What is GPRS and how does this technology work?

In our time, the development of information technology is at such a level that various discoveries and their further influence on our lives occur almost daily. Yesterday we did not know what a mobile phone was, and today we do not even imagine a few hours without this attribute of any modern person. Well, what kind of phone does not have access to the Internet today? Have you ever wondered how this mobile Internet works? This article will tell you what GPRS is and how this technology works.

The very name of GPRS comes from the English phrase General Packet Radio Service, which can be translated as a packet radio data service. In fact, this technology is a superstructure over the GSM mobile communication standard, which allows data transfer. In other words, thanks to this technology, your mobile phone can send and receive data packets from other networks. But what is GPRS for a typical operator network user? If to answer simply, it is an opportunity to connect to the Internet directly from your mobile. At the same time, the speed will be small, but the cost of this service will pleasantly please you.

Let's figure out what GPRS is not in terms of technology, but in terms of access to the Internet. Firstly, it is an opportunity to connect to the network in any place where it "catches" a mobile phone. Secondly, the payment for Internet GPRS is carried out in such a way that you pay only for the received and transferred volume of traffic, and not for the provision of the service. Thus, this type of mobile Internet can be called one of the most accessible in terms of coverage, and in respect of loyal price policy.

Another feature of such access to the Internet is that the width of the frequency band (speed and stability of the channel) will be determined by the needs of the subscriber - if you are connected only to check your mail, the channel will be "small", and if you decide to upload what Either the file, the width of the frequency band will "expand" to the maximum possible. And the maximum declared speed of such a method of connection in theory reaches 171.2 Kbps. In practice, this figure can be an order of magnitude smaller and depends on a number of factors, for example, the quality of coverage in a given area and the equipment of the operator providing this service. On average, the "domestic" GPRS, whose speed does not exceed 100.0 Kbps, will cost the user an order of magnitude cheaper than any other access to the Internet.

For operators of cellular networks, this type of data transfer also has a number of undeniable advantages over competitors. This is a relatively high speed, and a simple and quick setup, and a small load of equipment, even with a constant "connection" from the user. In addition, the operator can set the tariff, based both on the amount of information transmitted and on the user's "on-line" time. The benefits to consumers of this service are also obvious - a small cost combined with quality and connectivity even in remote areas allow the subscriber to have constant access to mail, download and send various files and even engage in Internet commerce.

Having received from this article information about what GPRS is, do not forget that the technology does not stand still. In large cities, this method of data transfer is gradually replaced by faster 3G and Wi-Fi, and in the "province" the maximum data transfer rate with the help of cellular networks is significantly increased due to the use of EDGE technology. But, nevertheless, GPRS is still the most popular method of data transmission in many regions of the post-Soviet space.