the ability to evaluate the conditions in which to apply the techniques and tools for designing the physical layer of a telecommunication system.
Communication skills: the course is based on the use of language specific to the field of telecommunication techniques and systems, which will become the foundation of the student’s communication activities.
Learning skills: learning ability will be stimulated by a critical understanding of the topics covered in the course, made possible by attending lectures, participating in laboratory activities, and studying the reference textbooks.

Course Structure

The course, consisting of 79 hours of lectures, exercises, and laboratory sessions, is delivered in co-teaching mode (6 + 3 ECTS credits).

The instructors are also available for office hours in online mode, upon appointment

Should the course be delivered in blended or fully online mode, the necessary adjustments may be introduced with respect to the above indications, in order to comply with the planned program as reported in the syllabus.

Required Prerequisites

Fundamentals of Computer Science: Basic Concepts of Algorithms and Data Structures

Attendance of Lessons

In general, attendance is not mandatory, but it is strongly recommended in order to successfully pass the exam. Laboratory sessions, however, require at least 70% attendance.

Detailed Course Content

Introduction: course organization; what is the Internet; protocols and communication rules; general network architecture (edge, access, core, ISPs); network performance (delays, throughput, loss, queues); layered protocol architecture and encapsulation; comparison with OSI model; historical background (ARPAnet, ALOHAnet, Ethernet, TCP/IP, DNS). [3 hours]

Application Layer: principles of network applications (client-server, peer-to-peer, service requirements); e-mail protocols (SMTP, IMAP, POP3); Domain Name System (functions, hierarchical architecture, caching, iterative and recursive resolution, basic security). [3 hours]

Transport Layer: transport layer services; multiplexing and demultiplexing; UDP (best-effort, segment format, checksum); TCP (connection-oriented, handshake, reliable transfer, sequence numbers, ACKs, retransmissions); flow control (receive window); congestion control (principles, AIMD, slow start, congestion avoidance, Reno/Tahoe). [9 hours]

Network Layer: forwarding and routing; router architecture (input/output, switching, buffering); IP protocol (datagram, IPv4 addressing, subnetting, CIDR, fragmentation); ICMP (error messages, echo request/reply); DHCP (dynamic address allocation); NAT (functions, tables, issues); IPv6 (datagram, differences from IPv4, transition techniques), control plane functions; link state (Dijkstra) and distance vector (Bellman-Ford) algorithms; intra-AS routing (RIP, OSPF: flooding, metrics, hierarchy); inter-AS routing (BGP: path attributes, eBGP/iBGP, policy routing, hot-potato); ICMP for error and diagnostics (ping, traceroute). [9 hours]

Link Layer and LANs: link layer services (framing, local reliability, flow control, error detection and correction: parity, checksum, CRC); MAC protocols (channel partitioning, random access: ALOHA, slotted ALOHA, CSMA, CSMA/CD; taking turns: polling, token passing); Ethernet (bus and star topologies, frame format, CSMA/CD, binary exponential backoff, IEEE 802.3 standards); MAC addressing and ARP; Ethernet switches (store-and-forward, forwarding table, self-learning, collision domains). [5 hours]

Contribution of the course to the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The knowledge acquired will contribute to sustainable development in the following areas: Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life on Land, in line with Goals 3, 4, 8, 9, 13, 14, and 15 of the 2030 Agenda.

Textbook Information

[1] J. Kurose, K. Ross "Reti di calcolatori e Internet", Pearson

[2] Instructor’s notes

Course Planning

	Subjects	Text References
1	Sec.1	1,2
2	Sec.2	1,2
3	Sec.3	1,2
4	Sec.4	1,2
5	Sec.5	1,2

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

The oral test includes one question in addition to the type 1 or type 2 assessment related to the 6 CFU of Prof. Beritelli.

To ensure equal opportunities and in compliance with current legislation, students concerned may request a personal meeting in order to arrange any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, according to the learning objectives and specific needs. Students may also contact the CInAP representative (Center for Active and Participatory Inclusion – Services for Disabilities and/or Specific Learning Disorders) of their Department.

The assessment of learning may also be carried out online, should circumstances require it.

Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises

The questions cover all the topics presented during the lectures and listed in the syllabus.

On Studium, a list of possible questions related to the oral exam is published.

Degree Course in

Electronic Engineering