12.

Introduction to GSM / GPRS Wireless

Modems
12.1. What is a GSM Modem?
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A GSM modem is a wireless modem that works with a GSM wireless network. A wireless
modem behaves like a dial-up modem. The main difference between them is that a dial-up
modem sends and receives data through a fixed telephone line while a wireless modem sends and
receives data through radio waves.
A GSM modem can be an external device or a PC Card / PCMCIA Card. Typically, an external
GSM modem is connected to a computer through a serial cable or a USB cable. A GSM modem
in the form of a PC Card / PCMCIA Card is designed for use with a laptop computer. It should
be inserted into one of the PC Card / PCMCIA Card slots of a laptop computer.
Like a GSM mobile phone, a GSM modem requires a SIM card from a wireless carrier in order
to operate.
As mentioned in earlier sections of this SMS tutorial, computers use AT commands to control
modems. Both GSM modems and dial-up modems support a common set of standard AT
commands. You can use a GSM modem just like a dial-up modem.
In addition to the standard AT commands, GSM modems support an extended set of AT
commands. These extended AT commands are defined in the GSM standards. With the extended
AT commands, you can do things like:
• Reading, writing and deleting SMS messages.
• Sending SMS messages.
• Monitoring the signal strength.
• Monitoring the charging status and charge level of the battery.
• Reading, writing and searching phone book entries.
The number of SMS messages that can be processed by a GSM modem per minute is very low --
only about six to ten SMS messages per minute.

12.2. What is a GPRS Modem?

A GPRS modem is a GSM modem that additionally supports the GPRS technology for data
transmission. GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service. It is a packet-switched technology
that is an extension of GSM. (GSM is a circuit-switched technology.) A key advantage of GPRS
over GSM is that GPRS has a higher data transmission speed.
GPRS can be used as the bearer of SMS. If SMS over GPRS is used, an SMS transmission speed
of about 30 SMS messages per minute may be achieved. This is much faster than using the
ordinary SMS over GSM, whose SMS transmission speed is about 6 to 10 SMS messages per
minute. A GPRS modem is needed to send and receive SMS over GPRS. Note that some
wireless carriers do not support the sending and receiving of SMS over GPRS.
If you need to send or receive MMS messages, a GPRS modem is typically needed.

12.3. Which is Better: Mobile Phone or GSM / GPRS

Modem?
In general, a GSM/GPRS modem is recommended for use with a computer to send and receive
messages. This is because some mobile phones have certain limitations comparing to
GSM/GPRS modems. Some of the limitations are described below:
• Some mobile phone models (example: Ericsson R380) cannot be used with a computer to
receive concatenated SMS messages.

What is a concatenated SMS message?

A concatenated SMS message is a message that contains more than 140 bytes. (A normal
SMS message can only contain at most 140 bytes.) Concatenated SMS works like this:
the sender's mobile device breaks a message longer than 140 bytes into smaller parts.
Each of these parts are then fitted in a single SMS message and sent to the recipient.
When these SMS messages reach the destination, the recipient's mobile device will
combine them back to one message.

What is the cause of the problem?

When the mobile phone receives the SMS messages that are parts of a concatenated SMS
message, it combines them to one message automatically. The correct behavior should
be: when the mobile phone receives the SMS messages that are parts of a concatenated
SMS message, it forwards them to the computer without combining them.
• Many mobile phone models cannot be used with a computer to receive MMS messages.
Because when they receive a MMS notification, they handle it automatically instead of
forwarding it to the computer.
• A mobile phone may not support some AT commands, command parameters and
parameter values. For example, some mobile phones do not support the sending and
receiving of SMS messages in text mode. So, the AT command "AT+CMGF=1" (it
instructs the mobile phone to use text mode) will cause an error message to be returned.
Usually GSM/GPRS modems support a more complete set of AT commands than mobile
phones.
• Most SMS messaging applications have to be available 24 hours a day. (For example, an
SMS messaging application that provides ringtone downloading service should be
running all the time so that a user can download ringtones any time he/she wants.) If such
SMS messaging applications use mobile phones to send and receive SMS messages, the
mobile phones have to be switched on all the time. However, some mobile phone models
cannot operate with the battery removed even when an AC adaptor is connected, which
means the battery will be charged 24 hours a day.
Besides the above issues, mobile phones and GSM/GPRS modems are more or less the same for
sending and receiving SMS messages from a computer. Actually, you can consider an AT-
command-enabled mobile phone as "GSM/GPRS modem + keypad + display + ...".
There is not much difference between mobile phones and GSM/GPRS modems in terms of SMS
transmission rate, since the determining factor for the SMS transmission rate is the wireless
network.

