GSM and GPRS :What exactly these are? Difference between both

GSM and GPRS - Difference between GSM and GPRS

Understanding GSM and GPRS module:

GSM: 

GSM and GPRS : GSM antenna

Image credit: wilkernet/Pixabay

 

GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communication. GSM is nothing but the digital mobile telephony system which is widely used in all over the world.

GSM digitizes and compresses the data and then send it to the down channel with two other streams of user data. GSM operates on two frequency bands i.e either 900MHZ or 1800 MHz.

 

GPRS :

GSM and GPRS : GPRS technology

Image credit: Clker free vector Images /Pixabay

 

GPRS  stands for General Packet Radio Service. These are packet-based wireless communication service which provides data rates ranging from 56 to 114kbps The key element of GPRS technology is that it uses packet-switched data technique instead of circuit switching, and this technique makes much more efficient use of the available capacity.

GPRS operates on one or more frequencies out of frequency bands which supports the radio (850,900,1800,900MHZ).

 

See alsoDifference between IoT and M2M communication! Are they really same?



 

Difference Between GSM and GPRS (GSM vs GPRS)

GSMGPRS
GSM is standard bearer of 2G technologies.GPRS is he upgrade over the basic GSM features. It allow the mobile handset to obtain much higher data speed than what standard GSM can offers.
In GSM traffic and signaling follow different multi-frame structure.
i.e. 51 frame MF used for signaling and 26 frame MF used for traffic.
In GPRS traffic and signaling both follow common multi-frame structure. i.e. 52 frame MF used for both signaling as well as traffic.
GSM used circuit switching trafficGPRS used for packet switching traffic.
In GSM UE will be in two states ,i.e
IDLE and READY.
In GPRS UE will be in three states ,
i.e IDLE, READY and STANDBY.
In GSM time slot is allocated both in uplink and downlink. due to these radio resource allocation is GSM is called as SymmetricIn GPRS radio resource allocation is asymmetric, for example it is possible to allocate the time slot only in downlink not in uplink when user is only downloading the file
In GSM location area concept is used.In GPRS routing area concept is used.

 

GSM and GPRS are used in IoT :

GSM IoT (EC-GSM-IoT) for extended coverage is a standard-based Low Power Wide Area technology. It is based on eGPRS which designed as a high capacity, long-range, low complexity and low energy cellular system for IoT communications.

Now the EC-GSM-IOT network trials are supported by all major mobile equipment, chipset, and module manufacturers.

EC-GSM-IoT networks will co-exist with 2G, 3G, &  LTE i.e 4G mobile networks.

It will also benefit from all the security and privacy of mobile network features aspects, which support user identity confidentiality, entity authentication, data integrity, confidentiality, and mobile equipment identification.

 

See also: What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6? : Internet Protocols



Let us know what you think about GSM and GPRS  module and difference between them in the comment section below.

 

If you like this post subscribe our YouTube Channel for IoT video Tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more updates.

Tanuja Magar
Tanuja is a Computer Engineer by Profession . She is passionate about her work and love to learn about Internet of Things and new technology . She like to write about technology .