Mobile Communications Glossary of Terms What is GSM? An abbreviation for Global System for Mobile Communications,
it is one of the leading digital cellular systems in use. GSM differs
significantly from its predecessors in that both signaling and speech channels
are Digital call quality, which means that it is considered a second generation
mobile phone system. This fact has also meant that data communication was built
into the system from very early on. What is GPRS? An abbreviation for General Packet Radio Service, it is a
standard for wireless communication which runs at speeds up to 115,000 bits per
second (current GSM runs at 9600 bits per second). GPRS supports a wide range of
bandwidths and is an efficient use of limited bandwidth by having multiple users
share the same transmission channel, and only transmitting when they have data
to send. It is particularly suited for sending and receiving large volumes of
data. What is SMS? Abbreviation of Short Message Service, it is the
transmission of short text based messages to and from a mobile or fixed
telephone, fax machine and/or IP address. The messages must be no longer than
160 alpha-numeric characters and contain no images or graphics. The sent message
is received by a Short Message Service Center (SMSC), which must then get it to
the appropriate device. If the message cannot get to its prescribed destination,
then the SMSC will hold onto the message for a period of time. When the
receiving unit becomes available a notification is sent to the SMSC, and the
SMSC will attempt delivery. Once the SMSC receives verification that the message
was received by the end user, it categorizes the message as "sent" and will not
attempt to send again. What are the differences between GPRS and SMS? GPRS is a reliable wireless communication method that is widely
used in the cell phone market. It has a higher priority in the cellular network
to minimize transmission delays and increase the amount of data that can be
delivered reliably. SMS is less robust and does not allow for data communication
packets. It is similar to sending text messages on a cell phone. Dialer:
IP:
Abbreviation of Internet Protocol. IP specifies the format of packets, and the addressing scheme. Most networks combine IP with a higher-level protocol called Transport Control Protocol (TCP), which establishes a virtual connection between a destination and a source. IP by itself is like the postal system- it allows you to address a package and drop it in the system, but there’s no direct link between you and the recipient. TCP/IP, on the other hand, establishes a connection between two devices so that they can send messages back and forth for a period of time.Kiss-off:
A signal sent by a central station receiver to indicate successful receipt of a message from the control’s communicator.Network Operating Center:
A facility similar to AlarmNet where signals are received, decoded and acted on based on previous instructions.TCP:
Abbreviation of Transport Control Protocol. TCP is one of the main protocols in TCP/IP networks. The IP protocol deals only with packets, but it is TCP that enables two devices to establish a connection and exchange data. The TCP guarantees delivery of data and also guarantees that packets, will be delivered in the same order in which they were sent.UDP:
Abbreviation of User Datagram Protocol. It is a TCP/IP protocol which allows for connectionless communications between two network hosts. Retries are not handled and packet delivery is not guaranteed. Packets may also arrive out of sequence.