Overview of GSM/GPRS Modems

Introduction
A GSM modem is a wireless modem that works with GSM networks. A wireless modem
behaves like a Hayes compatible dial-up modem. The main difference between a standard Hayes
modem and a GSM modem is that a hayes modem sends and receives data through a fixed
telephone line while a GSM modem sends and receives data through radio waves.
A GSM modem can be an external unit or a PCMCIA card (also called PC Card). An external
GSM modem is connected to a PC through a serial cable, a USB cable, Bluetooth or Infrared.
Like a GSM mobile phone, a GSM modem requires a SIM card from a wireless carrier in order
to operate.
PC's use AT commands to control a modem. GSM modems and normal Hayes modems support
a common set of AT commands. You can use a GSM modem just like a hayes compatible
modem.
GSM modems support an extended set of AT commands. These extended AT commands are
defined in the GSM standards. With the extended AT commands, you can do things like:
• Read, write and delete SMS messages.
• Send SMS messages.
• Monitor the signal strength.
• Monitor the charging status and charge level of the battery.
• Read, write and searche phone book entries.
The number of SMS messages that can be processed by a GSM modem is pretty low, approx six
messages per minute.
A GPRS modem is a GSM modem with additional support for GPRS technology for data
transmission. GPRS means: 'General Packet Radio Service'. It is based on a packet-switched
technology, as an extension to GSM (note thatGSM is a circuit-switched). An advantage of
GPRS over GSM is that GPRS has a much higher data transmission speed.
GPRS can be used as the bearer of SMS. If SMS over GPRS is used, an SMS transmission speed
of about 30 SMS messages per minute may be achieved. This is much faster than SMS over
GSM. A GPRS modem is required to send and receive SMS via GPRS. Some wireless carriers
do not support the sending and receiving of SMS via GPRS. A GPRS modem is typically
required for MMS.
List of GSM/GPRS wireless modems
This is a list of GSM and GPRS wireless modems:
• Audiotel Industrial GSM/GPRS Modem »
• Audiotel Industrial RTU GSM/GPRS Modem »
• BluOcean GSM-S-A1/U1/W1 modems »
• BluOcean GSM-U-A1/U1/W1 modems »
• BluOcean USB GSM Modem Mini »
• BluOcean GPRS-U-A1/U1/W1 modems »
• BluOcean GPRS-S-A5/U5/W5 modems »
• BluOcean GPRS-S-A5/U5/W5 modems »
• ConiuGo GPRS GSM Dualband Modem »
• ConiuGo GPRS GSM Quadband Modem »
• Cinterio MC35iT Terminal »
• Cinterio TC65T Quad-Band Terminal »
• Cinterio TC35iT Terminal »
• Duxbury 120M USB EDGE Modem »
• Duxbury 120S GSM GPRS FAX Modem »
• Duxbury 180M USB EDGE Modem »
• Duxbury 180S EGSM DATA VOICE FAX Modem »
• Elpro GSM GPRS modem E605-M1 »
• Elpro GSM GPRS modem E605-M1 »
• Enfora Spider SA »
• Falcom Samba Dual Band GSM/GPRS Modem »
• Falcom Samba 3G UMTS/HSDPA Quad Band Modem »
• Falcom Samba 55/56 - Tri Band GSM/GPRS Modem »
• Falcom Samba 75 - Quad Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE Modem »
• Falcom Tango Dual Band GSM/GPRS Modem »
• Falcom Twist GSM/GPRS Modem »
• iTegno 3800 GPRS Modem »
• iTegno 3832 GPRS Modem »
• iTegno 3845 GPRS Modem »
• iTegno 3932 GPRS Modem »
• iTegno 3945 GPRS Modem »
• Multi-Tech MultiModem GPRS Wireless Modem »
• Multi-Tech MultiModem GPRS Wireless Modem »
• Moxa OnCell G2100 GSM/GPRS Modem »
• Multi-Tech MMCModem GPRS »
• NexWireless TMF622 USB Modem »
• Siemens ES75 EDGE GSM Modem »
• Novatel Expedite E725 PCI Express Mini Card »
• Novatel Expedite E760 PCI Express Mini Card »
• Novatel Expedite EU850D PCI Express Mini Card »
• Novatel Expedite EU870D PCI Express Mini Card »
• Novatel Merlin CC760 ComboCard Modem »
• Novatel Merlin X720 3G ExpressCard »
• Novatel Merlin X950D ExpressCard »
• Novatel Merlin XU870 3G ExpressCard »
• Novatel Merlin XV620 3G ExpressCard »
• Novatel Ovation MC727 USB Modem »
• Novatel Ovation MC930D Compact HSPA USB Modem »
• Novatel Ovation MC935D Compact HSPA USB Modem »
• Novatel Ovation MC950D HSDPA HSUPA UMTS USB Modem »
• Novatel Ovation MC990D Compact HSPA USB Modem »
• Option GTM380 Express MiniCard »
• Option GlobeTrotter Express 441 »
• Option GlobeTrotter Express 442 »
• Option GlobeTrotter Express HSUPA »
• Option GlobeTrotter GT MAX HSUPA »
• Option GTM382 MiniCard module »
• Option GTM501 wireless module »
• Option iCON 031 USB Device »
• Option iCON 210 USB Modem »
• Option iCON 225 HSDPA USB modem »
• Option iCON 315 USB modem »
• Option iCON 322 USB Device »
• Option iCON 401 USB Device »
• Option iCON 431 USB Device »
• Option iCON 451 USB Device »
• Option iCON 452 USB Device »
• Option iCON 505 USB Device »
• Option Gobi 1000 »
• Option Gobi 2000 »
• Rutronik GS64 Terminal »
 • Rutronik GT64 Terminal »
• Rutronik GT863-PY Terminal »
• Rutronik GT864 Terminal »
• Rutronik UT864 UMTS Terminal »
• Siemens M20 Terminal »
• Siemens MTC45MC and MTC45TC Terminal »
• Siemens TC35 Terminal »
• Siemens TC65 GSM Modem »
• Teltonika Handheld GPS GSM Tracker GH1201 »
• Teltonika Handheld GPS GSM Tracker GH1202 »
• Telit GT863-PY terminal »
• Telit GT864-QUAD-PY terminal »
• Teltonika ModemUSB G10 »
• Teltonika ModemCOM G10 »
• Teltonika ModemPCI G10 »
• WaveCom Fastrack GO »
• WaveCom Fastrack M1306B GSM Modem »
• WaveCom Fastrack Supreme »
• WaveCom Fastrack Xtend »
• WaveCom Integra M2106B GSM Modem »
• WaveCom Integra M2106+ »
• WaveCom m-track 25 »
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How to check does GSM modem works

