GSM overview | What is the meaning of GSM in cell phones

What is GSM? 

Ø  GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) is a digital mobile telephony system that is widely used in Europe and other parts of the world.

Ø  GSM is a second generation cellular standard developed to cater for voice services and data delivery using digital modulation.

Ø  GSM uses a variation of time division multiple access (TDMA) and is one of the most widely used three digital wireless telephony technologies (TDMA, GSM, and CDMA).

The features of GSM

·        Improved spectrum efficiency

·        International roaming

·        Low - cost mobile sets and base stations (BSs)

·        High - quality speech

·        Compatibility with Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and other telephone company services

·        Support for new services

GSM History

The following table shows some of the important events in the rollout of the GSM system.

Years	Events
1982	Conference of European Posts and Telegraph (CEPT) establishes a GSM group to widen the standards for a pan - European cellular mobile system.
1985	A list of recommendations to be generated by the group is accepted.
1986	Executed field tests to check the different radio techniques recommended for the air interface.
1987	Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) is chosen as the access method (with Frequency Division Multiple Access [FDMA]). The initial Memorandum of 1987 Understanding (MoU) is signed by telecommunication operators representing 12 countries.
1988	GSM system is validated.
1989	The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) was given the responsibility of the GSM specifications.
1990	Phase 1 of the GSM specifications is delivered
1991	Commercial launch of the GSM service occurs. The DCS1800 specifications are finalized.
1992	The addition of the countries that signed the GSM MoU takes place. Coverage spreads to larger cities and airports.
1993	Coverage of main roads ' GSM services starts outside Europe.
1994	Data transmission capabilities launched. The number of networks rises to 69 in 43 countries by the end of 1994.
1995	Phase 2 of the GSM specifications occurs. Coverage is extended to rural areas.
1996	June : 133 networks in 81 countries operational.
1997	July : 200 networks in 109 countries operational, around 44 million subscribers worldwide .
1999	Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) came into existence and became operational in 130 countries with 260 million subscribers.
2000	General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) came into existence.
2001	2000 As of May 2001, over 550 million people were subscribers to mobile telecommunications .

What is the meaning of GSM in cell phones?

GSM stands for Global System for Mobile communications. It was invented here in Finland in 1991 as the second generation (2G) of digital cellular protocols. It is the standard for network cellular communications used around the world. In relation to cellphones it is the standard used for communications as without it we would all be back on analogue communications (first generation). By 2010 it became the global standard used by more than 90% of the world communication networks. Analog cellphones used more battery to power the radios and were bulkier than digital cellphones. One problem in the early days was an analog signal cellphone when you go in a tunnel or in a hilly region could carry a signal longer but much weaker with the signal popping in and out like with your car radio when getting on the edge of reception you hear the static. With digital it just cut off. Things have improved greatly though as towers and technology have become more advanced and better networks coverage.