Communication engineering is the engineering of designing, building and maintaining various communication systems and equipment, including transmission lines, interface equipment, radio equipment, etc. It is primarily concerned with the design and implementation of transmission technologies and network architectures.

Modern communications engineering, on the other hand, will take more account of modernization and future trends, including technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and 5G, with an emphasis on digitization as well as connectivity and interaction between information systems. It involves a deeper understanding and application of modern communications technologies to build more efficient, secure and reliable communications systems.

Although both are related to communication systems, modern communication engineering is more specialized and modernized, and it can better meet today's rapidly evolving communication needs.