GSM - What is it?

We often keep hearing about the two prevailing technologies in Telecom domain, viz. GSM & CDMA. However, most people who use the services are unaware of these technologies. I will try to explain a little bit about GSM in the current post. Description of CDMA would follow.

Global System for Mobile Communication which was originally known as Groupe Spécial Mobile is very commonly known as GSM to one and all. GSM is the world's most popular mobile system prevalent and according to GSM Association GSMA around 80% of the population uses this technology across the globe. In 212 countries, more than 3 billion subscribers avail the services of GSM.

If we talk about the history of GSM, it all started in Europe way back in 1982. European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations CEPT which was established in 1959, founded GSM in 1982 to create a standard for mobile telephone system which could be used across Europe. European Telecommunications Standards Institute ETSI took over the responsibility of GSM in 1989 and it was in 1991 when the first GSM network was rolled out in Finland by Radiolinja, collaborating with Ericsson for Infrastructure deployment. Within a very short duration, the networks expanded beyond boundaries and by 1993, more than 48 countries had 70 mobile carriers operating their mobile networks.

Moving on to the benefits of using GSM technology, I would like to enlist the following:

• Subscribers dont need to change mobile handsets if they opt for another network
• Seamless roaming
• Operators can opt for instruments from any equipment manufacturer
• GSM technology pioneered the SMS or Text Messaging services, which is now widely used on all kinds of mobile instruments
• It facilitates a worldwide standard feature of Emergency Telephone Number (eg: 911 or 112)

In India, we are all aware of the ongoing wait for implementation of 3G services. For starters, let me explain in brief what does 2G and 3G mean. Unlike the technologies that preceded GSM, both Singnalling and Speech Channels are digital in this case, thus the nomenclature Second Generation or 2G Mobile Phone System. Earlier the telephone system worked in analog fashion. Human race has come to be known as insatiable and we did not want to get satisfied with just voice connectivity. To enable data connectivity in the system, Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (GSM EDGE) is used. GSM EDGE is considered 3G or Third Generation version of the GSM services. This will enable Indians to effectively use Internet and other data services with much ease and at greater transfer rates.

Telecom - then & now

It was in early 1980s that the seeds of telecom revolutions were sowed in India. The then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi had asked Sam Pitroda to be at the helm of affairs. In 1984, Sam - who is also known as the 'father of Indian telecom', did setup C-DoT (Centre for Development of Telematics). C-Dot was organization which paved way for the far reaching networks that we utilize today. A true R&D setup, where pools of engineers poured out their brains to come up with technically competent switches, which would survive the extremes of climate fluctuations.

It was an era when a household with telephone was considered very high class and was looked upon in the society. Each colony had its share of one or two coveted personality (in some cases it needed colonies in plural to find one such owner) who had landline at their disposal. The instruments used then, had 'rotary dial mechanisms' and the process of dialling a number took more time than a normal conversation takes today!

Standard of living improved and more and more households started getting connected through wire, after a wait of not less than 2-3 years (since the day of filing application in the telephone exchange).

1990s was the dawn of a new era: the era of actual freedom, which had eluded Indians since 1947. The economy was liberalised, making the free trade movements a normal routine; privatisation led to opening up new avenues of job all across the sectors and industries; and last but not the least, it was Globalisation which became the buzzword and made the world sit and take notice. LPG (Liberalisation, Privatisation & Globalisation) was the gift of Narsimha Rao regime to India and was made possible due to the vision of Manmohan Singh, arguably one of the best Finance Ministers our democracy has ever witnessed. Licence Raj had ended by then and public's wait for essential services had substantially come down.

Abolition of Licence regime was one of the major catalyst for the mobile movement. Bharti & Essar were at the forefront and the process of empowering common man had begun. The economics prevailing did not allow each one of us an easy access to the service but we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The cost of hearing your loved one was a staggering Rs. 18 for 30 seconds. Primitive Motorola, Philips, Siemens and Nokia mobile phones could have been used as a defensive tool, such was their enormity.

Moving back to the future of mobile revolution, we see the size of phones have shrunk as less as a credit card holder. Call charges have come down to as less as 0.5 paise per second. It hasn't remained a luxury any more and a person from every economic strata can be seen wielding a cell phone. Two private and one government organization shared the riches of plenty in 90s and early 2000s; today more than a dozen operators are vying for a piece of the slice. The abundance of mobile towers have made people connected even when at the top of a mountain or on a ship-deck surrounded by water.

Let's also have a look at some of the contrasting numbers which bring out the dis-similarities between the two eras:

Teledensity (phones / 100 people)

1998 - 2.2

2009 - 43.5

Mobile subs (million)

2001 - 6

2009 - 500

Landline subs (million)

2001 - 33

2009 - 38

No wonder, Telecom has become the SUNSHINE sector and is bringing a smile on faces whenever they hear the most common ringtones 'bepanaah pyaar hai aaja' or 'airtel signature tune' or 'mission impossible - ost' or 'thoda sa pyaar hua hai, thoda hai baaki' or be it the ever youthful 'ae meri zohra-jabeen' playing on their 'ever so near to heart' handheld device.

Keep visiting for more history, updates and analysis on the this sector.