About Text Messages

Glossary (G-I)

GPRS- (General Packet Radio Service)
Allows information to be sent and received across a mobile telephone network that makes Internet connections easier. GPRS is used to boost wireless data transmission over GSM networks. GPRS can achieve 171.2 kilobits per second (kbps), which is about three times as fast as the data transmission speeds possible over today's fixed telecommunications networks and ten times as fast as current GSM networks. Unlike existing digital wireless Net connections, no dial-up modem is necessary.

GSM- (Global System for Mobile Communications)
A digital mobile phone standard used extensively in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and in parts of America and Canada. First introduced in 1991, the GSM standard has been deployed at three different frequency bands: 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz. GSM 1900 is primarily deployed in North America. Named after its frequency band around 900 MHz, GSM-900 has provided the basis for several other networks using GSM technology. GSM uses narrowband TDMA which allows eight simultaneous calls on the same radio frequency. Along with CDMA and TDMA it represents the second generation of wireless networks.

I-MODE
NTT DoCoMo's mobile Internet access, launched in February 1999. I-mode is an alternative to WAP, though it is only implemented in Japan. It offers Internet access and email service. While WAP uses HDML, I-mode relies on Compact HTML (C-HTML). Both languages are a simple version of HTML, for use on mobile phones. Today more than 7000 sites are I-mode compatible and offer a wide range of services over mobile phones: mobile banking, ticket reservation, cartoons downloading, etc.

IDEN- (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network)
A wireless communications technology from Motorola that provides support for voice, data, short messages (SMS) and dispatch radio (two-way radio) in one phone. Operating in the 800MHz and 1.5GHz bands and based on TDMA, iDEN uses Motorola's VSELP (Vector Sum Excited Linear Predictors) vocoder for voice compression and QAM modulation to deliver 64 Kbps over a 25KHz channel. Each 25KHz channel can be divided six times to transmit any mix of voice, data, dispatch or text message. Used by various carriers around the globe, Nextel Communications provides nationwide coverage in the U.S.