Technology : Base Station: Technology behind your talk

Base Station in General:

A base station enables mobile communication between two cell phones, between a cell phone and a fixed line

BTS is also referred to as the radio base station (RBS), node B (in 3G Networks) or, simply, base station (BS). For discussion of the LTE standard the abbreviation eNB for evolved node B is widely used.

GSM Network Architecture:

What is a Base Station?

A 'base transceiver station' — popularly known as a base station — connects two mobile phone users or a mobile user calling a landline. A base station kit, also called a cell site, comprises a tower of a reasonable height (approximately 50m), a box of electronics that transmits and receives signals, and a generator that powers the station. The box of electronics enables transmission of mobile signals on GSM or CDMA networks, depending on the platform. The tower is a critical subset of a base station. The transmitting gear, which is a bunch of antenna, is mounted on it. The tower height determines the reach of the mobile phone signals, which is usually up to 15 km.

What does a Base Station Do?

Every time a cell phone makes or receives calls, sends or receives text messages or plugs on to the Net, it first communicates with a mobile network. The base station enables this initial communication.

What are 'CELLS' and who pioneered this Technology? 

For cellular communications to happen, a city is divided into small zones called `cells' and base stations are installed in each zone for mobile signals to travel. AT&T Labs researchers Richard H Frenkiel and Joel S Engel introduced the concept of splitting a city into cells' in 1971. But the first base station was installed by Motorola on April 3, 1973, when Dr Marty Cooper, who was then R&D director at Motorola, made history by making the first cellular phone call.

When do mobile calls drop?

When a user is on the move, radio signals from his handset get handed over from one cell site to the next along his travel path. Calls drop when people drift out of range of their network or in case there is a problem in the handing over of calls between cell sites. It can also happen when there's heavy call traffic in a particular zone and inadequate cell sites to handle the load.

Who Provides Base Station Equipment's these days?

•     Ericsson 
•     Nokia Siemens Networks
•     Alcatel Lucent, 
•     Huawei, 
•     ZTE 

A   What is the coverage of a Base Station? Does a CDMA Base Station cover more area?

A base station can cover an area in a radius of up to 30 km depending on terrain, frequency and tower height. Some base stations can cover as much as 120 km for rural applications. A CDMA base station has a distinct advantage, in that its coverage range is more than GSM because of the less power it consumes.

How much does a Base Station kit Cost?

Roughly 45 lacs: 20-25 lacs for the tower and 20 lacs for power and electronics.