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Bangor Communications Engineering PhD: Combining Fibre, RF and Optical Wireless for High-Speed Networks

Project 2536 · Bangor University · School of Computer Science and Engineering.

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Save this opportunity and prepare around its actual requirements. Confirm deadlines and eligibility at the original source.

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Country or region
United Kingdom
Application deadline
2026-11-24 (confirm the exact time with the source)
Funding
Initial three-year funding; any extension depends on additional funds. The advert lists a £21,805 annual stipend at the 2026/27 rate and a full tuition-fee waiver. Bangor's published international research fee is £21,000 per year, including a £2,000 laboratory surcharge; it is unclear whether the award covers the overseas-fee difference, surcharge or future increases. International applicants may apply; confirm individual terms.

The research opportunity

Project overview

Bangor's Digital Signal Processing Centre seeks a full-time PhD researcher in networks combining fibre, radio-frequency or millimetre-wave, and optical wireless communications. The subject sits across optical access, wireless links and advanced signal processing, but the advert does not yet define a particular architecture or research question.

Research and working environment

The student will undertake theoretical and/or experimental work in a funded project, publish and present findings, maintain equipment, assist with proposals and undergraduate projects, and participate in training. Two EPSRC projects and an investment-zone research programme are named as funding sources; the specific project and work package for this studentship are not identified.

The centre describes capabilities in high-speed optical communications, mmWave, optical wireless and signal processing, as well as industry links. These are centre-level resources, not a guarantee of a particular test platform, placement or technical support. The balance between theory, simulation and laboratory work, the frequencies or wavelengths, hardware and performance metrics all need discussion. Professor Jianming Tang is an informal contact; the formal supervisory team is not specified.

Application and funding

  • Background: A first or upper-second-class degree, or equivalent, in a relevant physical science, engineering or technology field, with strong mathematical, analytical and experimental skills, independence, teamwork and communication. Experience in optical or wireless links, networks, DSP, circuits or programming is useful; papers and 5G/6G knowledge are advantages rather than requirements to possess everything listed.
  • Award: Initial funding is for three years, with extension dependent on further funds. The advert lists a £21,805 annual stipend at the 2026/27 rate and full tuition. Bangor's published international research fee is £21,000 per year including a £2,000 laboratory surcharge; whether the award covers the overseas rate, surcharge and future increases is unconfirmed.
  • Dates and application: The deadline is 24 November 2026, with no time or time zone stated. The post is expected to start as soon as possible, but the exact date and application checklist are not specified. International applicants may apply; confirm fee coverage and any ATAS requirement.
  • Contact: Professor Jianming Tang, j.tang@bangor.ac.uk. Request the specific work package, application requirements, supervision and available equipment.

Research and application brief

Report generated: . This date does not confirm that recruitment remains open.

Information updated: . Recheck the original notice before applying.

Show report contents

Bangor Communications Engineering PhD: Combining Fibre, RF and Optical Wireless for High-Speed Networks

Quick Decision

A strong technical match for applicants who want to work across optical and radio communications, provided they are comfortable with an open-ended brief. Bangor’s full-time studentship sits within the Digital Signal Processing Centre and draws on its fibre-access, RF/mmWave, free-space-optical and indoor optical-wireless research. The vacancy gives a 24 November 2026 deadline, an initial three-year appointment and a £21,805 annual UKRI-rate stipend for 2026/27. It does not identify a specific question, work package or balance of theory and experiments. The central financial uncertainty is tuition: the advert says “full tuition fee waiver”, while UKRI caps its standard contribution at the home-fee level and Bangor lists £21,000 annual international PGR fees for the relevant bands. Confirm the intended work package, application route and fee coverage in writing.

The advertised start is “as soon as possible”, but the exact date and deadline time are not stated. Applicants should be ready to discuss relevant mathematics, signal processing, experimental or analytical work, and their interest in communication systems spanning optical and radio links.

Research Problem and Doctoral Work

What Is Unsolved and Why It Matters

The systems challenge is to move high-capacity traffic across fibre access/backhaul and wireless or optical-wireless links while controlling cost, complexity and signal impairment. As optical and radio links are combined, designers must handle conversion between media, nonlinearities, I/Q crosstalk, link interference, modal coupling and the processing needed to compensate them. The project's title signals a timely convergence problem, but the vacancy does not specify its target architecture or the unresolved scientific question.

Recent Bangor group research illustrates several real technical bottlenecks. In 2024, Gonem, Giddings and Tang demonstrated a dual-arm I/Q Soft-ROADM drop operation designed to reduce sensitivity to RF phase offset; the work uses MIMO-based DSP to mitigate I/Q crosstalk. This is a specific optical switching experiment, not evidence that the PhD will use a Soft-ROADM. The Bangor research record and the publisher record document the contribution.

