GSM: The network architecture

( Part of Henrik Kaare Poulsen's GSM pages )

As described earlier, the GSM network is a cellular network, each cell being served by a base station (BTS). The GSM base station is basically a radio station. Several base stations are connected to BSC: Base station controller. The BSC is controlling all the calls in all the connected base stations. The connection between base stations is usually a microwave link (REFERENCE). An example network is shown in the figure:

Base stations can be directly connected to the BSC, giving a star configuration as shown in the top of the picture. The GSM base stations can also be connected in a chain configuration as shown in the bottom left of the figure, or in a loop configuration as shown in the bottom right of the figure.

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