Written by: Lars Ekeroth and Per-Martin Hedström

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Telecommunications and data communications are converging, due in no small part to the increasingly prominent role of the Internet protocol (IP). Also, users want access to the Internet while they are away from their offices and homes. Packet-switched services present new opportunities for operators and users. They allow operators to capitalize on the rapid growth of Internet usage and to position cellular service as mobile Internet access. The introduction of general packet radio service (GPRS) in today’s cellular networks is a key step in the evolution toward third-generation mobile networks.

GPRS makes the Internet mobile. It allows users to access corporate intranets or Internet service providers (ISP) from a mobile device. Its users can remain online without continuously occupying a specific radio channel. Each channel is shared by several users and is used only when data packets are sent or received. In this article, the authors describe Ericsson’s GPRS support nodes (GSN)—the core network nodes at the heart of Ericsson’s GPRS solution that provide packet data capability to GSM, UMTS and TDMA cellular networks.

[First published in Ericsson Review no. 03, 2000]