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1.5 The Base Station Subsystem (BSS)

Section 1 Introduction to GSM

The Base Station Sub-System (BSS)

The BSS comprises:
Base Transceiver Station (B TS)
One or more Base Station Cont rollers (BSC)

BSS

The purpose of the BTS is to:

provide radio access to the mobile stations
manage the radio access aspects of the system

BTS contains:
Radio Transmitter/Receiver (TRX)
Signal processing and control equipment
Antennas and feeder cables
The BSC:
allocates a channel for the duration of a call
maintains the call:
monitoring quality
controlling the power transmitted by the B TS or MS
generating a handover to another cell when required

BTS

BSC
BTS

BTS
BTS

Siting of the BTS is crucial to the provision of

acceptable radio coverage

The effect of gains and losses in the BTS equipment on the signal power sent
to the antenna is an important consideration for link budget calculations.
Planning BTS positions requires a software tool such as Asset. Acquiring sites
and implementing the plan involves a combination of surveying, engineering
and legal work.

Handover in GSM is always hard that is the mobile only ever has a
communication link (traffic channel) open with one base station at one time.
This is true of any system with multiple frequencies, since the mobile must retune at the handover. Single frequency systems (such as CDMA) may use soft
handover.
The quality and power level of the radio link compared with that available
from neighbouring cells are important inputs to the handover decision made
by the BSC.
Base stations are linked to the parent BSC in one of several standard network
topologies. The actual physical link may be microwave, optical fibre or cable.
Planning of these links may be done using a tool such as Connect.
GSM System Overview
AIRCOM International 2002

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