GSM Vs. EDGE
If you are a keen follower and user of mobile technology then you must be well aware of what GSM or EDGE are. But what do they actually mean? To understand this concept completely, you will need detailed technical know how.
What is GSM?
It stands for Global System for Mobile Communications, and this is the standard that has been adopted for mobile telephony all around the world. GSM hit the world in 1982, and it was created by a group known as Groupe Special Mobile (GSM), which was in turn formed by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT). The purpose of this formation was to design a mobile technology that served the entire European continent.
Today, almost 80% of mobile phone users around the world use GSM technology for their mobile telephony, and this is managed by the GSM Association (GSMA). Every service provider has their own network over the GSM network, and this is what their subscribers connect to during their calls. GSM technology is also known as the 2G network.
What is EDGE?
EDGE stands for Enhanced Data for Global Evolution, and this is a network that has been built upon the GSM network. This simply means that EDGE is much faster than GSM, and even though it meets the 3G network requirements, it is classified as 2.75G.
EDGE was created in the year 2003 in the United States, by the group known as Cingular. Today, this group is more commonly known as AT&T, a major network service provider in the country.
EDGE vs GSM
By simply looking at the system chronologically, we can deduce that EDGE is far better and much faster than the GSM network. This is especially useful for people who use their mobile phones for purposes beyond calling and texting, like mobile Internet, downloading content, uploading content and live streaming. For a regular person this simply means that all these tasks are performed much faster on EDGE than on GSM. The maximum speed for EDGE is said to be 384 kilobytes per second, but even this has now been trumped by the 3G mobile phones network.
As far as the battle between the two is concerned, EDGE is the clear winner. Since it supersedes the GSM network, any cell phone that runs on EDGE will also run on GSM. The whole purpose of the introduction of EDGE to the world was to increase the speed of the transfer of data on the GSM network, and also to provide more wireless data applications, wireless multimedia content, web infotainment services, video conferencing and web based email facilities.
In effect, EDGE is merely an upgrade of GPS. Even though GPS is widely used around the world (80% of mobile users), EDGE is still a far better option. All mobile manufacturers nowadays are releasing their phones so that they can connect on EDGE, since this means that they can also make use of the GSM network simultaneously.
The battle is no longer valid, since EDGE has already won it. As mentioned before, understanding mobile networks is a very long and arduous task, and that is not what we are trying to achieve here. The information provided here is enough for most, and this should clear out a lot of doubts.
