MicroWave Engineering: Configuration and Troubleshooting Course

Did you know that leading operators now use multiband microwave, large-scale upgrades, and AI automation to extend 5G over 5 km of open water at more than 6 Gbps, complete thousands of long-haul microwave upgrades in just a few months, and cut site visits by around 40% through remote diagnostics and intelligent fault resolution?

Course Overview

The MicroWave Engineering: Configuration and Troubleshooting Course by Rcademy is designed to equip microwave transmission/backhaul engineers, field and implementation engineers, NOC/operations staff, IP/RAN transport engineers, vendor/system integrator engineers, and professionals preparing for vendor certifications with comprehensive understanding of end-to-end microwave transmission system architecture, components, and link design principles for carrier-grade backhaul and transport. Participants gain expert knowledge of licensed/unlicensed point-to-point microwave radio configuration, detailed microwave link engineering including propagation analysis and Fresnel zones, commissioning and testing procedures, and systematic troubleshooting at RF, baseband, and IP layers.​

Without specialized microwave engineering training, professionals may struggle to perform link budget calculations, apply propagation models accurately, diagnose RF-layer issues like misalignment and multipath fading, resolve service-layer problems, or implement AI-based automation reducing site visits, limiting their ability to support rapid network deployment and maintain high availability targets. This comprehensive course provides a structured path to mastery across microwave fundamentals, system architecture, link budgeting, network planning, installation and alignment, operations monitoring, troubleshooting workflows, and advanced optimization techniques, preparing attendees to lead microwave deployment and maintenance initiatives.​

The MicroWave Engineering: Configuration and Troubleshooting Course covers microwave transmission fundamentals, system architecture and components, link budgeting and performance engineering, network planning and configuration, installation and alignment procedures, operations and performance management, systematic troubleshooting techniques, advanced optimization topics, safety and best practices, and practical labs with real-world case studies. Participants learn to configure radio parameters for frequencies, channel widths, XPIC, and polarization, perform detailed propagation analysis and fade margin calculations, commission and test links using standard O&M tools, troubleshoot common microwave faults using structured diagnostic workflows, and apply safety and regulatory guidelines for field operations.​

Real-world cases show how du partnered with Nokia to deploy multiband microwave backhaul combining E-Band with 18 GHz frequencies to extend 5G coverage to Dubai World Islands, achieving reliable connectivity exceeding 6 Gbps throughput over more than 5 km and reducing the number of links needed through carrier aggregation.​

Studies also show that Ericsson’s AI-based network automation enables operators to significantly reduce operational costs, with benefits including less time spent on troubleshooting, a reduction of site visits by at least 40 percent through remote diagnostics and automated fault resolution, and better overall prediction and planning capabilities.

Take charge of your microwave expertise. Enroll now in the Rcademy MicroWave Engineering: Configuration and Troubleshooting Course to master the link engineering and troubleshooting skills that drive reliable backhaul deployments.

Who Should Attend?

The MicroWave Engineering: Configuration and Troubleshooting Course by Rcademy is ideal for:

• Microwave transmission/backhaul engineers
• Field and implementation engineers
• NOC/operations staff handling microwave alarms
• IP/RAN transport engineers
• Vendor/system integrator engineers
• Radio frequency planning engineers
• Network deployment engineers
• Site engineers and tower technicians
• Performance engineers analyzing microwave KPIs
• Technical project managers overseeing microwave rollouts
• Network operations center technicians
• System integration specialists
• Professionals preparing for vendor certifications
• Telecom engineers transitioning to microwave
• Anyone seeking comprehensive microwave certification

What are the Training Goals?

The main objectives of the MicroWave Engineering: Configuration and Troubleshooting Course are to enable professionals to:

• Understand end-to-end microwave transmission system architecture, components, and link design principles for carrier-grade backhaul and transport.
• Configure licensed/unlicensed point-to-point microwave radios for capacity, availability, and QoS targets based on link budgets and path profiles.
• Perform detailed microwave link engineering: propagation analysis, Fresnel zones, fade margins, frequency/channel planning, and interference mitigation.
• Commission, test, and validate microwave links using standard O&M tools, alarms, performance counters, and acceptance procedures.
• Troubleshoot common microwave faults at RF, baseband, and IP layers, applying structured diagnostic workflows and vendor NMS/CLI interfaces.
• Maintain and optimize live microwave networks, interpreting RSL, BER, modulation changes, and availability statistics to prevent outages.
• Apply safety, regulatory, and best-practice installation guidelines (grounding, tower work, EIRP limits, spectrum rules) in field operations.

How Will This Training Course Be Presented?

At Rcademy, the extensive focus is laid on the relevance of the training content to the audience. Thus, content is reviewed and customised as per the professional backgrounds of the audience.

