Networks Create Opportunity

As we enter a new decade, it's helpful to reflect on where we've come from, and where we are headed. T-Mobile benefits from a global network technology, GSM (global system for mobile communications), developed 20 years ago. Today, the GSM technology family accounts for more than 4 billion (or 90%) of all mobile subscriptions across the globe. The benefits from such penetration range from unparalleled roaming capabilities to unrivalled device choice and pricing.

At the beginning of the last decade, GSM operators introduced GPRS (general packet radio service) as a complementary data service on top of voice. GPRS allowed consumers to marry the benefits of data and mobility—albeit at throughput levels that allowed for a narrow, but useful range of services like SMS (short message service) and rudimentary, text-based WAP (wireless application protocol) browsing.