From the EPC's rigid boxes to the cloud-native Service-Based Architecture — and all the way to reading one live 5G packet trace, end to end. Ten in-depth modules, ~9 hours, 23 hands-on labs. Every concept built line-for-line from the 3GPP specs.
The 5G Core Network (5GC) is the brain of a 5G Standalone (SA) network. Where 4G's EPC was a handful of fixed boxes joined by rigid interfaces, the 5G core is a cloud-native Service-Based Architecture (SBA) — a mesh of independent network functions (AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, CHF, NRF, NSSF, AUSF, UDM and more) that register with a repository and call one another over HTTP/2 REST APIs. That shift is what makes 5G programmable: network slicing, ultra-low-latency edge, fine-grained QoS and policy all live here.
If you're a RAN or core engineer, a protocol tester, or an architect moving from LTE to 5G, learning the 5G core is the single highest-leverage skill you can build — and it's exactly what employers screen for. This 5G Core Network course takes you from that EPC-to-SBA transition all the way to reading a live 5G packet capture end to end, with every concept drawn verbatim from the 3GPP Release 19 specifications. It pairs naturally with our 5G Core Network eBook and the wider CafeTele 5G & telecom course library.
Module 1 is free — start with the architecture, all 15 network functions and the SBI stack, then unlock the full path (registration, PDU sessions, QoS, policy & charging, security, slicing, interworking and the trace-analysis capstone) whenever you're ready.
Every module ends with you able to do something: name a message, trace a key, size a slice, read a capture.
Why the EPC became a mesh of network functions, what each NF owns, and how they discover and call each other over the SBI.
SUPI→SUCI concealment, the 12-step 5G-AKA, and the full K → K_AMF → radio-key hierarchy — the way it actually derives.
From registration to an established session: N4/PFCP rules, QoS flows (5QI to the air), and policy from PCF and CHF.
S-NSSAI, NSSF selection, isolation and admission control — how one physical core becomes many private ones.
The SBI as it really is: HTTP/2 frames, REST resources, status codes and ProblemDetails, headers and OAuth on the wire.
The capstone: one continuous trace, power-on to power-off — you name every message and map it to the module that explains it.
Module 1 is free and needs no signup. Modules 2–10 and all 23 labs unlock with a single $14.99 enrolment.
Tables and message flows are drawn line-for-line from TS 23.501/502, 24.501, 29.500/501, 29.244 and 33.501 — with clause numbers on the slide, not paraphrased.
Every scene moves: packets flow along the wires, keys derive step by step, slices fill. No static box-and-arrow slides.
The final module reads one end-to-end trace and names every message — turning ten chapters into one skill: reading any 5G capture.
Module 1 — Architecture & the Service-Based Core — is completely free: the EPC→cloud-native-mesh video, deep-dives on all 15 network functions, identifiers, the NRF lifecycle and the SBI stack. Watch it, then decide.
Lifetime access to all 10 modules, 23 labs and a certificate of completion.
Yes — Module 1 (Architecture & the Service-Based Core) is completely free to watch with no signup, including the EPC→cloud-native-mesh video, the deep-dives on all 15 network functions, identifiers (SUPI/SUCI/GUTI), the NRF lifecycle and the SBI stack.
Ten in-depth modules: SBA architecture, registration & mobility, PDU sessions end-to-end, QoS (5QI to the air), policy & charging (PCF/CHF), security (SUCI, 5G-AKA, key hierarchy), the SBI wire protocol (HTTP/2 + JSON), network slicing (S-NSSAI/NSSF), interworking with non-3GPP access, and a capstone that reads one continuous packet trace end to end.
The 4G EPC is a set of fixed boxes (MME, S-GW, P-GW, HSS, PCRF) wired with point-to-point interfaces. The 5G Core replaces them with a cloud-native Service-Based Architecture (SBA): independent network functions (AMF, SMF, UPF, PCF, NRF and more) that register with a repository and call each other over HTTP/2 REST APIs. Module 1 covers that transition in detail — free.
RAN and core engineers, protocol testers, solution architects, and anyone moving from LTE/EPC to 5G. It assumes basic mobile-network familiarity and takes you to the point where you can read a live 5G capture.
Basic mobile-network familiarity helps, but it isn't strictly required — the course starts from the EPC-to-5G transition and builds every concept from first principles with animated diagrams, so LTE and 5G-curious engineers can follow along.
About 9 hours of narrated video across 10 modules plus 23 hands-on labs. Most learners finish in one to three weeks part-time; access is lifetime so you can go at your own pace.
3GPP Release 19. Every table and message flow is built verbatim from the specs — TS 23.501/502, 24.501, 29.500/501, 29.244, 33.501 — with the clause number shown on screen.
Modules 2–10 plus all 23 hands-on labs unlock for a one-time $14.99 (₹1,499 in India). Module 1 is already free. Access is lifetime, it's a one-time payment (not a subscription), and you get a certificate of completion.
Yes. Complete the modules and you earn a CafeTele certificate of completion for the 5G Core Network Course.
Sign in and open the course hub. Your enrolment unlocks every module and lab instantly; your access is tied to your account, so you can come back any time.
The SBA & every network function in written, reference form — a perfect companion to this course.
Open RAN architecture, the RIC, and xApps/rApps — the radio side of the modern 5G network.
PDSCH, PUSCH, PBCH, PRACH and cell search — how bits become the air interface.