Base Transceiver Station (BTS)

A base transceiver station (BTS) is a piece of network equipment that facilitates wireless communication between a device and network.

A BTS consists of the following:

• Antennas that relay radio messages
• Transceivers
• Duplexers
• Amplifiers

A BTS is also known as a base station (BS), radio base station (RBS) or node B (eNB).

A network may be any wireless technology, like Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) or Wi-Fi. However, because a BTS is associated with mobile communications technologies, it refers to the equipment that creates the "cell" in a cellular network. Sometimes, an entire base station, plus its tower, are improperly referred to as a BTS or cellphone tower.

As part of a cellular network, a BTS has equipment for the encryption and decryption of communications, spectrum filtering equipment, antennas and transceivers (TRX) to name a few. A BTS typically has multiple transceivers that allow it to serve many of the cell's different frequencies and sectors.

A parent base station controller (BSC) controls all BTSs via the base station control function (BCF) - either a separate unit or integrated with the TRX for compact base stations. The BCF provides a connection to the network management system (NMS) and manages the transceiver's operational states.

The function of the BTS remains the same - no matter what type of wireless technology is used.