GSM
Customers looking for GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) Info can now find all they need to know on a new, dedicated website: gsm-info.org. Although the acronym is now commonly associated with the English description, GSM originally stood for Groupe Special Mobile, the most popular of the world’s mobile phone standards.
A second generation, or 2G, mobile system, GSM set itself apart from other technologies by making both its speech and signalling channels digital. According to GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) Info figures, around 80 per cent of the world’s mobile users are plugged into the standard.
The great advantage to consumers of GSM is that it allows them to use their mobile technology across different markets without having to purchase new hardware. GSM was also the first system which allowed users to cheaply send text messages, or SMS, to other mobile users.
GSM was created after the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations decided that a European standard should be established. In 1987, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) Info was sent out to 13 countries and an agreement was signed to establish a common European telecommunication standard.
By 1990, the first set of specifications for a GSM system was published and the following year saw the launch of the first GSM network under the technical supervision of Ericsson. The popularity of the mobile phone then exploded and by the end of 1993 more than one million people had signed up in 48 countries.