GPS, glonass. what is the difference? what to choose? What is the difference between gps and gprs What is the difference between gps and gsm

You can often hear strange questions: "I have GPRS in such and such a phone, what should I do to see where I am on the map?" or "I have a GPS on my phone, but I can't set up Internet access." Such cases are the cost of technical speech replete with similar abbreviations.

GPRS and internet access

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)- add-on over the technology of mobile (cellular) communication GSM, which allows for packet data transmission. GPRS allows a mobile phone user to access the Internet and forward e-mail messages.

GPS - satellite positioning system

GPS (Global Positioning System), Global Positioning System - a satellite-based system for locating objects created by the US Department of Defense. The principle of operation is as follows - a device on the ground, receiving a signal from several satellites simultaneously, determines its exact location on the ground. GPS was originally developed as a purely military project.

In 2000, the United States lifted restrictions on the use of GPS for civilian purposes. Today the whole world uses this service provided by the USA absolutely free. Today, there are 28 satellites, of which 24 are constantly operational. Alternative systems are the Russian system GLONASS and European GALILEO.

GPS navigators with GPRS module

To receive information about traffic jams, the GPS-navigator must have Internet access ( ). The most convenient way to download information about traffic jams is to connect to the Internet viabuilt-in GRRS modulewith a SIM card of a mobile operator.

GPS and GPRS seem to be similar, but in this sense they are completely different. The difference between GPS and GPRS is that GPS is a satellite navigation system, while GPRS is used to provide cellular data services.

GPS supports a variety of applications such as satellites, surveying and mapping, power grid, telecommunications, smart machines, precision farming, etc. On the other hand, GPRS provides applications such as email access, multimedia messaging, video calling, etc. D.

comparison table

Basis for comparison	Gps	GPRS
Stands for	satellite navigation system	General Packet Radio Service
Target	Provides positioning service.	Provides voice and data services used in mobile phones.
application	Navigation, geodesy, cartography, GIS, etc.	Access to email, multimedia messages, video calls, etc.
At work	GPS communicates with a set of satellites that orbit the earth.	GPRS communicates with the earth tower.
Number of stations required	3 or more	1
usage	GPS can be used anywhere: sky, earth, seas, etc.	GPRS is limited in range and is only available on land.
Price	Expensive	economic

GPS definition

GPS (Global Positioning System) is a satellite based positioning system. The GPS network uses satellites to determine the exact position of an object on the ground. The GPS network consists of a constellation of 24 active satellites and some additional backup satellites. These satellites revolve around the Earth at an altitude of over 20,180 kilometers, and each of them takes 11 hours 58 minutes.

In GPS, the satellites are located in such a way that from virtually any point on the earth's surface, the receiver must have a line of sight of at least four satellites. This is vital as it takes at least four satellites to determine the location of a GPS point to calculate the three position coordinates and clock deviation, a process called trilateration .

Sometimes the trilateration process fails when the GPS navigator receives inadequate information, this is due to ionosphere and troposphere, which slow down the speed of the signals. In this situation, the GPS system notifies the user of the failure rather than sending the wrong information.

GPS devices are receivers such as mobile phones that are capable of sending and receiving signals. Each GPS satellite transmits a navigation message to Earth that contains an extremely accurate time stamp (obtained from atomic clock, available on satellites).

Satellites also broadcast their position during broadcast, with all GPS signals being broadcast at 1, 57542 GHz ( L1 signals) and 1.2276 GHz ( L2 signals). These two bits of information allow you to determine the position on Earth when all satellites are sending accurate time to Earth. The GPS receiver can compare the time difference between the signal being sent and received to determine the distance between you.

GPS elements

Space segment- this includes a satellite orbiting the earth.
Control segment- This segment includes stations located at the equator of the Earth to control satellites.
User segment. Segment includes an entity (person or organization) that receives and uses GPS signals.

Definition of GPRS

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is the most popular second-generation cellular system that provides high-speed data transmission. GPRS is also known as 2.5 Generation Mobile and Telecommunications and is an extended version of the 2G GSM network. GPRS implements the concept of packet switching, allowing you to send and receive data services over the network, while GSM uses circuit switching.

However, after GPRS, there have been more technologies and generations. GPRS also uses the latest schemes for slot combining and channel coding. Basic architecture based on internet protocol(IP) is included to support integrated voice and data applications over packet-based wireless networks.

Features of GPRS

The connection speed has increased to 56-118 Kbps due to the merging of GSM time slots.
Provides a persistent connection without constant data consumption and eliminates slow dial-ups.
Includes full internet services such as video conferencing.
Provides portability, which means it maintains constant voice and data transmission even while the user is on the move.
Offers immediate service; the user can get an immediate connection regardless of location.

