2.5G and GPRS

2.5G Mobile Network: Second-and-a-half generation wireless. Refers to the additional features and functionality added to digital cellular phones, such as Internet access and messaging. The main feature added to 2.5G is GPRS, a mobile data communications service running at the speed of a dial-up landline.

GPRS: Want to connect your laptop to your cell phone and surf the web or send emails? GPRS is for you. GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service. And it’s the always-on packet data service for GSM, which is the cell phone standard which most countries of the world use, including Europe, Australia, America (not all carriers obviously) and some parts of Asia. The idea is that you’ll connect your GPRS-equipped (also called 2.5G) cell phone to your laptop with a cable or insert a small GPRS-equipped PCMCIA card into your laptop and transmit. GPRS will be most useful for “bursty” data applications such as mobile Internet browsing and e-mail. GPRS has been demonstrated as fast as 115 Kbps. And in theory it can go that fast. But the reality is that you’ll get between 20Kbps and 50Kbps throughput—about the speed you get from your dial-up home landline.

One big advantage of GPRS is that it’s “always on” just like your DSL line, your cable modem or your office network. To send a data message you won’t have to waste a minute dialing a number and listening to the modems go through their interminable screeching/connection “dance”. GPRS is the primary feature of what has become known as 2.5G – the upgrade to today’s 2G cell phone network. 1XRTT is the CDMA equivalent of GPRS.

Source: Newton’s Telecom Dictionary 22nd edition; 2006