Functionality
This is the hardware that is connected to the mobile phone network that communicates directly with mobile handsets. In contrast with GSM base stations, Node B usesDifferences between a Node B and a GSM base station
Frequency use
The utilization of WCDMA technology allows cells belonging to the same or different Node Bs and even controlled by different RNC to overlap and still use the same frequency (in fact, the whole network can be implemented with just one frequency pair). The effect is utilized in soft handovers.Power requirements
Since WCDMA often operates at higher frequencies than GSM (2,100 MHz as opposed to 900 MHz for GSM), the cell radius can be considerably smaller for WCDMA than for GSM cells as the path loss is frequency dependent. WCDMA now has networks operating in the 850–900 MHz band. In these networks, at these frequencies, the coverage of WCDMA is considered better than that of the equivalent GSM network. Unlike in GSM, the cells' size is not constant (a phenomenon known as " cell breathing"). This requires a larger number of Node Bs and careful planning in 3G (Node B setup
A full cell site has a cabinet, an antenna mast and actual antenna. An equipment cabinet contains e.g.See also
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