Key differences between GPS and GPRS

GPS is an abbreviation for Global Positioning System, which provides a positioning service, while GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service, which provides wireless integrated voice and data services.
GPS determines the location of an object in terms of latitude and longitude. Conversely, GPRS is an extended version of GSM that provides high data rates for cellular systems.
GPS uses a constellation of 24 satellites that orbit the Earth to determine a location. On the other hand, GPRS uses ground towers for communication.
GPRS only requires one station, while GPS requires three stations to function.
GPS is very expensive as the satellites used are expensive. Unlike GPRS at a low cost.
GPRS is limited in range and only works well on land where BST (Base Transceiver System) are installed. In contrast, the GPS system covers a wider range and can work well even in the sea and sky.

Conclusion

GPS and GPRS are different terms and serve different purposes. GPS is a satellite based positioning system that includes navigation, surveying, mapping and GIS (Geographic Information System). On the other hand, GPRS is used to provide high data rate services (voice and data) on wireless devices or the cellular network, such as real-time video calling on mobile phones, etc.

An article on the principle of operation and concept of GPRS and GPS systems, and their use in cellular communications /

A cell phone is a mini - radio transmitting - radio receiving station that provides full radio communication without interference. The cell phone is the center of Internet technologies, providing systemic access to the World Wide Web.

Mobile phone - mini - radio station

The GPS technology used in mobile communications is a network for global object determination with reference to the area, using space satellites, which carries out digital data transmission.

Military targeting technologies used in the GPS system

The GPRS system is a technology that allows a cellular subscriber to exchange messages and calls with subscribers of other devices over a given network, external networks and the Internet.

Using the GPRS system for civilian objects

A cellular subscriber has its own channel, which consists of a modem in a mobile device. The GPRS system has its own communication channel. Setting up both channels, relative to each other, makes it possible to exchange and transmit data.

Mobile phone communication channel, modem

Data transmission takes place in the mode of services of the telecom operator to which this subscriber belongs.

instant internet access
the ability to connect to the Internet gadgets: smartphones, tablets, laptops
billing for valid Internet access, namely, for the amount of information sent or received

GPRS system capabilities

Ways of connecting the GPRS system to a mobile phone

Service - mobile operator center

GPS is a satellite communication system for determining coordinates, location on the map, speed of movement, object. The owner and operating organization is the American Department of Defense. The system is available to ordinary subscribers if they have a navigation device or a mobile phone with a GPS receiver.

GPRS is an internal GPS system, a transmitter that sends data to cellular subscribers, connects them with gadgets, the Internet, and other devices.

The difference is that GPS is for locating an object, GPRS is a radio data transmission system when connected to the Internet.

Joint work of two systems GPRS and GPS

GPS refers to military technologies, GPRS has nothing to do with the militaristic sense of defining objects and the parameters of their location.

The meaning and principle of operation of individual systems is significantly different. However, their tandem provides tremendous opportunities for the civilian cellular subscriber.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is an add-on over GSM mobile (cellular) communication technology, which allows for packet data transmission. GPRS allows a mobile phone user to access the Internet and forward e-mail messages.

GPS (Global Positioning System), a global positioning system - created by the US Department of Defense, a satellite-based system for locating objects. The principle of operation is as follows - a device on the ground, receiving a signal from several satellites simultaneously, determines its exact location on the ground. GPS was originally developed as a purely military project.

To receive information about traffic jams, the GPS-navigator must have access to the Internet (). The most convenient way to download information about traffic jams is to access the Internet through the built-in GRRS module with a SIM card of a cellular operator.

To begin with, GPS or Global Positioning System is a global positioning system. Quite simply, this system is a virtual map with which the user can determine his location. It should be noted that the above-mentioned system has nothing to do with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), since the latter is a so-called GSM add-on for packet data for accessing the mobile Internet.

If, nevertheless, to return to GPS technology, then it is used not only by motorists, as many people think. The scope of the GPS system is much wider. For example, it is very popular among travelers, hunters, fishermen and other people who prefer active pastime and who from time to time need information about their own location or the location of a particular location. In addition, if you need information on the speed of the vehicle and the estimated time of arrival at the destination, GPS can become an indispensable tool.

