GSM TECHNOLOGY?

GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) is the technology that underpins most of the world's mobile phone networks. The GSM platform is a hugely successful wireless technology and an unprecedented story of global achievement and cooperation. GSM has become the world's fastest growing communications technology of all time and the leading global mobile standard, spanning 218 countries. Today, GSM technology is in use by more than one in three of the world's population - by June 2008 there were over 2 billion GSM subscribers, representing approximately 86% of the world's cellular market. The growth of GSM continues unabated with almost 400 million new customers in the last 12 months Global System for Mobile communications (GSM: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. Its promoter, the GSM Association, estimates that 82% of the global mobile market uses the standard. GSM is used by over 3 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories.[2][3] Its ubiquity makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs from its predecessors in that both signalling and speech channels are digital, and thus is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This has also meant that data communication was easy to build into the system. The ubiquity of the GSM standard has been an advantage to both consumers (who benefit from the ability to roam and switch carriers without switching phones) and also to network operators (who can choose equipment from any of the many vendors implementing GSM[4]). GSM also pioneered a low-cost alternative to voice calls, the Short message service (SMS, also called "text messaging"), which is now supported on other mobile standards as well. Another advantage is that the standard includes one worldwide Emergency telephone number, 112[5]. This makes it easier for international travellers to connect to emergency services without knowing the local emergency number. Newer versions of the standard were backward-compatible with the original GSM phones. For example, Release '97 of the standard added packet data capabilities, by means of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Release '99 introduced higher speed data transmission using Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE).