Mobile service providers continuously reach the speed limits of wireless devices using available technologies. As wireless data technology continues to evolve, the cost of delivery for increased speed becomes less expensive. General Packet Radio Service was an effective and financially feasible second-generation wireless data transmission technology. However, in most markets newer third-generation technologies have replaced GPRS systems.
General Packet Radio Service
Wireless communication using GPRS can reach speeds up to 115 kilobits per second. This speed represented a significant improvement over older Global Systems for Mobile Technology networks that could transmit data at a maximum speed of 9.6 kilobits per second. GPRS can also support a range of bandwidths, and can send and receive large amounts of data. GPRS data transmission uses available TDMA channels to transmit the cellular data
Class Types
The speed of any mobile device to receive or send data depends on its class or the number of time slots it has to upload or download. Voice and data use the same time slots. The more time slots that exist, the faster the potential speed of data transmissions. GPRS uses packets to transmit data, and therefore, time slots are not in use all the time but remain shared by everyone on the network. This increases the capacity of the network. However, because cellular networks gives voice calls priority during peak hours, data transmission will typically slow down during peak times.
Class, Slots and Speed
Class 2 technology utilizes three slots and has a data transfer speed of 8 to 12 kilobytes per second for upload and 16 to 24 kilobytes per second for download. Class 4 technology, on the other hand, utilizes four slots and has the same upload speeds as class two but an increased download speed of 24 to 36 kilobytes per second. There are also more classes available that have a higher number of slots. As the class and slots increase, the upload and download speeds of the cellular data network will also increase. The limitation with GPRS technology is 115 kilobytes per second, but you are never guaranteed to obtain this speed at any time because of network traffic.
Usage
Depending on your location, the GPRS limits imposed by cellular service providers for uploading and downloading data will vary. In the U.S., many cellular service providers impose a limit between 1 and 5 gigabytes of data per month. When you go over this limit, your cellular service provider will bill you for every megabyte of excess data usage.
Tags: kilobytes second, time slots, cellular service, data transmission, service providers