Before We Start: A Note about Terms

Before We Start: A Note about Terms
In this book we use the term handset to describe a generic, nonspecific portable cellular
terminal. When we use the term mobile, we are referring to a portable terminal of
higher power and capable of traveling at high speed. It is usually vehicle-mounted and
may have antenna gain.
In discussing 1G and 2G cellular systems, we use the term base station or BTS (base
transceiver system). In 3G cellular systems, we refer to this as the Node B. Node refers
to the assumption that the base station will act as a node supporting Internet protocols.
B refers to the fact the node is integrated with a base station. The RNC (radio network
controller) is the network subcomponent used in a 3G network for load distribution
and access policy control. It replaces the BSC (base station controller) used in 1G and
2G cellular networks.