Currently, most mobile phones use GPRS technology.
On a mobile phone, packet-switching technology, such as the General Packet Radio Service, facilitates the transferring of data from the 2G network to the phone, and vice versa. GPRS enables mobile phones to access the Internet, send and receive multimedia messages and run network-based video games. Because it generates data transfer speeds that are faster than earlier technologies, GPRS is often called "2.5G" technology.
Technology
Early versions of 2G network technology employed data transfer protocols known as circuit-switching technology. Circuit-switching technology requires a dedicated connection before data can be transferred and involves wait time while the connection is made. This form of data transfer technology was replaced by packet-switching technology, such as GPRS, which produces faster speeds because it does not require waiting while a connection is made. GPRS transfers data in very small pieces, or packets, which are present on the network only while the packet is being transmitted. When the packet has been transferred, that segment of the network is freed to facilitate the transmission of other data.
Rates
When a mobile phone connects to the 2G network to send data other than text or voice data, it does so using GPRS technology. GPRS data transfer rates can theoretically reach as high as 115 kilobits per second, but real-life estimates put the speeds in the 30 to 40 Kbps range. Regardless of its actual rates, GPRS technology provides faster speeds than previous technologies. GPRS requires a constant connection with the 2G network so it can quickly connect to its services when needed. Eventually, improved technology came along that provided even faster rates.
Improvement
Though not as fast as the technologies eventually created for the 3G network, the Enhanced Data for Global Evolution, or EDGE, protocol was built using GPRS as a foundation and provided faster data transfer speeds. While EDGE is capable of transfer speeds of up to 236 Kbps, most such networks, at the time of publication, are capable of facilitating rates of up to 135 Kbps. Most 2G network compatible mobile phones feature the GPRS and EDGE protocols, but are designed to use EDGE by default.
3G and Wi-Fi Technologies
As the 3G network became more widely used, 2G network technology, including GPRS, was improved upon, resulting in the Evolution Data-Optimized, or EVDO, and High-Speed Downlink Packet Access, or HSDPA, protocols. EVDO, the first to arrive, provides data transfer speeds of up to 2.4 megabits per second, while HSDPA transfers at up to 21 Mbps. When the technology was first released, HSDPA-equipped phones were restricted to 1.8 Mbps rates, but thanks to the advancement of technology and network improvements, those restrictions are gone and the current rates are commonplace. As fast as these rates may seem, they are still slower than those produced by the Wi-Fi standards, which produce speeds of up to 104 Mbps.
Tags: data transfer, transfer speeds, data transfer speeds, GPRS technology, mobile phones, connection made