The training framework includes:

• Expert-led lectures by senior microwave and transmission professionals using audio-visual sessions
• Hands-on exercises with link budget calculations and propagation analysis tools
• Interactive workshops for radio configuration and Ethernet/IP service setup
• Case studies covering du multiband microwave deployment, North American 11 GHz upgrade, and Tele-Post Greenland AI-based automation
• Practical labs for fault simulation, troubleshooting, and systematic diagnostic workflows

The theoretical part of training is delivered by an experienced professional from the relevant domain, using audio-visual presentations. This microwave-focused approach ensures professionals translate theory into practical workflows through link budget development, antenna alignment procedures, performance monitoring, and systematic troubleshooting methodologies.​

This comprehensive certification model ensures participants gain both microwave fundamentals and hands-on proficiency to immediately apply transmission expertise in deployment, commissioning, operations, and optimization roles.​

Register now to experience a rigorous, hands-on learning journey designed to equip you for leading microwave deployment, troubleshooting, and network optimization projects.

Course Syllabus

Module 1: Microwave Transmission Fundamentals

• Microwave spectrum, bands, and regulatory aspects (licensed vs unlicensed).​
• Line-of-sight propagation, Fresnel zones, diffraction, reflection, and multipath.​
• Digital microwave systems vs fiber and copper alternatives: use cases, pros and cons.​
• Modulation schemes (QPSK to higher-order QAM) and their impact on capacity and robustness.​

Module 2: Microwave System Architecture and Components

• Indoor/outdoor radio configurations (IDU/ODU), split-mount vs all-outdoor radios.​
• Antennas: parabolic dishes, dual-polarization, waveguides, and RF feeders.​
• Protection schemes: 1+0, 1+1 hot/standby, XPIC, space/frequency diversity.​
• Network interfaces: TDM, Ethernet, IP/MPLS, VLANs, QoS support in microwave nodes.​

Module 3: Link Budgeting and Performance Engineering

• Link budget elements: Tx power, antenna gains, feeder losses, path loss, fade margin.​
• Calculating free-space path loss, minimum RSL, and required fade margin for SLAs.​
• Availability and reliability targets (e.g., 99.99%) and ITU rain fade models.​
• Capacity configuration: channel bandwidth, modulation profile, ACM (Adaptive Coding and Modulation).​

Module 4: Microwave Network Planning and Configuration

• Path survey and obstacle analysis using terrain data, tools (e.g., Pathloss) and site surveys.​
• Frequency and channel planning, interference avoidance, and coordination.​
• Configuring radio parameters: frequencies, channel widths, Tx power, XPIC, and polarization.​
• Ethernet/IP service configuration: VLANs, LAG, QoS, and OAM features on microwave nodes.​

Module 5: Installation, Alignment, and Commissioning

• Pre-installation checks: logistics, tower readiness, grounding, and power.​
• Antenna mounting, mechanical alignment, and fine-tuning using RSL/BER indicators.​
• Commissioning steps: configuration templates, link bring-up, and acceptance tests.​
• Documenting configuration, as-built diagrams, and compliance reports.​

Module 6: Operations, Monitoring, and Performance Management

• Key performance indicators: RSL, SNR, BER, availability, modulation statistics.​
• Interpreting alarms and performance logs from NMS/EMS systems.​
• Trend analysis for proactive maintenance and capacity upgrades.​
• Integrating microwave monitoring with wider network management platforms.​

Module 7: Microwave Troubleshooting Techniques

• Structured troubleshooting workflow: symptom capture, isolation, root cause analysis.​
• RF-layer issues: misalignment, path obstruction, multipath fading, interference.​
• Hardware/installation faults: damaged connectors, water ingress, grounding issues, power problems.​
• Service-layer issues: VLAN misconfig, QoS mis-match, MTU/fragmentation, loop and STP problems.​

Module 8: Advanced Topics and Optimization

• Interference mitigation: re-channelization, XPIC tuning, filter usage, polarization strategies.​
• Diversity schemes and passive repeaters for difficult paths.​
• Small-cell and 5G backhaul requirements on microwave (latency, sync, capacity).​
• Energy efficiency considerations and optimizing for total cost of ownership.​

Module 9: Safety, Standards, and Best Practices

• RF safety principles, exposure limits, and on-site precautions.​
• Tower climbing, rigging, and fall-arrest basics (interface with certified teams).​
• Grounding, lightning protection, and environmental hardening standards.​
• Relevant ITU/ETSI/IEEE standards for microwave radio and link design.​

Module 10: Practical Labs and Case Studies

• Lab: Micowave link budget and minimum RSL calculation for a given path.​
• Lab: Radio and Ethernet configuration on a representative microwave platform or simulator.​
• Lab: Fault simulation and troubleshooting with real or emulated equipment.​
• Case studies: high-availability network designs, coastal/rain-fade environments, and dense urban interference scenarios.

