Overview

To meet the growing needs for efficient new wireless services without the upgrading of systems to 3rd generation technology, two new standards were created: general packet radio service (GPRS) and enhanced data for global evolution (EDGE). GPRS and EDGE use enhanced GSM technology to provide for higher data transfer rates than are normally available in GSM systems. The combination of GPRS and EDGE is referred to as enhanced GPRS (EGPRS). EGPRS comprises the 43 series of specifications managed by the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) ^[[1]]

EDGE and GPRS technologies are commonly called 2.5G because they offer capabilities that are above the present day 2G digital cellular systems (greater than 14 kbps) but do not achieve the performance of 3G systems (less than 2 Mbps). Subscriber data transfer rates possible in 2.5G GPRS can achieve over 170 kbps and EDGE technology may exceed 384 kbps if the quality of the radio transmission link is good.

Two-and-a-half generation technology was developed partly to fill what some industry people see as a hole in the price-performance range of the overall 3G plan. For various reasons, some observers of the industry believe that the two most prominent service offerings of this 2.5G strategy may meet the price-performance needs of most subscribers sufficiently well that 2.5 G may effectively compete with 3G systems.

GPRS and EDGE systems are compatible with GSM networks. Mobile telephones that are that have GPRS or EDGE capability can easily provide GSM voice service. To upgrade GSM systems to...