Note that GPS receivers differ in the speed with which they can calculate coordinates from the moment they are turned on, as well as in sensitivity and positioning accuracy. All of these parameters depend on the chipset that the GPS receiver is equipped with. There are chipsets for GPS devices from a number of manufacturers on the market, however, the most popular are SiRfstarIII chipsets, which are manufactured by SiRf Technology. Receivers equipped with the SiRfstarIII chipset demonstrate a short so-called cold start time, when the navigation system has not been used for a long time, it amounts to a couple of seconds. In addition, these chipsets provide the ability to receive signals from 20 satellites at once. Moreover, GPS receivers with SiRfstarIII chipsets are considered the most sensitive and have high-precision positioning ability.

To begin with, it is worth mentioning that the technical specifications of smartphones contain information about different modules. While some are talking about a GPS module, others are about A-GPS. What is the difference between them? If the device is equipped with a conventional GPS receiver, then during a cold start (what it is - read above), the search can be delayed because the navigator cannot quickly find the satellite, and this can take more than one minute. The reason for the long search for a satellite by a GPS navigator is simple - the lack of information about the actual location of the satellite.

If the device uses the A-GPS technology, then the necessary information is promptly received using the GPRS, 3G or LTE (4G) network (traffic does not exceed 12 Kb). At its core, A-GPS is a software add-on for a GPS receiver, with the help of which the satellite search time during a cold start can be significantly reduced. As already noted, the acceleration is achieved mainly due to alternative communication channels. By and large, for the A-GPS technology to function, a communication channel with a remote server is required, from which the information necessary for a GPS receiver is received. If we return to mobile devices, then in their case it is an Internet connection of cellular communication or using Wi-Fi.

Note that the A-GPS add-on has both advantages and disadvantages. If you start with the advantages, then it is worth noting the very quick determination of coordinates immediately after switching on. In addition, the technology increases the sensitivity of receiving a weak signal in the so-called dead zones - tunnels, indoors, in valleys, etc. However, a significant disadvantage in A-GPS is the inability to work where there is no cellular network coverage. In addition, the use of A-GPS cannot be completely free, like, for example, GPS. This is due to the consumption of Internet traffic by the A-GPS add-on, which must be paid depending on the tariffication of a particular Internet provider.

And again in the center of our attention was the topic of similar, and therefore confusing abbreviations and intricate abbreviations. Now you have to find out what is the difference between GPS and GPRS. While the acronyms sound similar, they are actually completely different things.

GPS is a Global Positioning System. In more familiar language, a virtual map with a location function. The current position is determined with an accuracy of 6 meters using satellites in low-earth orbit.

GPRS is an add-on over GSM technology used for packet data transmission. From the point of view of the range of services provided by mobile operators - for access to the Internet.

GPRS is used for data transmission and has nothing to do with geolocation technologies. That is, in the case of terms that are so similar in pronunciation, there is a complete difference in the principles of their action and spheres of application.

Quite a lot of schoolchildren, blondes, middle-aged women and simply inexperienced users of mobile telephone devices, just do not know the difference between the two concepts, and often make their more experienced and educated friends just die laughing. Therefore, if you or your girlfriend, and possibly your parents, are not aware of the difference between GPS and GPRS, then just give it to the Trashbox, and in a few days you will see significant shifts.
So, let's move on to the most important thing. First, let's take a look at what both abbreviations mean.

GPS stands for Global Positioning Syste, which means Global Positioning System in Russian. This thing allows you to determine your location using the built-in module in the phone and relying on the signals of several satellites. It is GPS navigators that inexperienced Moscow taxi drivers use in order to somehow find their way to their customers. We will not go into the intricacies of the operation of this system yet, although if you ask me in the comments, I will be happy to tell you about this in the next article. Below you can see the scheme of work:

Let's move on to the second cryptic abbreviation. GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service, and in translation into Russian - general packet radio communication. GPRS is a technology that allows you to deliver Internet connections to your phones over the waves. It is when you launch Opera Minі and confirm your internet connection that your phone establishes a GPRS connection. Experienced users will run in and start shouting about any 3G and UMTS, but you can not listen to them, so as not to aggravate your picture of the world, these are about the same technologies, they just help bring the Internet to your phone much faster.
Below you can see the scheme of work:

Experienced users are invited to comment to criticize the article.

Navigator does not connect to the Internet via GPS? Your communicator shows that it is within the coverage area of the GSM network, but ICQ does not work - there is no Internet connection? But you never know what can happen with all these complex devices.

GPS - the initial letters of the name of the global coordinate system - Global Positioning System.

What is this system?

This is a system that allows you to determine the location of an object with an accuracy of at least 100 m, i.e. determine its latitude, longitude and height above sea level, as well as the direction and speed of its movement. In addition, using GPS, you can determine the time with an accuracy of 1 nanosecond.

What is GPS made of?

