SMS Text Messaging is very popular, and new technology that increases smartphone bandwidth will make Multimedia Messages the new preferred communications method.
Sending SMS text messages, technically identified as Short Message System (SMS), but typically known as “texting”, is a straightforward, easy, and handy manner to correspond among mobiles. In addition to being a very good system for people to keep in touch, SMS can be a sensible way for software programs to exchange simple messages, and even setup commands, to and from mobile phones. text messages doesn’t require a direct connection between cell phones; the communications infrastructure for the system is already in place, and it functions across most mobile networks. One facet of SMS text messaging that makes it especially practical for mobile software applications is that it relies on smartphone fixed identity, the phone number. This facet offers a distinct benefit over other technologies that utilize IP addresses because a mobile IP address can vary depending on current network.
Short Message Service (SMS) is a communication service component of the GSM mobile communication system. It utilizes standardized communications rules that allow the exchange of short text messages between mobiles. SMS texting is the most widely used data application in the world, boasting about 2.4 billion active users, or three quarters of all cell phone subscribers.
SMS text messaging as used on modern smartphones was originally defined as part of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) series of protocols in 1985 as a system of sending texts of up to 160 characters, between GSM mobile handsets. Since then service support has expanded to include other mobile technologies such as ANSI CDMA networks and Digital AMPS, as well as satellite and landline networks. Most SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text messages, though the standard supports other types of broadcast messaging as well. Computer to mobile SMS texting capabilities are also growing rapidly.
Global System for Mobile Communications was initially named Groupe Spécial Mobile. It is the most popular standard for mobile telephone systems in the world. The GSM Association, the promoting industry organization of mobile phone network providers and manufacturers, estimates that approximately 80% of the world mobile market uses it. GSM is used by over 3 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories. Its ubiquity allows international roaming agreements between mobile phone network providers, providing subscribers the benefit of their mobiles all over the world. GSM differs from its forerunner technologies demonstrated by the fact that both signaling and speech channels are digital. This means GSM is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This also eases the extensive deployment of data communication programs.
The ubiquity of GSM implementation has been a benefit for consumers that are given the ability to roam and switch carriers without needing to replace their mobiles, and also to operators, who can choose equipment from many equipment suppliers. GSM is credited with pioneering affordable implementation of SMS text messaging, which subsequently has been supported on other mobile phone standards.
Newer versions of the standard work with the initial GSM system. Release ’97 of the standard upgraded to packet data capabilities using General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Release ’99 launched high speed data transmission by means of Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE).
General packet radio service (GPRS) is a packet oriented mobile data service available to users of the 2G and 3G GSM. In 2G systems. GPRS data transfer is typically charged per megabyte of datatransferred, while data transfer via traditional circuit switching is billed per unit of connection time, regardless of whether or not the subscriber actually is using the capacity or if it is idle. GPRS is a best-effort packet switched service, as opposed to circuit switching, that has guaranteed quality of service during the connection for non-mobile users.
2G cellular systems in combination with GPRS are frequently referred to as 2.5G. 2.5G is a technology bridge between the second (2G) and third (3G) generations of mobile device telephony. It provides moderate-speed data transfer, by using unused time division multiple access (TDMA) channels. Initially there was some thought to broaden GPRS to cover other standards, but these networks are converting to the GSM standard. GPRS is integrated into GSM Release 97 and newer releases.
GPRS was developed as a GSM reaction to the earlier CDPD and i-mode packet switched cellular technologies. Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) was a wide-area mobile data service which used unused bandwidth normally used by AMPS mobile phones. It was dropped in conjunction with the discontinuation of the parent AMPS service.
CDPD was developed in the early 1990’s, with anticipation it would be a future technology. However, it had competition from then current slower but cheaper Mobitex and DataTac systems. CDPD never earned widespread acceptance before newer, faster standards such as GPRS gained common acceptance and became dominant.
For consumer markets CDPD had little to offer. AT&T Wireless first sold the technology in the America under the brandname PocketNet, one of the very first consumer wireless web service products. Cingular Wireless later offered CDPD under the Wireless Internet brand (as opposed to Wireless Internet Express, Cingular Wireless GPRS/EDGE data). AT&T Wireless PocketNet failed as a product launch. But, CDPD was used by some enterprise and government networks. It was particularly popular as a first-generation wireless data solution for telemetry devices (machine to machine communications) and for public safety mobile data terminals.
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) (also called Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS), or IMT Single Carrier (IMT-SC), and Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution) is a backward-compatible digital mobile device technology that allows better data transmission rates on top of standard GSM. EDGE is considered a 3G radio technology. EDGE allows more than three-fold boost in both the capacity and performance of GSM/GPRS networks by utilizing sophisticated ways of coding and transmitting data, that produce higher bit-rates per radio channel. EDGE delivers broadband performance and can be used for high bandwidth data applications such as Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).
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