We've had WAP, SMS, and now we have GPRS (General Packet Radio Services). Expected to overcome the limitations of existing circuit-switched technologies in handling data, GPRS aims to offer the promises made by WAP in delivering mobile Internet.
GPRS, not to be confused with GPS (Global Positioning System), refers to a range of services facilitating data and information transactions via a mobile network.
Seen as a stop gap between second and third generation mobile infrastructure deployment, GPRS allows carriers to use their existing GSM networks to offer data services and Internet access. According to independent telecommunications analyst Paul Budde, "GPRS enables higher-speed data services for mobile users. But as a packet-switching technology, GPRS is suited to the highly bursty nature of most data applications.
"At one time considered an intermediary step towards Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) and other 3G technologies, GPRS is gaining momentum because of the general economic downturn, uncertainty surrounding UMTS and the need to 'get the most' out of today's networks," comments Antoine Rouot, Wireless Networks Product Marketing Manager for Nortel Networks in Australia and New Zealand.
Greater competition in the 2G arena and economic slowdown have eroded revenues for traditional voice services, and this is not expected to change in the near future. Rouot states, "The introduction of data services, in particular IP-based mobile Internet services, will be an effective way to pursue revenue growth in these circumstances. GPRS is becoming increasingly important to the telecomms market for these reasons."
GPRS does allow the promise of the mobile Internet to be fulfilled. Services such as email, FTP, web browsing, chat and telnet can be delivered via a GPRS network to mobile phones and handheld devices.
Theoretical maximum speeds of up to 171.2 kilobits per second (Kbps) are achievable with GPRS using all eight timeslots of a cell at the same time. This, potentially, is about three times as fast as data transmission speeds achievable over fixed telecommunication networks and 10 times as fast over circuit switched services over GSM networks. But Budde advises, "While speeds of 115 Kbps (and even 170 Kbps) are touted, realistically speeds are more likely to be around 43 Kbps. It will also offer more efficient connectivity with Internet-type networks, based on the TCP/IP protocol."
Telstra was the first carrier to implement a GPRS service in March 2001 using Nortel infrastructure and offering a limited range of Ericsson handsets to customers. Vodafone implemented GPRS towards the end of April 2001, with Optus coming online with a service offering in September of that year.
Telstra OnAir Director of Products, Rick Wakeham, says, "All Telstra WAP customers have a free personalised email address with notification and access to the telstra.com portal. Telstra.com has 80 WAP applications including banking, stock brokering, national and international news, wine, food, movie and TV guides, flight schedules and shopping.
"Unlike today's circuit-switched data services, GPRS is packet-based and uses the Internet Protocol. This will allow the introduction of a range of services similar to those available on DoCoMo I-mode services."
For the consumer market, the carriers are using GPRS to connect mobile phone users to online services such as news or sports updates, email, flight schedules or movies. "It provides consumers with 'always on' connection that lets them make and take phone calls without having to log on and off each time, as long as they are in a GPRS coverage area," says Wakeham.
SMS, which continues to grow dramatically, has to some extent paved the way for the delivery of non voice applications for mobile phone customers, where a substantial level of GPRS applications have been delivered via SMS. Traditionally, SMS has not had a substantial presence in the corporate environment, but the greater functionality and flexibility of GPRS has seen some commercial rollouts in the last six to 12 months. It may be that SMS will have a predominantly consumer adoption, where GPRS is for business and corporations. Or GPRS may well be used for qualitative information services when people have it, and SMS will be used for delivering quantity.
GPRS allows instant connectivity, as long as there's radio coverage, which means that information can be sent or received immediately and as the need arises, without having to dial in. Immediacy is certainly one of the advantages of GPRS compared to circuit switched data.
For business, GPRS aims to deliver field force and remote access type applications via a mobile network, including remote credit card authorisation, data uploads and synchronisation, document sharing and collaboration, job dispatch, email and web browsing. Ideally, a wide variety of content and information can be delivered via a mobile device, overcoming the 160 character limitations of SMS.
"Both vendors and operators have realised that a significant amount of data services can be offered with GPRS, without having to wait for next generation networks," says Rouot. "A GPRS network enables the features of a phone network that consumers have come to expect - always-on connections to mobile phones, handheld computers and other mobile devices. In the future, the personalisation of services and adaptation of content according to segmentation and localisation will provide further impetus for the expansion of GPRS."
Pricing and service
The future viability of GPRS essentially depends on whether the carriers can offer value to customers while also generating revenue and profit for themselves. According to Matthew Lawson from Mobile Data Solutions, tariffing for GPRS services is more complicated than for circuit switching and if not managed properly, may alienate customers or lose the carrier money. The typical GPRS tariff structure includes a session set-up fee or flag fall and a cost per kilobyte (KB) of data sent and received. Lawson advises, "It is important to remember that data volume is usually measured in bytes, link speed is usually measured in bits and that there are eight bits to a byte."
The largest cost for the carriers is in terms of handsets. How much should they discount or subsidise handsets to encourage customer subscriptions and how should those customers then be serviced? According to Lawson, "Value-added network services such as mobile data, mobile Internet and unified messaging all generate certain specific customer problems not associated with standard mobile services."
"Non-voice services are more complex to support, involving unique configurations of phone types, data cards, handheld computers, subscriptions, operating systems and Internet service providers," says Lawson. Supporting those customers requires better trained staff as well as help desk resources.
Drawbacks and limitations
GPRS has the potential to place tremendous demands on existing cell capacity. Network operators need to carefully manage their existing radio resources where GPRS and voice calls both use the same network resources. The extent of impact depends on the number of timeslots, if any, that are reserved for exclusive use of GPRS. GPRS, being packet-based, can dynamically allocate channels and resources depending on network load and peak usage.
Budde comments, "Achieving the limit of 170 Kbps would require a user taking over all timeslots available from a cell, which a carrier is very unlikely to do. Currently and in the immediate future, the amount of bandwidth - hence the level of content - will be limited." Initial GPRS terminals were limited to supporting only one, two or three timeslots matched with restricted functionality. New devices are expected this year to make full use of GPRS and the expected delivery of 3G.
GPRS packets are dispersed in all different directions to reach a particular location, making it prone for packets to disappear or be corrupted while being transmitted. GPRS standards have taken this into account and incorporate a range of data integrity measures, but it does leave the potential for unreliability in the service and delays in data transfer.
So far the uptake of GPRS and the corresponding handsets has been sluggish to say the least. But it may be the only hope for serious growth in the mobile arena for the next couple of years. Where WAP has proved to be a dismal failure and MMS has failed to attract widespread interest, the Australian carriers are showing justifiable hesitancy when it comes to implementing 3G infrastructure.
Mobile operators have experienced rough times over the last year or so, making the likelihood of their investments in new services very tentative and circumspect. The major exceptions to this current situation are Telstra's limited 3G service and the expected rollout of Hutchison's 3G CDMA network in March.
GPRS is out there. A gradual improvement in quality and availability of handsets and the emergence of some killer apps may generate growth in mobile Internet and content distribution. "More and more operators and analysts are declaring that GPRS will be around much longer than expected," says Rouot. "There are three main drivers for this assertion. Firstly, GPRS requires less capital investment to be launched and fully deployed. Secondly, it paves the way for cost-effective migration to UMTS, providing an opportunity for operators and end users to experience data services and applications. And, thirdly, GPRS data service helps stabilise Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)."