GPS consists of a set of a certain number of artificial earth satellites (satellite system NAVSTAR) and ground tracking stations, united into a common network. The subscriber equipment is individual GPS receivers capable of receiving signals from satellites and calculating their position based on the received information.

What is the NAVSTAR satellite system?

The NAVSTAR satellite system includes 24 satellites located in 6 different circular orbits, which are located at an angle of 60 degrees to each other. The orbital period of one satellite is 12 hours. Each satellite weighs about 787 kg and is over 5 m in size, including solar panels. Each satellite is equipped with an atomic clock providing an accuracy of 10-9 seconds, a computational encoder and a 50 W transmitter, emitting at a frequency of 1575.42 MHz.

The birth of NAVSTAR can be considered February 1978, when the first satellite of the system was launched into orbit. The average service life of one satellite is approximately 10 years, therefore the program includes continuous production and launching of new satellites into orbit, replacing those that have used up their resource. The cost of building and launching 24 satellites is $ 12 billion.

What information do satellites transmit to Earth?

Every millisecond the satellites transmit to Earth:

its status (message about serviceability or malfunction);
the current date;
current time;
almanac data;
the exact time when the entire set of messages was sent.

What is an almanac?

This is information about where in the celestial sphere each satellite should be located at any time during the day, i.e. orbital data of all satellites.

How are coordinates determined?

Based on the information received from the satellites, the GPS receiver determines the distance to each satellite, their relative position and calculates its coordinates according to the laws of geometry. At the same time, to determine 2 coordinates (latitude and longitude), it is enough to receive signals from three satellites, and to determine the height above sea level - from four.

How does a GPS receiver determine the distance to satellites?

Since the propagation speed of radio signals is constant and equal to the speed of light, the distance to the satellites is determined by the delay in the time the GPS receiver receives a message relative to the time the message is sent from the satellite. Of course, in order to accurately determine this delay, the clocks on the satellites and the clocks in the GPS receiver must be synchronized, which is ensured by synchronizing the clocks of the receiver according to the information contained, as indicated above, in the satellite signals.

What are the sources of location bias?

The main source was the presence of the so-called “limited access” regime. In this mode, the US Department of Defense a priori introduced an error into the satellite signals, which made it possible to determine the location with an accuracy of 30 - 100 m, although in principle the accuracy of the GPS system can reach several centimeters. On May 1, 2000, the "limited access" mode was disabled.

Other sources of error are the unsuccessful geometry of the relative position of satellites, multipath propagation of radio signals (the effect of multiple reflected radio waves on the receiver), ionospheric and atmospheric signal delays, etc.

What is a GPS receiver?

The GPS system allows you to determine the location anywhere on land, at sea and in near-earth space. Depending on the field of application, the range of which is quite wide, as well as on the cost, which can range from hundreds to several thousand dollars, the performance of GPS receivers is also very diverse. In general, the entire range of models can be divided into four large groups:

Personal GPS receivers for individual use.

These models are distinguished by their small dimensions and a wide range of service functions: from basic navigation, including the ability to form and calculate routes to follow, to the function of receiving and transmitting e-mail.

Automotive GPS receivers, which are designed to be installed in any ground vehicle and have the ability to connect external transmitting and receiving equipment for automatic transmission of traffic parameters to control centers.

Marine GPS receivers equipped with an ultrasonic echo sounder, as well as additional replaceable cartridges with cartographic and hydrographic information for specific coastal areas.

Aircraft GPS receivers used for piloting aircraft, including commercial aircraft

Are there other positioning systems?

Yes. The domestic military space industry has created an alternative satellite system GLONASS. However, despite the higher positioning accuracy, its reliability and consumer characteristics are significantly lower than that of NAVSTAR, and today this system has not received widespread adoption.

The history of GSM began in the 80s of the last century, when European countries had their own incompatible cellular networks. The Scandinavian countries, Great Britain, France and Germany were equipped with their own networks. Incompatibility of standards hindered the spread of cellular telephony, made life difficult for both operators and subscribers. It was impossible, for example, to carry out automatic roaming when moving from the coverage area of one network to the coverage area of another. And the subscriber devices, the cell phones themselves, were far from universal. For each type of cellular communication, it was necessary to develop unique equipment.

In cellular communication of the GSM standard, radio frequencies of 900, 1800 or 1900 MHz are used (in this case, three-band phones can be used in networks of any of the listed frequency ranges). Compared to analogue standards, GSM has a number of advantages. The main ones are the use of low-power transmitters in subscriber devices and base stations. This reduces the cost of the equipment itself, but does not affect the quality of communication. In addition, the transmission of information in digital form makes it easy to ensure a high degree of confidentiality of negotiations.

