GPRS: General Packet Radio Service

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a packet-data technology that allows GSM operators to launch wireless data services, such as email and fast Internet access. As a result, GPRS provides operators with the ability to use data to drive additional revenue and compete on services rather than price alone. GPRS is often called a "2.5G" technology because it is a GSM operator's first step toward third generation (3G).

Although GPRS is a data-only technology, it helps improve GSM voice capacity. When an operator deploys GPRS, it also can upgrade to a new type of voice coder that turns voice into digital signals before they pass across the wireless network. This vocoder uses Adaptive Multi-rate speech transcoding (AMR) technology, which can handle twice as many simultaneous voice calls as a network that uses the old vocoder. As a result, GPRS allows GSM operators to accommodate additional voice traffic without the expense of acquiring additional spectrum.

GPRS supports download data rates of up to 115 kbps, with average speeds of 40-50 kbps, which is comparable to other 2.5G technologies, such as CDMA2000 1X. GPRS’ speeds are fast enough for applications such as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and a Web browsing experience comparable to a wired dial-up modem. GPRS also allows customers to maintain a data session while answering a phone call, which is a unique and exclusive feature to GSM. GPRS also provides an "always-on" data connection, so users do not have to log on each time they want data access. The packet architecture also means that users pay only for the data itself rather than for the airtime used to establish a connection and download data.

GPRS is the most widely supported packet-data wireless technology in the world because it builds on GSM's global customer base of more than 2.7 billion people, as of 3Q 2007. As of September 2007, 452 operators in 182 countries have launched GPRS according to Informa’s World Cellular Data Metrics. Like GSM, GPRS supports international roaming in more than 100 countries so customers can access data services whether they are at home or abroad. When users travel to areas that have not yet been upgraded to GPRS, they still can access many data services via circuit-switched GSM.

The large, global operator and user adoption of GPRS has created a customer base that has attracted dozens of device manufacturers. As a result, hundreds of models of GPRS phones and PC card modems are currently available from dozens of manufacturers. GPRS phones are available at a wide variety of price points and feature sets, including smartphones for business users and sub-$30 models for developing markets.

GPRS is the first step for GSM operators to introduce wireless data services. Although GPRS supports a wider range of data services than GSM, it is spectrally efficient, so operators do not have to acquire additional spectrum. That makes GPRS a cost-effective way for operators to begin both offering wireless data services-- one of the reasons why GPRS is the most widely deployed wireless packet-data technology in the world.

GPRS builds on the GSM network platform, so operators can leverage their existing infrastructure, such as base stations and Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs). The GPRS core network is based on Internet Protocol (IP) standards, which make it ideal for providing wireless access to other IP-based networks, such as ISPs and corporate LANs. The GPRS core also serves as the foundation for all subsequent steps towards 3G. For example, when operators deploy EDGE and UMTS/HSDPA, they re-use GPRS core elements such as Gateway GPRS Support Nodes (GGSNs). This design ensures that each step in the migration to 3G is smooth and cost-effective.

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