BASE STATION

A Base Station is the fixed electronics system on land that transmits to mobile wireless products.  For example, a cellular phone can move around or even be in a vehicle.  That cellular phone, however, will be transmitting to the nearest wireless base station at a fixed location that is able to receive the signal.

A cellular base station often has many transmitters and receivers - and is therefore the equivalent of many cellular phones in one location.  However, base stations also have the needed electronics to combine and control all of these phone conversations and cellular data, and to send that combined information back to a centralized telephone switch where calls can be routed via wire lines anywhere in the world.  The method of connecting the base station to the cellular phone is wireless.  However, the method connecting the base station to the telephone switch is called backhaul and might use either wired or wireless means.