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T-Mobile USA Technology Overview
GSM Technology: The Global Standard

www.t-mobile.com

T-Mobile® is the only U.S. wireless carrier operating ubiquitous GSM (Global System for Mobile) network in more than 8,000 cities nationwide. Adopted by 179 countries, GSM is the most widely used digital wireless standard in the world with more than 700 million subscribers.

GSM's proven, feature-rich digital technology provides customers with integrated voice, high-speed data, paging and short message service capabilities, as well as excellent sound quality and call reliability. The well-developed network ensures that all calls and messages are processed quickly and reliably, and T-Mobile's 100 percent digital network delivers better sound quality than other wireless services, including crisper, clearer voice quality and less static, fading and background noise. Independent laboratory and field test reports validate near parity with wire lines.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)/T-Mobile Internet

GPRS is a standardized packet-switched data service that is an extension of the GSM architecture. GPRS is what makes the Internet wireless.

The GPRS standard uses upgraded radio base stations linked to a new network based on 'packet' technology. With circuit switched networks, the user dials the required number and the network connects the call, allocating a circuit between the two parties until the call is ended. Packet technology allows the user to be connected to their home carrier data services via the subscriber's handset, PDA or laptop, and then send and receive data as required throughout the day. T-Mobile's 2.5G GPRS network is only used when data is being transmitted, but the user retains a virtual connection to the chosen computer network throughout the day.

The benefits of the T-Mobile Internet using GPRS technology:

	The user can be "always connected, always on-line" to the data network.
	GPRS provides high-speed data transmission. GPRS handsets are capable of operating at speeds up to five times faster than on current GSM networks.
	The network is used far more efficiently than circuit switched networks. It is only used when data is being transmitted, which reduces the cost of mobile data.
	GPRS is based on the Internet Protocol (IP). This provides ease of connectivity from mobile data terminals to the Internet and to IP-based company Intranets.

The T-Mobile "Smart Card": Privacy, Security and Convenience

The T-Mobile Smart Card (also known as a SIM card) is the "brain" of the T-Mobile digital personal communications services (PCS) phone. It's a plastic card that comes with the T-Mobile phone, featuring an embedded computer microchip, which can easily be inserted or transferred into other T-Mobile phones, retaining customers' phonebook and personalized service information.

The T-Mobile Smart Card also helps secure T-Mobile phones against unauthorized use. The phones won't operate without this programmable computer microchip. Even after the T-Mobile Smart Card is inserted into the phone, a personal identification number (PIN) chosen by the customer must be verified before the phone can be used. The Smart Card also helps T-Mobile's network to ensure that all calls are private - all transmissions are digitally encrypted to prevent eavesdropping or "cloning" of a phone number.