An extension of the GSM standard, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) adds packet data capabilities to GSM (Release '97). GPRS is a packet-oriented Mobile Data Service available to users of the 2G and 3G cellular communication system GSM. In the 2G system, GPRS data rates range from 56 to 114 kbit per second.
A GPRS modem is a GSM modem that also supports GPRS for data transmission. The GPRS modem is required for SMS over GPRS. GPRS can carry SMS messages, transmitting SMS messages at a rate of about 30 SMS messages per minute. SMS over GSM is about 6 to 10 messages per minute. GPRS modems are also neede to send or receive MMS messages.
The Axeda® Platform supports GPRS over GSM through pluggable transport adapters installed in the Platform. The Platform components that receive messages from and send messages to tracking assets can decode and encode the messages using a Codec for the messaging supported by the tracking asset. For example, for tracking assets that use M2M (machine-to-machine) messaging, the Axeda® Platform can decode the message. If the message contains values for data items, the Platform extracts that information from the message and processes it. If that processing results in a message for the tracking asset, the Platform can encode the message appropriately.