In this article, we will learn about the topic of Electronics Engineering. This topic is related to the cellular Mobile communication. We will look at what is UMTS and it’s working. Then we will explore about GPRS and it’s working. After this we will look at the differences between UMTS and GPRS

What is UMTS?

UMTS is an abbreviation used for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is developed on the basis of 3GPP standards. The main composition of UMTS is UE (User Equipment), Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core Network. There are various technologies that fall under UMTS based on different releases from the 3GPP community. It is also referred as 3G.

It is basically seen as a transition point where mobile technologies are marching towards more advanced technologies such as Long-Term Evaluation(LTE) and the fifth Generation(5G). It also lays the basis or platform for any future advancements in mobile technologies. It provides many features like higher data transmission rates, video calling support, improved multimedia support, and some advanced features like Internet browsing on mobile.

At the core of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, there are some components like the Core Network, Radio Access Network, and User Equipment. The core network component is the backbone of UMTS. It provides functionality like routing of calls, authentication of the network, etc. The Radio Access Network component has a base station and antennas which are used for establishing the connection with the User Equipment. The User Equipment component consists of the devices that are used at the user end like Cell phones, tablets, smartphones, etc.

UMTS

Working of UMTS

The working of UMTS is divided into three major components

• User Equipment: The User Equipment components is related to the devices and components which are used by the end user. This component of UMTS consists of mobile stations and subscriber identity module. This components contains information about subscriber identity. It also performs authentication works and holds the encryption keys. This component contain many essential information like information of subscriber, details of encryption keys, etc. This components act as an interface between the end user and the UMTS network.
• Access Network: The Access Network component is an important component which is used for establishing the connection with the User Equipment. This component of UMTS consists of towers, radio network controller and technologies like WCDMA. The towers help the mobile station connect to the network. The Radio Network Controller is used for managing the radio resources. The Radio Network Controller also used for handling of processing of data and transfer of data in between the network and the mobile station. This component also employs processing of data and the transfer of data between mobile station and the towers.
• Core Network: The Core Network component is the backbone of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications systems. This component of UMTS consists of domains like circuit-switched and packet-switched. The circuit-switched domain is used in various cases like the handling of traditional voice calls, services like voice communication, Short Messaging Service. While the packet-switched domain is used for providing running internet services and data-packet transportation. It also provides features like email, web browsing, streaming of multimedia. etc.

What is GPRS?

GPRS is an abbreviation used for General Packet Radio Service. It comes into existence as an expansion of Global System for Mobile Communication. It facilitate direct connection to the internet. It improves the mobile communication capabilities. It was designed to meet the growing demand for data communication. It is mainly utilized for data communication purpose.

It is a communication service offered wirelessly that helps in the transmission of data over a cellular network. It uses the packet-based transmission to enhance the wireless communication service. In GPRS, the data is being broken down into various smaller packets. When we use the packet-based transmission it also optimizes the usage of bandwidth and improves the efficiency. It offers various features like easy access to the content present on Internet, email facility, other applications based on Internet.

With the help of GPRS, it helps the cellular phones to transform into a powerful tool for accessing the information and data usage. GPRS is being used for providing widespread coverage, improve the existing mobile infrastructure, etc. The General Packet Radio Service offers services which helps the user to fill gap between the internet and the mobile devices. It also provides access to various resources, services, etc. available on Internet.

GPRS

Working of GPRS

The working of GPRS is broken down in following steps:

• Packet-based Transmission: GPRS utilized a process or method in which data transferred is broken down in small packets. Then these small packets are transported over the cellular network. These small packets which are transferred contains various information like the sender address, destination address, data, etc.
• Radio Connection: The small packets which were formed needs a channel to get transferred from one place to another. GPRS takes use of a radio connection to transfer data between sender and the destination. This radio connection has been seen as the serving point through which the data packets get travelled between the end points. The GPRS make use of cellular infrastructure to establish and maintaining the connection.
• Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA): Since the data packets are transferred over the radio channel. So, GPRS utilizes a technique called TDMA which operates by dividing the available radio channel into different time slots. With the help of this technique it provides the privilege to multiple users to access the same channel at same time.
• Higher Data Rate: Since, we are using TDMA technique in GPRS, it gives the flexibility to achieve a higher data rate. As compared to other technologies, the data rate offered by TDMA technique is higher. Thus, it allows faster sharing of files, and efficient transportation of data. The higher data rate features provided by GPRS helps to improve the overall experience of the user. It makes the Internet browsing smoother, the time to download resources gets reduced, etc.

Difference between UMTS and GPRS