Next is the multi-channel equalization technology. The fact is that in the range of 900 MHz and above, the radio signal is easily reflected from the walls of buildings and other obstacles. As a result, the phone will receive many signals that differ in phase, from which it selects the desired one, and ignores the rest.

Another interesting GSM technology is discontinuous transmission. Pay attention to how we speak on the phone. Say a word, pause, say another word, pause again. So, when we are silent, the phone turns off the transmitter. As soon as we speak, it turns on. This mechanism minimizes the power consumption of the cell phone. Smart machine turns out!

All cell phones, depending on the power of the built-in radio transmitters, are divided into several classes - from 20 watts (real monsters!) To 0.8 watts (most popular models). But usually, when the base station is near the subscriber device (and GSM “cells” in large cities are densely enough to avoid “dead” zones between buildings), the full power of the phone's transmitter is not needed to maintain a stable connection. To adjust the power, a mechanism for analyzing the number of errors during transmission and reception is used. On its basis, the power of the transmitter of the base station and the phone is reduced to a level where the quality of communication is sufficiently stable. This power control is a very subtle thing. Most of the users' complaints about the poor quality of communication are on his "conscience".

The abbreviation GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service. This is a kind of add-on over the usual GSM cellular network, which allows data transmission at significantly higher speeds than in a conventional GSM network. If in a regular GSM network you can get a maximum of 14.4 Kbps, then the theoretical maximum in GPRS is 171.2 Kbps with full use. GPRS is a packet data transmission system that functions similarly to the Internet. The entire data stream of the sender is split into separate packets and then delivered to the recipient, where the packets are collected together, and it is not at all necessary that all the packets go the same route.

Internet and GPRS are united not only by packet data transmission. At the start of a GPRS session, each GPRS terminal, just like on the Internet, is assigned its own unique address, the GPRS protocol is transparent to TCP / IP, so the integration of the GPRS network with the Internet is invisible to the end user.

To connect to the GPRS service, your mobile device must be configured, and the cellular operator has connected this service. In this case, only the volume of sent / received information is paid, and not airtime. You can also connect GPRS devices connected to the computer: for laptops - through the PCMCIA connector; for PDA - via Compact Flash slot; for computers - via USB port.

In the characteristics of mobile phones, you can find many incomprehensible terms and abbreviations. One of these abbreviations is GPRS. Users who actively use the mobile Internet since the mid-2000s know the meaning of this term. But, there are also many who in those years used the phone only for voice calls and SMS. If you also do not know what GPRS is in a phone, then we suggest that you familiarize yourself with this small article.

What is GPRS in the phone

The abbreviation GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service, which can be translated into Russian as general packet radio communication. This technology is an extension of GSM mobile communication technology and allows data transmission over a mobile network. This allows the GSM user to exchange data with other users of the GSM network, as well as with external networks such as the Internet.

The principle of GPRS operation is to combine data into packets and send them over unused GSM voice channels, which allows more efficient use of GSM network resources. At the same time, the mobile operator can choose which type of transmission has a higher priority, voice or data packets. In Russia, traditionally, mobile operators prefer voice traffic, so the connection speed via GPRS strongly depends on the operator's network congestion.

In theory, the GPRS data transfer rate can reach 171.2 kbps, but due to various limitations in practice, the speed is usually much slower. For example, mobile phones of the 2000s, when GPRS was actively used, could receive data at a speed of no more than 85 kbps.

GPRS is part of the second generation mobile networks and now this technology is almost never used in practice. Currently, most mobile phones support 3rd and 4th generation mobile networks, where data transfer rates are much higher. Therefore, if you notice GPRS support in the characteristics of a mobile phone, then you can not pay special attention to this, you will no longer use this technology.

Separately, let's say a few words about GPS, which is often confused with GPRS. Despite the similar names, these are completely different technologies that are responsible for solving different problems. As already mentioned, GPRS is a packet data transmission technology over GSM networks, which is mainly used to access the Internet. Whereas GPS is a satellite navigation system that allows you to determine the exact location.

What is GPS and GPRS

GPS - global positioning system. In more familiar language, a virtual map with a positioning function. The current position is determined with an accuracy of 6 meters using satellites in low-earth orbit.

GPRS- add-on over GSM technology used for packet data transmission. From the point of view of the range of services provided by mobile operators - for access to the Internet.

Comparison of GPS and GPRS

What is the difference between GPS and GPRS?

The GPS system is used to determine the location. It was originally used by the United States military, but later "migrated" from military applications to the category of generally available technologies.

The difference between GPS and GPRS is as follows:

GPS is a positioning system, a geolocation system.
GPRS is a data transmission technology used to access the Internet.