WHAT IS GSM?

GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communication. It is a digital cellular technology used for
transmitting mobile voice and data services.

The concept of GSM emerged from a cell-based mobile radio system at Bell Laboratories in the early
1970s.

GSM is the name of a standardization group established in 1982 to create a common European mobile
telephone standard.

GSM is the most widely accepted standard in telecommunications and it is implemented globally.

GSM is a circuit-switched system that divides each 200 kHz channel into eight 25 kHz time-slots. GSM
operates on the mobile communication bands 900 MHz and 1800 MHz in most parts of the world.

Originally, the frequency bands used in the Philippines were: 1) GSM: 900 MHz and 1800 MHz, 2)
UMTS: 2100 MHz and 850 MHz.

WHY GSM?

These are the features of GSM that account for its popularity and wide acceptance.

Improved spectrum efficiency

International roaming

Low-cost mobile sets and base stations (BSs)

High-quality speech

Compatibility with Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and other telephone company
services

Support for new services

ADVANTAGES VS DISADVANTAGES

Extensive Coverage – most obvious advantage of GSM is its widespread use throughout the world.
GSM has a harmonized spectrum, which means that even though different countries may operate on
different frequency bands, users can transfer seamlessly between networks and keep the same number.

Greater Phone Variety – another advantage of GSM is that because it is used throughout the world,
there is a greater variety of phones that operate on GSM. Therefore, consumers have more flexibility in
choosing a handset that fits their specific desires, and they are not limited to purchasing phones only made
in their respective country.

No Roaming Charges on International Calls – because GSM is the same network worldwide, users
are not charged a roaming fee for international calls. However, most providers still charge a service fee on
international calls.

Bandwidth Lag – perhaps the greatest disadvantage of GSM is that multiple users share the same
bandwidth. With enough users, the transmission can encounter interference. Therefore, faster
technologies, such as 3G, have been developed on different types of networks than GSM, such as CDMA,
in order to avoid such bandwidth limitations.

Causes Electronic Interference – another disadvantage of GSM is that is can interfere with certain
electronics, such as pace makers and hearing aids, according to Inc.Technology.com. Such interference is
due to the fact that GSM uses a pulse-transmission technology. As a result, many locations such as
hospitals and airplanes require cell phones to be turned off.
WHO CREATED GSM?

GSM can trace its origins as far back as 1975 when Henry Kieffer from the Swiss PTT suggested Europe
needed to find new spectrum for mobile at 900 MHz – the vital raw material for radio.

GSM SECURITY

GSM was intended to be a secure wireless system. It has considered the user authentication using a pre-
shared key and challenge-response, and over-the-air encryption. However, GSM is vulnerable to different
types of attack, each of them aimed at a different part of the network.

FACTS

Twenty years ago today, on 9 November 1992, Nokia launched the world's first commercially
available GSM digital mobile phone - the Nokia 1011.