Skip to content
5G/6G Academy
RedCap, eRedCap & Ambient IoT — 5G certification courseWatch free

Free preview · Standalone-core dependency: device classes on two status rails — opens in the course player

NewIntermediateReleased Oct 2026

RedCap, eRedCap & Ambient IoT

Every cellular IoT device class is a bargain with a price: each cut in receive branches, bandwidth, peak rate or listening time is paid back in coverage, cell capacity, airtime or reachability. This course prices each one with computed numbers — battery days, reach in decibels, a cell's admission rules, a battery-free tag's link budget — and ends on a class defended for each of six reference devices.

Join for free

Every 5G & 6G course free for 7 days

Lessons
29
Video
≈3.0h
Hands-on
4 labs · 7 checkpoints
Before you start
5G Foundation

About this course

Who it's for. Telecom engineers in RAN, core, device and test, and IoT and device engineers new to 3GPP.

Before you start. 5G Foundation. RAN and core depth are not assumed — decibels, receive branches, bandwidth parts, random access and paging are built from zero where the course needs them.

This course includes

  • 29 video lessons — the first needs no account, and all are free for your first 7 days
  • Hands-on labs and checkpoints
  • Study pack — question bank and slides
  • Certification exam and a QR-verifiable certificate

Skills you'll gain

  • IoT device-class selection
  • RedCap & eRedCap trade-offs
  • IoT link budgets
  • SIB1 admission & bandwidth parts
  • eDRX, PSM & MICO
  • Battery-life budgeting
  • Ambient IoT & backscatter
  • LTE-M & NB-IoT comparison

Syllabus

6 modules · 29 lessons · certification exam

  1. Module 1 — Device-class selection basics: rate, reach, power, cost

    Place RedCap, eRedCap, Ambient IoT and the incumbents on specification and field rails, turn sleep current into battery days, read reach in decibels, and make a first-cut class choice for six reference devices.

    1. Standalone-core dependency: device classes on two status railsWatch free6:42
    2. Sleep current to battery days: one module’s floorFree with an account6:06
    3. Maximum coupling loss in decibels: phone to basementFree with an account5:22
    4. Device-class gates: six reference devices, first cutFree with an account6:28
    5. Run the Four Gates · Checkpoint~5 min

  2. Module 2 — RedCap Rel-17 trims and eRedCap: what each cut costs

    Price each RedCap trim in cost, peak rate and coverage, read what RedCap keeps and drops, and how eRedCap caps data on a full-width radio.

    1. RedCap’s cost ledger: each trim priced separatelyFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:58
    2. Peak-rate formula: one or two receive branchesFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:58
    3. Half-duplex FDD type A: what RedCap keeps and dropsFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:41
    4. One receive branch and a small body: the coverage billFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:42
    5. eRedCap: full-width radio, ten-megabit data capFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:50
    6. Read the Capability Report · Checkpoint~5 min
    7. What the Formula Gives · Interactive lab~6 min

  3. Module 3 — RedCap cell admission: SIB1, bandwidth parts, capacity bill

    Read the SIB1 flags that admit RedCap and eRedCap, place their bandwidth parts, trace early indication to the core, weigh the capacity cost and prove admission.

    1. SIB1 admission flags: barred unless toldFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:32
    2. RedCap initial bandwidth part: on a wide carrierFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:45
    3. Early indication: Msg1, Msg3, then the coreFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:48
    4. PDCCH blocking and access load: RedCap’s capacity billFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:15
    5. End-to-end admission proof: cell, core, subscriptionFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership4:41
    6. Write the Broadcast · Interactive lab~7 min
    7. Who Knows It Is RedCap · Checkpoint~6 min

  4. Module 4 — Battery life as a computed budget: tail, eDRX, MICO and listening less

    Work out where each report's energy goes, including the tail the network operator sets, and how far eDRX, MICO mode and wake-up signalling stretch a battery's derated life.

    1. Inactivity tail: where a report’s energy goesFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:26
    2. eDRX in hyperframes: paging windows, locks and releasesFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership8:00
    3. MICO mode with Active Time: PSM’s 5G counterpartFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:19
    4. Wake-up signalling: paging early indication to wake-up receiversFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:49
    5. Battery-life ledger: state currents to derated yearsFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership7:01
    6. Where the Message Waits · Checkpoint~6 min
    7. Fill the Ledger · Interactive lab~6 min

  5. Module 5 — Ambient IoT: backscatter, readers and the release train

    Trace Ambient IoT backscatter, budget both links, walk the Rel-19 inventory, sort device names by document, and weigh the 3GPP tag against RAIN RFID.

    1. Backscatter and harvesting: the Rel-19 tag has no transmitterFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:57
    2. Round-trip link budget: two path losses in seriesFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:55
    3. Rel-19 inventory: base-station reader, carrier-wave node, three-step accessFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:51
    4. Ambient IoT device types and topologies: Rel-19 to Rel-20Free for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership7:42
    5. RAIN RFID and battery-free Bluetooth: the non-3GPP laneFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership7:32
    6. Walk the Aisle · Interactive lab~7 min
    7. Who Supplies the Wave · Checkpoint~5 min

  6. Module 6 — Device-class selection: incumbents, acceptance, a defended design

    Weigh LTE-M, NB-IoT and Cat-1bis against RedCap and eRedCap, clear device acceptance, defend six classes with computed numbers, then stress-test the fleet against network exits.

    1. LTE-M and NB-IoT coverage: repetition and power densityFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:48
    2. eRedCap energy per transfer: Cat-1bis beside itFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership6:19
    3. RedCap device acceptance: antennas, body loss, certificationFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:07
    4. Device-class selection: six reference devices, defendedFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership7:00
    5. Network sunsets and multimode migration: stress-testing the fleetFree for 7 days with a free account, then with Prime Membership5:26
    6. Defend the Class · Checkpoint~6 min
    7. When the Network Leaves · Checkpoint~6 min

  7. Certification exam

    Earns a certificate

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

Join for free

Look up any acronym in the telecom glossary

Certification

Earn the TELCOMA Certified 5G IoT Specialist

Pass the 42-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.
Specimen of the TELCOMA Certified 5G IoT Specialist certificate — the real design, marked SPECIMEN
The certificate you receive — shown as a specimen.

Study materials

Download the RedCap, eRedCap & Ambient IoT question bank and slide deck — every signal check in the course, with answers, plus every figure.

  • Question BankPDF40 KB
  • Slide DeckPPTX17 MB

Hands-on learning

Do it, don't just watch it

Modules end with a hands-on exercise — 4 labs · 7 checkpoints in this course. You move the controls, the numbers answer back, and a wrong turn tells you why.

Try this one first:

Run the Four Gates · Checkpoint · ~5 min

Try it free

Free with an account — no card.

Run the Four Gates — a hands-on checkpoint from RedCap, eRedCap & Ambient IoT

What you'll build

3 of 11 — the rest are in the syllabus

Ways to learn

Choose the way that fits you.

This certification

Price loadingonce

One credential, yours for good

  • Lessons and labs in this course
  • Study pack — question bank and slides
  • Certification exam and verifiable certificate — 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

Recommended

Prime Membership

Price loading/year

Every course, including new ones

  • Lessons and labs in this course
  • Study pack — question bank and slides
  • Certification exam and verifiable certificate — every course
  • Every other course — all, and new ones
  • Full-length practice exams
  • TelcoMentor AI coach
  • Hands-on scenarios — traces, logs, configs
See Prime Membership

Renews yearly · cancel anytime

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 exam and verifiable certificate
  • 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
Join for free

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.

Explore more courses

See all 13 courses →