The GPRS system is a popular networking system used in the GSM Mobile phones. It is the most common mobile phone systems in the world, used for the transmission of IP packets. The centralized system of the GPRS system is the GPRS Core Network. This network also supports the WCDMA based 3G networks. The GPRS core network has now become an integrated part of the GSM core network.
The GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) Core Network facilitates things like mobility management and session management. it also facilitates the transport for the various Internet protocol packet services in the various GSM and WCDMA networks.
The core network is also used to provide support for the various other additional functions like, lawful interception and billing. At one stage a proposal was made at one stage, to support the various packet radio services in the US D-AMPS TDMA system. However, in practice, most of these networks are now being converted to GSM. This means that the option has now become largely irrelevant. Like GSM the GPRS is also an open standards driven system. For this system, the standardization body is the 3GPP.
For the GPRS core network, the defining IP protocol is the GPRS Tunneling Protocol is the defining IP protocol of the GPRS core network. It is the primary protocol that allows end users of a GSM or WCDMA network to move from one place to another while connecting to the internet. It does this by simply carrying the subscriber’s data from the subscriber’s current (SGSN) Serving GPRS Support Node to the GGSN which is handling the subscriber’s session.
It can be safely said that the GPRS network is the heart and soul of the present communication system, as far as internet access on the mobile phones is concerned.
