For the purposes of the present document, the following terms and definitions apply:
Base Station System (BSS):
system of base station equipment (transceivers, controllers, etc..) which is viewed by the MSC through a single interface as defined by the 3GPP TS 48.0xx series of recommendations, as being the entity responsible for communicating with Mobile Stations in a certain area. The radio equipment of a BSS may cover one or more cells. A BSS may consist of one or more base stations. If an internal interface according to the 3GPP TS 48.05x series at recommendations is implemented, then the BSS shall consist of one Base Station Controller (BSC) and several Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs).
Base Station Controller (BSC):
network component in the PLMN with the functions for control of one or more Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs).
Base Transceiver Station (BTS):
network component which serves one cell, and is controlled by a Base Station Controller. The BTS can consist of one or more TRXs with or without common control equipment.
Cell:
Transceiver (TRX):
in the GSM PLMN is the functional entity which supports the 8 basic radio channels of the same TDMA-frame.
Base Control Function (BCF):
functional entity which handles common control functions within a BTS, e.g. frequency hopping sequences etc. At a multi BTS site, one of the BCFs can also be choosen to perform functions common to the site (e.g. external alarms, power supply, time base).
For the purposes of the present document, the abbreviations given in
TR 21.905 apply.