Vallejo et al. (2025) experimentally evaluated a bidirectional fibre–free-space-optical (FSO)–mmWave network. The reported setup used 10 km of fibre, 1.8 m of FSO and 3 m of mmWave links, with 39 GHz/0.4 Gbit/s downlink and 36.5 GHz/0.2 Gbit/s uplink conditions. It shows how separate media can be joined and measured, while its short wireless spans and test conditions make it a laboratory feasibility demonstration rather than evidence of city-scale deployment. The Bangor record and publisher article give the details.

Two further strands are relevant. A 2025 PON paper tests flexible point-to-multipoint transceivers and digital filter banks in a 27 km, greater-than-54.31 Gbit/s IMDD network, reporting reductions in transmitter and receiver DSP complexity; this connects optical access scaling with implementation cost. The Bangor research record summarizes the experimental design and reported limits. A 2026 paper analyzes signal-to-signal beating interference created by envelope detection and demonstrates iterative mitigation over 25 km of fibre plus a 5 m/36 GHz wireless link. Its reported complexity reductions depend on the tested system and comparator. The publisher article provides the system conditions.

The optical-wireless connection is also represented in a 2026 study that combines about 1 km of standard single-mode fibre with a 2.5 m indoor optical-wireless link at 850 nm. The authors report a 23.5 Gbit/s transmission and examine mode coupling from fibre connectors. These measurements suggest concrete questions around how fibre characteristics affect the indoor optical link, but do not establish a general indoor-coverage result. The Bangor publication record and publisher DOI record describe the study.

Work, Methods, and Potential Outputs

The vacancy says the student will conduct theoretical and/or experimental research within funded projects; publish and present findings; operate and maintain laboratory equipment; help prepare research proposals; support undergraduate project work; and participate in training. These are the advertised responsibilities. The examples above suggest plausible lines of inquiry—such as evaluating link impairments, testing signal-processing remedies, comparing converged architectures, or measuring complexity and robustness—but they are analytical possibilities, not a confirmed doctoral plan. The exact hypothesis, frequency/wavelength, simulation tools, hardware, success metrics and project deliverables need to come from the supervisor.

School, Programme and Field Context

The opportunity is attached to Bangor University's current School of Computer Science and Engineering, with the Digital Signal Processing Centre providing the relevant research environment. The centre lists high-speed optical, mmWave, optical-wireless and signal-processing capabilities. It also describes links with more than 35 industry partners, but the vacancy does not name a partner assigned to this studentship. Some centre-page text still describes a 5G Innovation Lab as planned for readiness in 2024; that old target is not proof of current operational status. Ask which facilities are currently available to this student.

For broad institutional context, QS lists Bangor at #=567 in the QS World University Rankings 2027; this is an overall university rank, not a communications subject rank. A more relevant but still broad signal is Bangor's REF 2021 Engineering UoA 12 profile: 27% of the overall profile was rated 4-star and 53% 3-star; the outputs profile was 20.3% 4-star and 67.2% 3-star. This Engineering unit does not isolate optical communications.

Bangor's postgraduate research overview describes Doctoral School support, and its Doctoral Academy workshops provide university-level research-development opportunities. The vacancy identifies Bangor as the host university, but does not state the formal registration code, normal thesis-registration period, or whether any external institution has a role. Confirm those details with the School; do not infer a joint degree from the centre's industry links.

At field level, the International Telecommunication Union's IMT-2030 (6G) status page shows technical requirements and evaluation guidelines still moving through development and approval. Integrated sensing and communication is one of the scenarios under consideration. This supports the timeliness of communication-system research, while also showing that 6G is still a standards-development process rather than a finished commercial specification. The UK's Advanced Connectivity Technologies Sector Study 2026 includes advanced optical networks, 5G-to-6G and related systems within a UK technology and skills landscape; its revenue forecasts rely on assumptions and are not guarantees of future hiring.

Supervisor and Lab Assessment

The official Jianming Tang research profile lists him as a Professor in Optical Communications and accepting PhD students. His stated directions—high-speed optical transmission, optical access networks, digital signal processing, wired/wireless network convergence and ultrafast optical devices—closely match the advertised theme. The profile establishes strong topic fit, but the vacancy identifies him as the informal contact rather than confirming the full supervisory team. The Wei Jin research profile provides additional context on the group's optical access, reconfigurable switching and DSP directions; it does not confirm that he will co-supervise this specific PhD.

The Centre page lists equipment including high-speed arbitrary waveform generators and digital storage oscilloscopes, plus capability areas for coherent optical transmission, access networks, mmWave and optical wireless. This is relevant infrastructure on paper, but project-specific access, instrument availability, staff support, consumables and training are not stated. The page's old 2024 lab target makes a direct equipment-status question particularly useful. Bangor also reported a 2022 regional fibre/5G initiative and planned trials reaching more than 400 premises on Anglesey in a university news item. That is evidence of prior regional connectivity activity, not proof that the present studentship will participate in those trials.

Funding, Application, and Living Cost

The vacancy describes an initial three-year studentship with a possibility of extension only if future funding is available. It gives a £21,805/year stipend for 2026/27 plus a “full tuition fee waiver” and says UK, EU and international applicants may apply. UKRI's current studentship guidance confirms £21,805 as the minimum stipend from 1 October 2026. UKRI also says its fee contribution for 2026/27 is capped at the £5,238 home-fee level and that international students may have to contribute a difference.

