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P800/P802
White Paper, January 2003
95
GPRS, HSCSD and CSD Connections
The introduction of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) is one of the key steps in the
evolution of today’s GSM networks for enhancing the capabilities of data communication. Data
traffic is increasing enormously (over both wired and wireless networks), with the growth in
demand for Internet access and services paralleling that for mobile communications. Users want
access to the Internet while they are away from their offices and homes, and surveys have found
that the vast majority of business professionals want the ability to send and receive E-Mail,
browse the Web and transmit text and graphics on a portable device. That is why the main
applications driving Mobile Internet development are E-Mail clients and Web browsers.
The demand for high-speed Internet access will be the key driver for coming generations of
wireless services, and GPRS can deliver the necessary speed. GPRS allows innovative services
to be created, enabling new and previously inaccessible market segments to be addressed and
increasing customer loyalty.
GPRS applications can be developed as both horizontal and vertical. Vertical applications are
specific, including those for operations such as reaching police and emergency, taxi, delivery or
automated services (vending machines, supervision, vehicle tracking). Horizontal applications are
more generic and include those for Internet access, E-Mail, messaging, e-commerce and
entertainment.
GPRS is able to take advantage of the global coverage of existing GSM networks. Applications
developed for GPRS can be deployed on a large scale and can reap the associated benefits.
GPRS also provides a secure medium for connections to private networks, banking and financial
services.
The P800 supports connection to the internet, company intranets and mobile operator WAP
services over GPRS, HSCSD and CSD. These will be explained in more detail later in this paper.
A typical configuration will be to use GPRS for a continuous connection to the net. With GPRS,
the P800 sends data in “packets” at a very high speed. The P800 remains connected to the
network at all times, using transmission capacity only when data are sent or received. This
enables E-Mail to be automatically fetched, whilst the browser is always available for immediate
use. Third Party applications such as instant messaging clients will also benefit from a GPRS
‘always on’ connection.
Using the P800 as a Modem
The P800 contains a complete GSM/GPRS modem enabling it to be used to connect external
devices such as laptop PCs to the internet or corporate intranet. The P800 is connected to the
laptop using infrared, Bluetooth or cable, and will connect over the air using GPRS, HSCSD or
CSD. Set Infrared status to Modem in the Control Panel to use this facility over infrared.
The P800 appears to the laptop like a normal modem, having an AT command set compatible
with industry de facto extensions and ETSI 07.07. Note that SMS and SMSCB are not supported
over this channel. A Windows modem driver file is supplied on the PC Suite CD-ROM.