Overview
In this unit, you will expand your understanding of communications systems encompassing wireless and optical technologies. You will gain advanced knowledge of communication devices and systems and the ability to analyse various parameters such as loss, bandwidth, and signal quality. You will verify the developed theories using advanced simulation tools and gain knowledge of state-of-the-art communication systems. This unit will also provide you with opportunities to further develop your communication skills through collaborative teamwork and participation in class discussions. Furthermore, the unit also provides some awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 9 in the context of engineering practice which is to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation, and foster innovation by developing advanced communications systems.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 12-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from SUTE
Audio and video equipment often malfunctioned at the start of class, resulting in lost class time.
Classroom audio and video equipment should be checked before the start of class.
Feedback from SUTE
The relevance of the unit materials to the degree should be provided to students.
The relevance of the materials to the degree and future career should be explained in class.
- Analyse communication systems
- Calculate power, bandwidth, and signal quality for the communication systems
- Examine the characteristics of common communication components and systems through simulations
- Design sophisticated communication systems and predict their performance
- Produce professional engineering reports adhering to electrical engineering standards using appropriate terminologies and symbols
- Successfully complete engineering projects autonomously and in a team with a responsible, ethical, and professional attitude.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 25% | ||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 35% | ||||||
| 3 - Project (applied) - 40% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||||
| 4 - Research | ||||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Textbooks
Optical Fiber Communications: Principles And Practice
Edition: 3rd (2008)
Authors: John Senior
Pearson
Harlow Harlow , Essex , England
ISBN: 978-0-130-32681-2
The physical book is out of print, but the eBook is available on the CQUniversity Library website.
Binding: Paperback
The physical book is out of print, but the eBook is available on the CQUniversity Library website.
Wireless Communication Networks and Systems
Global Edition, 1st edition (2016)
Authors: Cory Beard, and William Stallings
Pearson
Harlow Harlow , Essex , England
ISBN: 9781292108711
If you are experiencing issues accessing the eBook on the CQUniversity Library website, paper copies are available at the CQUni Bookshop. You can find them by searching for the unit code here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au.
Binding: Paperback
If you are experiencing issues accessing the eBook on the CQUniversity Library website, paper copies are available at the CQUni Bookshop. You can find them by searching for the unit code here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au.
Additional Textbook Information
The book is available at the CQUniversity Library in limited copies. Students are encouraged to obtain their own copy for this unit.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Zoom app on your smart phone or access to Zoom on your laptop
- Matlab
- VPI Photonic design suite
- Pdf creator/scanner
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
l.bui@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Teaching Arrangements and Introduction to Communication Systems
Chapter
Beard and Stallings' textbook Chapter 1 and Senior's textbook Chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Transmission Fundamentals
Chapter
Beard and Stallings' textbook Chapter 2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Communication Networks
Chapter
Beard and Stallings' textbook Chapter 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Wireless Communications
Chapter
Beard and Stallings' textbook Chapter 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 1: Due on Friday of Week 4 at 11:59 pm AEST
Module/Topic
The Wireless Channel
Chapter
Beard and Stallings' textbook Chapter 6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
None teaching week
Chapter
N/A
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Signal Encoding Techniques
Chapter
Beard and Stallings' textbook Chapter 7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Introduction to Optical Fibre
Chapter
Senior's textbook Chapters 2 and 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 2: Due on Friday of Week 7 at 11:59 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Optical Sources - Lasers
Chapter
Senior's textbook Chapter 6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Optical Receivers - Photodetectors
Chapter
Senior's textbook Chapters 8 and 9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Optical Amplifiers
Chapter
Senior's textbook Chapter 10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 3: Due on Friday of Week 10 at 11:59 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Optical Communication System Engineering - System Rise Time and Bandwidth
Chapter
Senior's textbook Chapter 12
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
System Performances - Probability of Errors and Bit Error Rate (BER)
Chapter
Senior's textbook Chapter 12
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Online Quiz 4: Due on Friday of Week 13 (Review/Exam Week) at 11:59 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
This unit requires students to learn how to use VPI Photonics Design Suite, an industry-standard software for modelling optical communication systems. Students will use this software to complete the design assignment.
To become proficient with the software, it is strongly recommended that students follow the VPI homework exercises and complete the VPI tutorials provided in the unit Moodle.
1 Online Quiz(zes)
This assessment consists of four online quizzes, accessible through the unit Moodle site. Each quiz includes a combination of multiple-choice and calculation questions designed to help students learn the key concepts and self-test their understanding. These quizzes are therefore an integral part of the unit learning.
Quiz Details:
- No time limit is imposed on each quiz attempt. However, it is recommended that you complete each quiz within the suggested timeframe to manage your study effectively.
- You are allowed to attempt each quiz multiple times. The final score for each quiz will be calculated as the average of all your attempts.
