Nowadays, 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 is, and today we cannot even imagine a few hours without this attribute of any modern person. Well, and what kind of phone now does not have Internet access? Have you ever wondered how this same mobile Internet works? This article will tell you what GPRS is and how this technology works.
The name GPRS comes from the English phrase General Packet Radio Service, which can be translated as a packet data service. In fact, this technology is an add-on over the GSM standard for mobile communications, which allows for 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 the average network operator? If the answer is simple, then this is the ability 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 delight you.
Let's see what GPRS is not in terms of technology, but in terms of access to the Internet. Firstly, it is the ability to connect to the network anywhere where the mobile phone “catches”. Secondly, payment for Internet GPRS is carried out in such a way that you pay only for the received and transmitted volume of traffic, and not for the provision of the service. Thus, this type of mobile Internet can be called one of the most affordable both in terms of coverage and in relation to a loyal pricing policy.
Another feature of such access to the Internet is that the frequency bandwidth (speed and stability of the channel) will be determined by the needs of the subscriber - if you connect only to check your mail, the channel will be "small", and if you decide to upload which or a file, the width of the frequency band will "expand" to the maximum possible. And the maximum declared speed of such a connection method 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 particular area and the equipment of the operator providing this service. On average, “domestic” GPRS, the speed of which does not exceed 100.0 Kbps, will cost the user an order of magnitude cheaper than any other access to the Internet.
For mobile network operators, this type of data transmission also has a number of undeniable advantages over competitors. This is a relatively high speed, and simple and quick setup, and a small workload of equipment even with a constant "connection" from the user. In addition, the operator can set tariffing based on both the amount of information transmitted and the user's presence “on the line” in time. The benefits for consumers of this service are also obvious - low cost combined with quality and the ability to connect 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 information from this article about what GPRS is, do not forget that technology does not stand still. In large cities, this method of data transfer is gradually superseded by faster 3G and Wi-Fi, and in the "province" the maximum data transfer speed using cellular networks is significantly increased due to the use of EDGE technology. But, nevertheless, GPRS today remains the most popular way to transfer data in many regions of the former Soviet Union.