Training Impact

The impact of MicroWave Engineering: Configuration and Troubleshooting training is visible in how operators extend 5G coverage to offshore locations using multiband solutions, complete mission-critical infrastructure upgrades in challenging conditions under tight timelines, and leverage AI-based automation to reduce operational costs dramatically.​

du – Nokia Multiband Microwave Extending 5G to Dubai World Islands Over Long Offshore Distances

Implementation: du, one of the leading telecommunications service providers in the United Arab Emirates with close to seven million mobile subscribers providing fixed telephony, broadband connectivity, and IPTV services, aimed to enhance its 5G network coverage throughout Dubai including offshore locations such as Dubai World Islands, a man-made archipelago just off the coast replicating the world map in miniature with planned residential, shopping, entertainment, and transportation hubs requiring reliable high-capacity 5G connections. The challenge was extending high-capacity microwave backhaul to meet increasing mobile traffic volumes, enabling high-capacity links to serve the offshore World Islands (a capability applicable to rural areas as well), ensuring reliable connectivity over long distances with stable performance, and selecting the optimal solution after evaluating several competing vendors. Nokia, having provided du with microwave backhaul solutions for over seven years and RAN for major cities in the UAE, offered a multiband microwave backhaul solution based on its Wavence portfolio for trial, combining high-capacity E-Band (80 GHz) radios with the extended reach of lower frequency 18 GHz links leveraging carrier aggregation for optimal performance and capacity using available spectrum frequencies.​

Results: In November 2022, Nokia helped du implement the multiband microwave backhaul trial and subsequent deployment connecting Dubai World Islands, with du’s Vice President Technology Planning Hasan Alshemeili noting: “Nokia offered a multiband microwave backhaul solution based on Wavence portfolio for a trial. With this solution, we were able to maintain high throughput microwave links over considerably longer distances than before. Based on the successful results, we subsequently chose Nokia as our deployment partner. Reliable microwave backhaul for 5G opens the door for advanced mobile services in offshore locations like the World Islands in Dubai”. The result was a reliable microwave backhaul solution with deployment over water, exceeding 6 Gbps throughput over a distance of more than 5 km, and meeting the performance and availability requirements of advanced 5G services for both consumers and enterprises. Carrier Aggregation was the key to enhancing spectral efficiency and maximizing the backhaul performance over long links, enabling du to reduce the number of links needed to maintain a high-capacity backhaul connection also in other remote locations. The deployment demonstrated how comprehensive microwave engineering expertise including link budget analysis to determine feasibility over water paths, frequency planning across multiple bands, configuration of carrier aggregation for throughput and availability optimization, antenna selection and alignment for long-distance links, and commissioning procedures validating performance targets enables operators to extend 5G coverage to challenging locations without the expense and complexity of undersea fiber cables, exactly the skills developed through professional microwave configuration and troubleshooting training.​

Tele-Post Greenland – Ericsson Microwave Network Serving 2,134 km Coastline with AI-Based Automation Reducing Site Visits 40%

Implementation: Tele-Post, the telecommunications operator serving Greenland’s population distributed across remote settlements along the west coast, operates a microwave network spanning 2,134 km (corresponding to the flight distance between Brussels and Athens) to provide residents in faraway locations with access to high-speed mobile communications integral to modern life, with the network now being upgraded and expanded to support higher capacities required by 5G. The deployment environment presents extreme challenges including no road access to many sites, no electricity requiring solar/wind power solutions, harsh Arctic weather with half a meter of ice accumulation on antennas, and vast distances requiring long-haul microwave links with high availability despite difficult propagation conditions. Ericsson provided microwave transport solutions designed for these extreme conditions, implementing AI-based network automation that significantly reduces operational costs through less time spent on troubleshooting, a reduction of site visits by at least 40 percent by enabling remote diagnostics and automated fault resolution, and better overall prediction and planning allowing proactive maintenance before problems impact service.​

Results: The automation proves particularly valuable given the difficulty and expense of reaching remote Arctic sites, allowing Tele-Post to maintain network quality and reliability while managing operational costs sustainably. The Greenland deployment illustrates how long-haul microwave can be the perfect solution for providing connectivity to geographically dispersed populations in harsh environments where fiber deployment is impractical, and demonstrates that comprehensive microwave engineering knowledge including fade margin calculations for high-latitude propagation, equipment selection for extreme temperatures and icing conditions, power system design for off-grid solar installations, remote monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities, and AI-based automation to minimize expensive site visits enables operators to deliver modern telecommunications services to underserved communities worldwide, exactly the practical expertise conveyed through professional microwave configuration and troubleshooting training programs.

Be inspired by how leading operators deliver high-capacity, resilient microwave backhaul in extreme conditions. Join the Rcademy MicroWave Engineering: Configuration and Troubleshooting Course to gain the link engineering and troubleshooting skills that keep networks running.