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Background of the GSM System
· GSM established:
The large number of different analog systems used in Europe did
not represent an ideal situation from a subscriber point of view.
Along with the need to accommodate an increasing number of users
and to establish compatibility with the evolution of the fixed network
towards digital systems, this led the Conference Europeenne des
Posts et Telecommunications (CEPT) to establish a "Groupe Special
Mobile" in 1982. The work of that group became the GSM system
(now "Global System for Mobile communications").
· GSM group task:
Task of the group was to develop a uniform standard for digital
mobile radio in Europe. The result was a standard for narrowband
(i.e., 200-kHz bandwidth) digital voice transmission in the 900-MHz
band. A Memorandum Of Understanding, pertaining to the construction
of a digital mobile radio system, was signed by representatives
of the telecommunication administrations in 14 European countries
in 1987. These signatories, together with various European manufacturers,
committed themselves to commence service in the relevant networks,
or to guarantee the supply of the necessary infrastructure by mid-1991.
The GSM standard is now under the control of the European Telecommunications
Standards Institute (ETSI).
Originally specified as a pan-European digital cellular standard,
GSM has spread much further a field. GSM networks are now operational
in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region.
· GSM-900 and GSM-1800 standards:
Even before the first GSM networks came into operation in 1992,
it was clear that the extra capacity of GSM would still not be sufficient
to meet the demand for mobile telephone services. As a result, a
further set of frequencies - 75 MHz in the 1800 MHz band - were
allocated for digital mobile telephone services in Europe. This
was three times the bandwidth allocated for GSM (25 MHz in the 900
MHz band).
A new standard, called GSM-1800 (Digital Cellular System), was specified
for the new frequencies. GSM-1800 uses virtually all the GSM specifications
- which means that GSM network components can be used in GSM-1800
networks. Only the radio base transceiver stations, and the mobile
phones themselves, need a different specification.
| 1982 |
CEPT adopts WARC 79 recommendation
allocating 890-915 MHz and 935-960 MHz for land mobileGSM created
to set standard |
| 1985 |
EEC supports GSM standards
throughout community |
| 1987 |
Digital technology standards
set for TDMA, speech coding, channel coding, and modulation
methodTelecommunication carriers from 14 European countries
sign Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and agree to install
systems in 1991 |
| 1988 |
Industrial development started |
| 1989 |
Acceptance of GSM-1800 system,
with GSM as standard |
| 1991 |
First systems deployed (July) |
| 1992 |
First GSM terminals receive
interim type approval |
| 1993 |
First GSM-1800 network launched |
| 1995 |
First GSM-1900 network in
US & Canada |
History - Key Events
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