GSM

Global System for Mobile communications (GSM: originally from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. Its promoter, the GSM association, estimates that 82% of the global mobile market uses the standard. GSM is used by over 2 billion people across more than 212 countries and territories. Its ubiquity makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operator, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs from its predecessors in that both signaling and speech channels are digital call quality, and so is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phone system. This has also meant that data communication were built into the system using the 3^rd partnership project (3GPP).

The key advantage of GSM systems to consumers has been better voice quality and low-cost alternatives to making calls, such as the short messaging service (SMS, also called "text messaging"). The advantage for network operators has been the ease of deploying equipment from any vendors that implement the standard. Like other cellular standards, GSM allows network operators to offer roaming services so that subscribers can use their phones on GSM networks all over the world.

Newer versions of the standard were backward-compatible with the original GSM phones. For example, release '97 of the standard added packet data capabilities, by means of general packet radio service (GPRS). Release '99 introduced higher speed data transmission using (EDGE).