What is a GSM Phone?
GSM (Global Service for Mobile Communication) is the mobile communications standard across the world, with the exception of North America where there are several platforms. In the US, GSM is available through AT&T Wireless, Cingular and T-Mobile, these are the only phones that will work outside of North America. There are two types of GSM phones available; dual band or tri-band. For international use outside of North America, a tri-band GSM phone is necessary because the US GSM standard is slightly different than the rest of the world. When you buy a GSM phone, you’ll need to sign-up with a Wireless Service Provider who will provide you with a SIM Card and wireless service for your phone. Wherever you buy the phone, be sure to ask about the calling service outside your calling area, and if it is possible to change the SIM Card on the phone to avoid roaming charges. This is called “unlocking” the phone.
A GSM phone is a type of mobile phone that uses the (G)lobal (S)ystem for (M)obile Communications to send and receive phone calls. GSM is a digital standard first offered commercially in 1991 and is currently the most popular mobile phone transmission technology in the world. The GSM standard uses TDMA digital technology, which allows for three different voice calls to be placed in the same time slot, rather than one call using the old analog “cell” phones. This is possible through digital compression that GSM then builds upon with the addition of encryption. A GSM phone takes up the same amount of transmission space as the old technology, but has the additional benefit of added security. One of the great benefits of a GSM phone is the addition of a SIM card, or “Subscriber Identification Module.” This little chip slips into the back of GSM phones and provides all of the users’ personal information. This includes contacts and calendar information in most cases, and more importantly the
GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communication. It is the type of Network that your phone uses to connect to your carrier. Other networks which our service does not support are TDMA and CDMA. The most visible feature of GSM are SIM cards. SIM cards are removable, thumbnail-sized smart cards which identify the user on the network, and can also store information such as phone book entries. SIM cards allows users to switch phones by simply moving their SIM card from one phone to the other.
