What is the GPRS full form? How does GPRS Work?
GPRS stands for general packet radio service. It is based on GSM infrastructure. It has become prevalent because of access to the internet over the wireless medium. A mobile phone with a sim card provides voice and internet services to the mobile user. In GPRS service, internet packets flow from the device to the Internet Service Provider and vice versa.
It enables users to browse websites, make VoIP calls from a mobile, connect to VPN, etc. Initially, the telecom network supported only voice and SMS services. After that, a separate parallel core network was developed for mobile data or the Internet.
As the full form says that GPRS enables packet-based service over the radio interface. This means a subscriber can use internet services using a mobile device, which connects to the mobile network over a radio interface.
How does GPRS work?
Network for packet service:
GPRS uses standard protocols and procedures like any other service over GSM. These are defined by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute(ETSI). Mobile devices have settings for GPRS profiles, and mobile networks have GPRS settings configured in the database in-home network. On the roaming side, a dedicated node called SGSN is added for GPRS registration, and internet packets flow from the device to the home network and vice versa. In LTE, the roaming node is MME.
To support GPRS, the in-home network, HLR updated with GPRS functionalities a new node GGSN has been added. For HLR, HSS, and GGSN, PGW is the node in the LTE network. LTE network provides more data speed by improving the quality of the service profile and radio interface speed.
In 3G architecture, SS7 protocol and GTP (versions 0 and 1) are used, while in 4G Diameter protocol and GTP (versions 1 and 2 ) are used.
GPRS Profile settings:
A mobile subscriber should have a GPRS subscription from the SIM card provider to access the internet. In 3G, HLR is the node that holds the subscription as GPRS full form is a general packet radio service. This means a subscription profile should have parameters that decide the data quality. GPRS Subscription includes Quality of service, access point name, etc. During GPRS registration by phone, the roaming network downloads the subscription profile using map protocol in the Insert Subscriber Data operation.
GPRS internet speed :
The data speed depends on the generation using the GPRS network. For 2G, it’s the slowest. For 4G, it’s the fastest. The next network is 5G, bringing more data speed over GPRS.