Do you realize how much you rely on Telecommunications’ technologies when using a smartphone, when streaming or consuming content in Youtube, or when navigating with GPS? What about the role of telecommunications in IoT, autonomous vehicles, surveillance and security, and even health? Telecommunications are a key enabler of all these applications and services. They are all part of 5G, the latest generation of wireless communications systems.

Multimedia digital content increasingly dominates the information exchanged through these systems. Information is represented and encoded into electric or optical signals to allow automatic processing, storage, display or interactive access. How is it possible to send these signals through the airways or optical fibers, reaching almost instantly other devices at the simple touch of your finger? How is it, that the huge amount of signals do not get all mixed up in the shared transport media? That and much more, is Telecommunications!

The evolution of Telecommunications has been vibrant. Only 30 years separate 2G with its 9.6 kbit/s bitrate, from 5G with emerging >1 Gbit/s. Developments have been pushed by exploding user service demands. Telecommunications are relentlessly impregnating our lives to a level like in no other technological field.

But are we done with evolution in Telecommunications? Just as in 1992, when 2G started, it is unimaginable how 5G, which is already shaking the markets, will influence future applications and our daily lives. Moreover, universities and industry are already investigating enthusiastically 6G that will push horizons even farther!

A new paradigm shift is taking shape to replace slow electrons-based circuits by much compact and orders of magnitude faster all-optical photonic circuits. Convergence between satellite and terrestrial networks is on the way to propel massive device connection. Augmented reality is likely to become fully integrated in our day life activities. Deep learning is changing the way data is processed. It is weaving with physical principles to advance systems and device design, once limited just by rational thinking.

Where are we headed? Surely into solid professional perspectives for the future. Job opportunities in Telecommunications in Portugal and abroad have been steadily growing for the past 20 years.

Join in, and enjoy the ride!