Coming from a software background, I think NextEPC and its new variant called Open5GS have the most down-to-earth documentation and code to start from: https://

Coming from a software background, I think NextEPC and its new variant called Open5GS have the most down-to-earth documentation and code to start from: https://open5gs.org/open5gs/docs/ https://open5gs.org/open5gs/docs/. The authors have many good papers that are easy to follow. Osmocom also has good resources https://osmocom.org/projects/cellular-infrastructure/wiki https://osmocom.org/projects/cellular-infrastructure/wiki Most of the learning curve comes from the lingo. Especially now that 5G introduces softwarization of many of the network functions, the terms used by the cellular and software industries clash and may be confusing at times. But you can definitely learn the high-level idea of how the cellular networks function in this way. For physical level things, I imagine that a degree in signal processing is required. And for more advanced software interfaces, I am afraid that you can only read about them, as most devices on which the software is implemented is proprietary. The open-source software you can find is in no-way as fully implemented as the actual software which runs commercial networks.