Airlink EDGE/GPRS - Manual (Page 7)

PinPoint-E EDGE/GPRS - User Guide, version 2.32 1
CHAPTER 1
Introduction to PinPoint-E EDGE/GPRS
FIGURE 1. PinPoint-E front and back
EDGE/GPRS Overview
The PinPoint-E's rugged form factor is ideal for industrial and commercial applications that
require real-time communications. The PinPoint-E provides cellular data communications for a
variety of applications, such as public safety, traffic control, traffic metering, transit arrival sys-
tems, and more.
EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) provides end-to-end packet data services with
an enhanced connectivity building on GPRS technology and using the established GSM net-
works. EDGE provides higher transmission rates and better transmission quality for data than
GPRS. EDGE can carry data at speeds typically up to 384 kbit/s in packet mode.
When EDGE/GPRS is not available, your PinPoint-E will fall-back to GPRS for the connection to
Your Wireless Service Provider to provide continued connectivity.
General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is packet-switched with many users sharing the same
transmission channel, but only transmitting when they have data to send. This means that the total
available bandwidth can be immediately dedicated to those users who are actually sending at any
given moment, providing higher utilization where users only send or receive data intermittently.
GPRS provides speeds of 30–70 kbps with bursts up to 170 kbps.