JPL's Wireless Communication Reference Website

Chapter: Cellular Telephone Networks

Cellular Network Architecture

In the cellular concept, frequencies allocated to the service are reused in a regular pattern of cell areas, each covered by one base station. The network architecture is very similar for most cellular systems. It contains a Switching System, an Operation and Support System, base stations and mobile station.

The switching system

The Switching System contains five main functional entities:

The base station

The Operation and Support System

The Operation and Support System supports operation and maintenance activities in the network to allow for reliable and cost-efficient operation.

The mobile station

The Mobile Station is the end user device. Details on network architecture for


Video: Phil Karn (Qualcomm) explains the cellular architecture in a presentation at U.C. Berkeley.
Cells are covered by base stations. Base stations are connected to the Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO), which controls handovers etc. The MTSO connects to the PSTN.

link to Quicktime file

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