| band |
|
In wireless communication, band refers to a frequency or contiguous range of frequencies. Currently, wireless communication service providers use the 800 MHz, 900 MHz and1900 MHz bands for transmission in the United States. |
| band-pass filter |
|
A radio wave filter having a specific range of frequencies it is designed to pass, while rejecting frequencies outside the pass-band. |
| bandwidth |
|
The information-carrying capacity of a communications channel. Usually expressed in Hertz (cycles per second) for analog circuits and in bits per second (bps) for digital circuits. |
| base station |
|
The central radio transmitter/receiver that maintains communications with a mobile radio telephone within a given range. |
| BCCH |
Broadcast Control Channel |
|
| BCH |
Broadcast Channels |
|
| BCH code |
Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem Code |
|
| bearer service |
|
A service that enables transport of information between network interfaces. |
| BER |
Bit Error Rate |
A ratio of the number of errors to data bits received on a digital circuit. BER is usually expressed in exponential form. |
| BERT |
Bit Error Rate Tester |
A device used to measure the bit error rate performance of a data circuit. |
| BLER |
Block Error Rate |
A ratio of the number of erroneous blocks to the total number of blocks received on a digital circuit. Block error rate (BLER) is used for W-CDMA performance requirements tests (demodulation tests in multipath conditions, etc). BLER is measured after channel de-interleaving and decoding by evaluating the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) on each transport block. |
| blocking probability |
|
The statistical probability that a telephone connection cannot be established due to insufficient transmission resources in the network. Usually expressed as a percentage or decimal equivalent of calls blocked by network congestion during the busy hour. |
| Bluetooth |
|
A short range radio technology developed by Ericsson and other companies that makes it possible to transmit signals over short distances between telephones, computers and other devices without having to interconnect them with wires. |
| bps |
Bits per Second |
The units usually used to express data transmission speed; the number of pieces of information transmitted per second. |
| BPSK |
Binary Phase Shift Keying |
A type of phase modulation using 2 distinct carrier phases to signal ones and zeros. |
| broadband |
|
This term has a number of meanings. It was coined originally to describe a channel having more bandwidth than needed to carry a standard voice grade channel. It is also the term for transmission equipment and media that can support a wide range of electromagnetic frequencies. Broadband frequencies can transmit more data and at a higher speed than narrowband frequencies. In general, paging services and traditional voice grade wireless phones are considered narrow-band. High speed data and video communications are usually considered broadband services and employ broadband equipment. |
| broadcast |
|
A transmission sent to many recipients. Most radio transmissions are broadcasts
and require the use of encryption to protect privacy. |
| BS |
Base Station |
The equipment on the network side of a wireless communications link. The base station contains the tower, antennas and radio equipment needed to allow wireless communications devices to connect with the network. |
| BSC |
Base Station Controller |
A device and software associated with a base station that permits it to register mobile phones in the cell, assign control and traffic channels, perform handoff and process call setup and termination. |
| BSIC |
Base Station Identity Code |
A unique code contained in messages on the broadcast channels of a cell or base station that uniquely identifies the base station. |
| BSS |
Base Station Subsystem |
|
| BT |
Bandwidth Time Product |
|
| BTA |
Basic Trading Area |
A geographic area over which a PCS operator is licensed to provide service. BTAs are a group of counties in metropolitan areas having common financial, commercial and economic ties and were first used to license PCS service in the middle '90s. BTAs are about the size of a cellular MSA and cross state lines in some instances. BTAs are used by the Rand-McNally corporation to summarize economic data. BTAs are grouped into larger areas called MTAs |
| BTS |
Base Transceiver Station |
Although specifications differ for each system, the BTS effects radio communication with mobile stations (MS) via its respective radio access system and transmits/receives signals to/from connected radio network controllers (RNC) located along transmission routes. |
