The development of mobile networks has been one of the most important
technological processes of the past decades, fundamentally changing the way people
communicate. From the simple radio telephone systems of the zero generation to today's
state-of-the-art 5G networks offering high-speed data transmission, each new generation
has brought new possibilities and services. Analog voice transmission has been replaced by
digital communication, which has enabled better quality, greater capacity, and more
secure operation, and the spread of mobile internet has triggered the development that has
resulted in today's world of smart devices and networked devices. The central elements of
the network's operation are base stations, which provide interconnection between wired
and wireless networks. The development of base stations has closely followed the evolution
of mobile generations, with earlier copper-based cabling solutions gradually being
replaced by optical data transmission, which involves less attenuation and energy
consumption. Modern 4G and 5G stations now operate with more efficient, compact
devices that significantly improve network coverage and quality. Antennas are key
components of base stations, ensuring signal transmission and reception. The operating
principle, structure, and properties of antennas, such as gain, polarization, or directional
characteristics, fundamentally determine the performance of the network. In this chapter of
the publication, we present radio data transmission characteristics such as the
phenomenon of fading, various modulation methods, and duplex technologies. The chapters
covered so far provide a comprehensive overview of the development of mobile networks,
describe the structure and operation of base stations, and present the most important
characteristics of antennas and radio data transmission.
