Getting the EDGE on GSM, GPRS, TDMA

As the consumer goods and services marketing machine moved into high gear at the end of last year, one category of advertisements began to stand out, not only because of their sheer volume, but also because of the large number of technical terms crammed into them.

Adverts for most consumer devices do not mention the technology behind them, but ads for cellular telephones are full of technical terms and acronyms.

By all accounts, these terms make the purchasing decision more difficult rather than easier, so this week I thought I would look at a select few of the commonly used, but perhaps less understood terms likely to crop up in cellphone ads.

An extremely common one is "GSM phone". As a consumer, is it really necessary to know whether a particular phone is capable of being used on a GSM network?

This only tells you the phone conforms to the standards of the Global System for Mobile Communications, which is the most widely used system around the world, except for Japan and parts of the US.

In other words, if a phone were not a GSM phone, it would probably be of no use to you in SA and would not be on offer in the first place. In the light of that fact, is GSM worth mentioning at all?

Perhaps it would be more meaningful to indicate whether the phone is ready for the latest generation of cellular technology by replacing "GSM" with "3G-ready" or "not 3G-ready" as the case may be.

As cellular technology continues to evolve at a dizzying rate, it is high time marketers get real about consumers` needs.

Warwick Ashford

Most people appear to be aware of the short messaging service (SMS) provided by GSM, but perhaps fewer are familiar with MMS (multimedia messaging service). It could be argued that it would be more meaningful to say something like: "Can send and receive pictures, sounds and video clips" instead of the common "MMS-capable".

Also extremely common in cellphone ads is "GPRS". General Packet Radio Service is an enhancement to the GSM system that adds a set of packet-switching protocols enabling data transmission rate up to 30Kbps. Interesting perhaps, but does the average consumer need or want to know this?

Surely it would be far more appropriate to say "multimedia messaging" or "enhanced messaging" because GPRS messages are not limited to GSM`s 160 characters.

The enhancement to follow GPRS was Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution or EDGE, which delivered increased network capacity and data rates on GSM networks. Therefore, copywriters should use something like "enhanced data transfer rate" rather than "EDGE".

The next advance in speed was achieved by switching from GSM`s Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) air interface to Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA). This switch in interface marked the birth of third-generation (3G) standards, soon to be followed by High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) that increased the downlink speed.

Just as WCDMA and HSDPA go together to comprise 3G, GPRS and EDGE form what Vodacom MD Pieter Uys describes as a "stepping stone" between the original GSM (2G) standards and 3G, creating in effect, 2.5G technologies.

However interesting, most of this is irrelevant and potentially confusing to the average consumer. The only important thing to know is that the various "G" ratings refer to data transfer speeds. Therefore, anyone using their cellphones exclusively for voice and limited text messages, need not look further than 2G.

Strictly speaking, even users wanting to send and receive multimedia messages need not look further than 2.5G, although data speed is an advantage for users of phones with cameras.

On the subject of phones with cameras, it may be useful to note that "VGA camera" indicates a Video Graphics Array camera that can deliver better quality images than standard phone cameras. Surely "enhanced photo image" would be more useful?

"Push e-mail" is also a fairly recent term to have squeezed its way into cellular ad copy and refers to a technology that automatically delivers e-mail and other data from a laptop or desktop PC to a BlackBerry device.

"BlackBerry" is another recent entry and according to Vodacom, refers to a wireless connectivity solution that provides access to a wide range of applications on a variety of wireless devices. BlackBerry is enabled by GPRS technology, but rival LayerOne also supports 3G.

If faster Web connections, high-quality video and video conferencing are what you are looking for, 3G is the answer. However, indications are these services will come not come cheaply.

With local mobile operators only beginning to roll-out 3G networks this year, another global standard is already on the horizon, no doubt to be accompanied by even more terms and acronyms, beginning with "Super 3G" or "3.5G".

As cellular technology continues to evolve at a dizzying rate, adding an increasing number of terms and acronyms, it is high time marketers get real about consumers` needs. What is needed is meaningful information about what a particular device or service can deliver in real terms, not a slew of acronyms that are more confusing than informative.