Nowadays, when we talk about 5G quality internet connection, when we look back, we see the GPRS system as the ancestor of mobile wireless internet. This system provided data communication in a way that had never been seen before. Thanks to the foundations laid by the GPRS system, 3G quality internet connection has been developed and we have come to this day by developing events.
The connection quality and speed of the wireless internet offered by the GPRS system, of course, cannot be compared with today’s conditions. However, the service it offered, especially during the sharing of text and voice-intensive data, was truly admirable. For this reason, it has been used as the infrastructure of 3G internet for many years. Let’s get to know this system, to which we owe today’s internet, through the questions of what is GPRS and what is it good for.
What is GPRS?
General Packet Radio Service, GPRS for short, General Packet Radio System in Turkish; It is a system that provides online data transfer in 2G telephone networks, where mobile internet is not mentioned yet. Since it offers a much faster transmission than the standard GSM system, its different versions are also called 2.5G and 2.75G.
The maximum transfer rate offered by a standard GPRS system was 9.6 kbit/s. The main purpose of this system was to establish a connection between GSM and the internet and to offer its users an internet connection on the go. Even when 3G quality internet started to be used, GPRS was used as the infrastructure of this system for many years.
What does GPRS do?
The GPRS system provides a basic internet service to GSM users. It is easy to use because it can be installed on top of the existing GSM system. It works on the principle of package transport. It receives data from mobile GSM stations and directs it to packet switched networks. Here is the internet connection we know.
The latest versions of the GPRS system are supported by IP, X.25 networks and public internet. The GPRS system, developed by the European Telecommunication Standards Institute, has been used to transfer high-dimensional data other than voice and basic data transmission. However, since it offers a limited transfer, of course, it cannot be compared with today’s conditions.
Highlights of the GPRS system:
- It offered an online connection system instead of a dial-up connection.
- It gave GSM operators the opportunity to offer internet service over their existing systems.
- It formed the main core of 3G, EDGE and WCDMA systems.
- It had an open architecture.
- IP services have always been consistent.
- The same infrastructure was compatible for all interfaces.
- Since it was integrated into the telephone service, it could serve over a single infrastructure.
- IP paved the way for sector investments.
- It paved the way for existing infrastructure innovations.
- It had an easy to calculate billing system.
Evolution of the GPRS system:
The pre-GPRS system is the standard dial-up system we know. With the introduction of GPRS, internet access was provided with the packet switching system over the same infrastructure. We have said that this system also forms the core of the 3G quality internet, but there is also an EDGE system from time to time.
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution, EDGE for short: slightly faster than the GPRS system, slightly slower than the 3G system. In this context, there are also those who say 2.9G for EDGE. EDGE quickly left its place to 3G quality internet. Then, as you know, we talked about 4G and today 5G quality. In other words, GPRS laid the foundations of this business and paved the way for the development of today’s high-speed internet.
When we do not know what mobile data is, we answered questions such as what is GPRS, which allows us to meet the internet on our mobile phones, and what is it for, and we talked about the important contributions of this system to today’s internet technology.