Bangor's international PGR fee table lists £21,000 per year for both Computer Sciences and Electronic Engineering in the relevant 2026/27 entry bands; the footnote says these amounts include a £2,000 bench fee. The advertised waiver may include a university-funded top-up, but the public information reviewed here does not establish that. International applicants should obtain written confirmation of whether the award covers the complete fee by fee status, the bench-fee component, and future fee increases. Do not treat the studentship as fully settled financially until the offer letter confirms this.

For a rough cost anchor, dividing £21,805 over 52 weeks gives about £419/week. Bangor's current accommodation-cost table lists rooms from £99/week at St Mary's and £119/week at Ffriddoedd, with more expensive room/studio options. At £99, £119 and £195 weekly rent, about £320, £300 and £224 respectively would remain from that simple stipend division before food, transport, travel, clothing, visa/health charges and personal costs. Some hall rents include utilities and internet; a private tenancy may not. These figures are examples, not a complete budget or guaranteed room offer.

For international applicants, the Student visa financial requirement is £1,171/month for up to nine months outside London, in addition to outstanding course fees on the CAS when applicable. This is a visa evidence threshold, not a full cost-of-living estimate. The vacancy says non-UK/EU nationals may require ATAS. The official ATAS guidance makes applicability dependent on subject/research classification and nationality exemptions, so the university should confirm the relevant course/research code.

Bangor's research-application guidance says advertised funded studentships require a formal application and procedures can vary by School. Confirm the School's checklist rather than assuming that the general self-proposed-PhD process applies. The vacancy gives 24 November 2026 as the closing date but no closing time or time zone.

Applicant Fit and Preparation

Required Background and Skills

The advertised academic threshold is a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree, or equivalent, in a relevant physical science, engineering or technology discipline. The vacancy describes a strong relevant academic background, mathematical, analytical and experimental ability, independent and collaborative work, written and verbal communication, research enthusiasm and self-motivation as essential.

Preferred Experience and Suggested Preparation

The listed desirable areas include optical, wireless or optical-wireless communications; joint communications and sensing; data networks; digital or analogue signal processing; mobile communications; high-speed digital circuit design; and programming. Research experience, peer-reviewed publications and knowledge of 5G/6G are also desirable. The text presents these as optional strengths, not a requirement to have mastered every area.

An application can make the fit concrete through a concise explanation of one relevant technical project: the problem, method, candidate's own contribution, measurement/simulation results and limitations. A short reading note on a recent group paper could show why fibre/RF/optical-wireless integration is of interest, without guessing the undisclosed doctoral topic. Bangor's School should confirm whether this named studentship requires a research proposal, which documents to upload, and how the selection interview will work.

Career Routes and Market Context

Relevant pathways include telecommunications systems R&D; optical, transport and access-network engineering; radio-over-fibre and RF/mmWave systems; optical wireless and photonics; digital signal processing and test/measurement; and network integration or technical product development. UK policy identifies advanced connectivity, the 5G-to-6G transition and advanced optical networks as strategic areas, with continued skills needs in RF planning, fibre/optical-network design, interference awareness and systems integration. The UK Digital and Technologies Jobs Plan reports about 109,400 people employed in the advanced-connectivity technologies sector in 2025 and cites an estimated shortfall of roughly 30,000 engineers over the following decade. These are broad sector figures, not occupation-specific PhD placement statistics or a forecast of recruitment for this project. The market study also reports regional concentration; the Bangor position does not guarantee access to local employers. (UK Digital and Technologies Jobs Plan, Advanced Connectivity Technologies Sector Study 2026)

Next Actions and Questions to Verify

Before Applying

  1. Ask Professor Tang or the School which funded project/work package supports this post, and request the core research question, likely methods and expected outputs.
  2. For international fee status, obtain written confirmation of full tuition coverage, including the published bench-fee component and any later annual increase.
  3. Confirm the exact deadline time/time zone, required documents, proposal requirement, formal application route, interview stages and intended/latest start dates.
  4. Ask whether visa/ATAS processing can be accommodated if the stated start is “as soon as possible.”

At Interview

  1. Clarify the balance between theory, simulation/programming and lab experimentation, and which technical metrics will define a successful thesis.
  2. Confirm the primary and day-to-day supervisors, which partners are formally involved, and what role they play.
  3. Ask which testbeds and equipment are currently operational and available to the student, including training, staff support and consumables.

Before Accepting an Offer

  1. Check the award letter for stipend amount and review dates, fee liability by status, research/conference support, initial funding duration and any extension conditions.
  2. Confirm the Bangor registration programme, thesis-registration period, expected submission date, and any visa or ATAS conditions in the formal offer.

Evidence and Sources

University, School, Training and Research Environment

Supervisor and Recent Research

Standards, Market, Fees and Application

Sources

The listing may come from a university or recruitment platform. Check the notice and official sources in the report for current application requirements. View the recruitment source

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