- Questions are randomly selected from a question bank, so each attempt will present a different set of questions.
- Correct answers will be available after each submission, allowing you to learn from your attempts and improve your understanding.
- You are encouraged to complete each quiz more than once as a learning activity and to improve your mark.
Availability: Each quiz will remain open until one week after the final week of the material it covers. For example, the quiz covering Weeks 10 to 12 will close on Friday of Week 13.
Students must achieve a minimum of 50% overall across all four quizzes to pass the unit.
If you experience any technical issues while completing a quiz, please contact the unit coordinator (UC) as soon as possible.
AI assessment scale: NO AI
Students must not use Al at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge.
4
Other
Due on Friday of Weeks 4, 7, 10 and 13 (Review/Exam Week) at 11:59 PM AEDT
Quiz results are available immediately after the attempt is finalised and submitted.
Provide the correct numerical answer or select the best option from the available multiple-choice answers.
- Analyse communication systems
- Calculate power, bandwidth, and signal quality for the communication systems
2 Written Assessment
This written assessment covers content from Weeks 1 to 6 and consists of several problems that require students to apply the key concepts learned during this period.
The assignment questions will be released on the unit Moodle site three weeks before the submission due date.
Students are not required to type equations or calculations. Instead, they may submit clear and legible scanned handwritten calculations as part of their assignment report.
Marks and feedback for the assignment will be returned to students within two weeks after the submission due date.
Students must achieve a minimum of 50% in this assessment to pass the unit.
AI assessment scale: AI PLANNING
Students may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.
Week 8 Monday (8 Sept 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Submit a single PDF file via the submission link provided in the unit Moodle.
Week 10 Monday (22 Sept 2025)
The marked assignment, along with feedback, will be returned to students within two weeks after the assignment due date.
The assignments will be graded based on the following criteria:
- Correct answers with appropriate units.
- Correct formatting of the report.
- Answers must be presented in the correct order corresponding to the question numbers.
- All working steps must be shown to receive full marks.
- Demonstrated ability to use suitable software tools (e.g. Excel or Matlab) for computation and visualisation.
- Proper and consistent use of references, where applicable.
- The report must be neat, tidy, and legible.
- All questions must be attempted.
Lastly, please ensure that your submission is free from AI-generated content without proper acknowledgement. All submissions will be checked, and if unethical AI-generated content is suspected, the result will be put on hold. The submission will then be reported to the academic integrity team for further investigation and recommendation.
- Analyse communication systems
- Calculate power, bandwidth, and signal quality for the communication systems
- Produce professional engineering reports adhering to electrical engineering standards using appropriate terminologies and symbols
- Successfully complete engineering projects autonomously and in a team with a responsible, ethical, and professional attitude.
3 Project (applied)
This assessment requires students to use VPI Photonics Design Suite to design and evaluate the performance of an optical communication system and report the results and findings.
The project consists of two components:
- System Design: Design a functional optical communication system using VPI.
- Parameter Investigation: Analyse how varying a specific system parameter would affect system performance.
This task is designed to give students opportunities to apply fundamental knowledge and consolidate key concepts learned in the unit by solving a real-world problem.
Students are encouraged to conduct independent research and use reputable online resources. While discussion of general approaches with peers is allowed, all simulation results and the final design report must be the student’s work.
Students must achieve a minimum of 50% in this assessment to pass the unit.
AI assessment scale: AI PLANNING
Students may use Al for planning, idea development, and research. Your final submission should show how you have developed and refined these ideas.
Exam Week Monday (20 Oct 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Submit a single PDF file via the submission link provided in the unit Moodle site.
The marked design report, along with feedback, will be returned to students after the grade moderation date.
Detailed marking criteria are provided in the design assignment description document. In general, marks will be awarded based on the following:
- Correct application of relevant theoretical fundamentals and key concepts.
- Accurate diagrams and illustrations using standard notations.
- Clear description of the thought process and reasoning used for problem solving and decision making.
- Correct mathematical derivations and final answers.
- All working steps must be shown to receive marks.
- Demonstrated ability to use VPI Photonics Design Suite to model optical systems.
- Proper use of references, where applicable.
- The report must be neat, tidy, and legible.
- All questions must be attempted.
Lastly, please ensure that your design report is free from AI-generated content without proper acknowledgement. All submissions will be checked, and if unethical AI-generated content is suspected, the result will be put on hold. The submission will then be reported to the academic integrity team for further investigation and recommendation.
- Examine the characteristics of common communication components and systems through simulations
- Design sophisticated communication systems and predict their performance
- Produce professional engineering reports adhering to electrical engineering standards using appropriate terminologies and symbols
- Successfully complete engineering projects autonomously and in a team with a responsible, ethical, and professional attitude.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
