Digital communications has become a key enabling technology in the realisation of efficient multimedia systems, wireless and wired telephony, computer networks, digital subscriber loop technology and other communication and storage devices of the information age. The course provides an introduction to the theory of digital communications and its application to the real world. Emphasis will be placed on covering design and analysis techniques used in source and channel coding, modulation and demodulation, detection of signal in the presence of noise, error detection and correction, synchronisation, and spread spectrum. An introduction to information theory and recent development in the area will also be covered. Lectures will be supplemented by a mandatory lab that applies the theoretical concepts and algorithms learned in the course to practical applications.