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5G/6G AcademyEst. 2009
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5G Foundation — 5G certification courseWatch free

Free preview · What 5G actually changes — the 60-second network tour — opens in the course player

Beginner

5G Foundation

Place 5G in the real world and draw the whole system from memory — architecture, SBA, radio, and the power-on-to-first-packet journey. No prior telecom knowledge assumed.

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Every 5G & 6G course free for 7 days

Engineers in 150+ countries learn with TELCOMA — training telecom engineers since 2009

Lessons
34
Video
≈3.3h
Hands-on
9 exercises
Before you start
None

About this course

Who it's for. Beginners — no prior telecom knowledge assumed.

Before you start. Nothing — no prior telecom knowledge assumed.

This course includes

  • 34 video lessons — the first needs no account, and all are free for your first 7 days
  • 9 hands-on exercises — interactive labs and checkpoints
  • Study pack — question bank and slides
  • Certification exam and a QR-verifiable certificate — with Prime Membership or this certification

Skills you'll gain

  • 5G system architecture
  • NSA vs SA
  • Service-based architecture
  • Core network functions
  • Spectrum & FDD/TDD
  • OFDM & modulation
  • Registration & PDU sessions
  • QoS flows

Syllabus

7 modules · 34 lessons · certification exam

  1. Module 1 — The 5G Big Picture

    Place 5G in the real world — what it changes, for whom, and who defines it.

    1. What 5G actually changes — the 60-second network tourWatch free4:48
    2. The use-case triangle: eMBB, URLLC, mMTC — and what shippedFree with an account6:07
    3. Who makes the rules: 3GPP, ITU, GSMA, O-RAN AllianceFree with an account5:03
    4. How to study this course (15 min/day method) + your first Signal CheckFree with an account4:56
    5. Match the Use Case to Its Slice · Checkpoint~4 min

  2. Module 2 — Cellular Foundations

    Command the vocabulary 5G builds on.

    1. Cells, sectors and frequency reuseFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:46
    2. Spectrum: bands, licensing, FDD vs TDDFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:02
    3. 1G → 4G: what each generation solvedFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:34
    4. LTE & EPC in one diagram — the platform 5G extendsFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:45
    5. The four limits 5G had to breakFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:43
    6. Set the TDD Pattern · Interactive lab~6 min
    7. How Many Sites? · Interactive lab~6 min

  3. Module 3 — 5G System Architecture

    Draw the whole 5G system from memory — domains, functions, interfaces.

    1. The three domains: RAN, Core, Data NetworkFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:31
    2. NSA vs SA — EN-DC and the deployment options that shippedFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:09
    3. Inside the RAN: the gNBFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:45
    4. Core network functions — a guided tourFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:21
    5. Interfaces & reference points: N1–N6, N9, XnFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:33
    6. Build the 5G Network · Checkpoint~4 min

  4. Module 4 — Service-Based Architecture

    Explain why the 5G core is an API platform, function by function.

    1. From boxes to services: SBA in one diagramFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:40
    2. SBI mechanics: HTTP/2, JSON and the NRFFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:34
    3. Mobility & session control: AMF and SMFFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:34
    4. Subscriber, policy & exposure: AUSF, UDM, PCF, NSSF, NEFFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:15
    5. CUPS and the UPF — the user-plane workhorseFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:18
    6. Cloud-native by design — why it matters operationallyFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:45
    7. Register the Core · Checkpoint~5 min
    8. Try it5G SBA ArchitectureCUPS Architecture

  5. Module 5 — Radio & Spectrum Fundamentals

    Read a 5G spectrum chart and explain the radio trade-offs behind it.

    1. FR1 and FR2: real-world spectrum strategyFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:49
    2. OFDM, intuitively — subcarriers without the mathFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:29
    3. Modulation & coding: QAM, MCS, HARQFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:08
    4. MIMO & beamforming — first passFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:40
    5. Coverage vs capacity: the eternal trade-offFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership7:02
    6. Ride the Link: SINR to Modulation · Interactive lab~5 min
    7. Try it5G NR Frequency Explorer5G NR Band Reference

  6. Module 6 — Connecting to the Network

    Narrate the journey from power-on to first packet.

