What is GPRS?
By Uttam Singh
June 26, 2009

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is used all over world. GPRS is used most commonly for Mobile. In Canada, Rogers and Fido are using GPRS.

You can send and receive emails, picture using GPRS and browse the Internet.
General Packet Radio Service is a slower alternative to 2.5G cellular networking.
-GPRS Architecture

GSM (Global System for Mobile) Communication circuit-switch architecture does not support the GPRS packet-switch architecture. So that GPRS requires its own network architecture. Several networks and databases e.g. MS (Mobile Station), BSS (Base Station Subsystem),HLR (Home Location Register), VLR (Visitor Location Register) in existing GSM network are modified in GPRS network.


General Packet Radio Service(GPRS) architecture introduces the following network nodes to Global System for Mobile (GSM) architecture.

1.SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node): General Packet Radio Service network Serving GPRS Support Node is equivalent to Cell Phone Switching Centre. Packets of data between Mobile Switching Center and Public Switch Data Network are transferred and received by Serving GPRS Support Node.

2. GGSN(Gateway GPRS Support Node): Global System for Mobile databases e.g. HLR and VLR are supported by GGSN. It also interacts with external packet-switch networks.

3. MS(Mobile Station): General Packet Radio Service network MS consists of Mobile Terminal and Terminal Equipment A computer attached to Mobile Terminal is called a ME. Through air, Mobile Terminal communicates with the Base Station System.
4. BSS(Base Station System): Base Station System, Base Transceiver Station and Base Station Controller are modified to support General Packet Radio Service(GPRS) channel coding schemes BTS is modified while to forward calls to Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) and data to SGSN through Packet Control Unit, is supported by BSC. One Serving GPRS Support Node is served by one BSC.

5.HLR (Home Location Register): General Packet Radio Service network, Home Location Register contains information about routing. To map an MS to one or more GGSNs, update the SGSN and to store the Internet Protocol address, this information is accessed by both Serving GPRS Support Node and Home Location Register.

6.VLR (Visitor Location Register) General Packet Radio Service network. Visitor Location Register contains the Serving General Packet Radio Service Support Node number and this number indicates the MS currently served by the SGSN.

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