    1. Identities: SUPI, SUCI, 5G-GUTI — privacy by designFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:41
    2. RRC states: idle, inactive, connectedFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:32
    3. Registration, step by stepFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:34
    4. PDU sessions & QoS flows — your data's contractFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:01
    5. What happens when you load a page — the end-to-end journeyFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:22
    6. Register the Phone · Checkpoint~4 min
    7. Try itSUPI / SUCI Analyzer5G Auth Flow Visualizer5QI Reference Lookup

  7. Module 7 — Foundation Consolidation

    Integrate everything into one mental model and certify it.

    1. Network slicing — first lookFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership7:10
    2. 5G myths vs measured realityFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership7:10
    3. The full-system recap: the big diagram, rebuilt liveFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:46
    4. Exam technique + what Certificate 2 unlocksFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:32
    5. Trace the Downlink · Checkpoint~4 min

  8. Certification exam

    Earns a certificate

    49 questions · 60 min · 65% to pass — earns your TELCOMA Certified 5G Foundation, a QR-verifiable certificate.

Join for free

Prefer to read? 5G Fundamentals (Level 2) · Look up any acronym in the telecom glossary

Certification

Earn the TELCOMA Certified 5G Foundation

Pass the 49-question exam with 65% or more, and the certificate is yours to show anyone.

  • Show proofEvery certificate carries a QR code and a public page that anyone can check.
  • Add it to LinkedInPut it in the Licenses & certifications section of your profile in one click.
  • Build a collectionEach of our 13 courses earns its own certificate.
Join for free →

Every lesson free for 7 days, no card. The exam comes with Prime Membership or this certification.

See a sample certificate verified →

Specimen of the TELCOMA Certified 5G Foundation certificate — the real design, marked SPECIMEN
The certificate you receive — shown as a specimen.

Study materials

Free for 7 days

Download the 5G Foundation question bank and slide deck — every signal check in the course, with answers, plus every figure.

  • Question BankPDF48 KB
  • Slide DeckPPTX15 MB
Join for free

Free with a new account for your first 7 days — no card. After that, the question bank and slides come with Prime Membership or this certification.

Hands-on learning

Do it, don't just watch it

Modules end with a hands-on exercise — 9 in this course. You move the controls, the numbers answer back, and a wrong turn tells you why.

Try this one first:

Full Bars, No Internet · Interactive lab · ~2 min

Try it free

Free with an account — no card.

Full Bars, No Internet — a hands-on interactive lab from 5G Foundation

What you'll build

3 of 9 — the rest are in the syllabus

Ways to learn

Choose the way that fits you.

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Prime Membership

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13 courses · 404 lessons · ~52 h · 121 hands-on exercises

  • Lessons and labs in this course
  • Study pack — question bank and slides
  • Certification exams and verifiable certificates — all 13
  • Every other course — all, and new ones
  • Full-length practice exams
  • TelcoMentor AI coach
  • Hands-on scenarios — traces, logs, configs
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This certification

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One credential, yours for good

  • Lessons and labs in this course
  • Study pack — question bank and slides
  • Certification exams and verifiable certificates — 1, for this course
  • Every other course — first module
  • Not included: Full-length practice exams
  • Not included: TelcoMentor AI coach
  • Hands-on scenarios — traces, logs, configs — selected traces

One payment · no renewal

Free account

Free

Every course for your first 7 days, then the first module of each

  • Lessons and labs in this course — all for your first 7 days, then the first module
  • Study pack — question bank and slides — for your first 7 days
  • Not included: Certification exams and verifiable certificates
  • Every other course — all for your first 7 days, then the first module
  • Full-length practice exams — for your first 7 days
  • TelcoMentor AI coach — for your first 7 days, at a smaller daily limit
  • Hands-on scenarios — traces, logs, configs — all for your first 7 days, then selected traces
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No card needed

A new free account opens every course for its first 7 days, no card needed: every lesson and lab, the study packs, the full-length practice exams and TelcoMentor. In those 7 days only the certification exam needs a paid option. After them, the first module of every course stays free. Both paid options come with a 7-day money-back guarantee.

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