Sometimes you can think that Neo1973 does not want to recognize your SIM card. Werner
Almesberger sent informations how to check it to framework-devel list. I want to extend it a bit.
• First GSM daemon need to be stopped as we want to have total control over modem.
/etc/init.d/gsmd stop
• Power On GSM modem:
echo 1 >/sys/bus/platform/devices/gta01-pm-gsm.0/power_on
• Start cu terminal to talk with modem:
cu -E @ -l /dev/ttySAC0
Connected.
AT-Command Interpreter Ready
(do not panic if you will get other line after ‘Connected’)
• Enable echo:
ATE1
• Enable error reporting with texts instead of numbers:
AT+CMEE=2
• Enable modem functionality:
AT+CFUN=1
here you can get +CME ERROR: SIM PIN required message so you need to enter PIN
• Pass PIN:
AT+CPIN="1234"
AT+CFUN=1
replace 1234 with proper PIN of course - Select network operator (register to network)
AT+COPS
• Dial someone
ATD123456789;
semicolon is needed to mark that this will be voice call — my SE k750i phone recognize both
form but also give me information does it is voice or data call.
If this sequence does not work on your phone then write to mailing list.
Share/Bookmark
Related posts:
1. GSM Modem in my Neo1973 works
2. Things to check with Nokia N900
3. Hotpluging usbnet
4. Video calls are important feature of today phone
5. OpenMoko testing continues…
Tagged with openmoko, phone.
Comments Off
By Marcin Juszkiewicz – May 29, 2007
« 30 years of StarWars British rail »
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• Things to check with Nokia N900
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The following have been reported by others to operate:
Phone Modem by
Sony CMD-J5* Data cable QN-3RS Alex Owen
*
To work well with Linux, initialisation strings need to be: "AT&F&D2" then
"AT+CBST=71,0,1".

Mondial models reported to work

The following have been reported by others to operate:
Phone Modem by
Mondial ML808 Cable RS-232 serial connection Dmitry Veprintsev

Nokia models reported to work

The following have been reported to operate:
Phone Modem by
Nokia 6081 (non- GSM Ready / 14k4 pstn modem Gerard van Winssen
portable) by Option
Infrared port
Nokia 6110 Marko Hyvärinen
and gnokii software
Nokia 6120 Classic 3G USB cable Dave Davey
Philippe Temesi
Infrared port
Nokia 6210 & Schoppitsch
Cable connector
Dieter
Infrared port
Nokia 6250 Philippe Temesi
Cable connector
Infrared port
Nokia 6310 Philippe Temesi
Cable connector
Nokia 6600 Infrared port Dave Davey
Infrared port
Nokia 6610 Also has DKU-5 USB cable which does not work Dave Davey
with Linux
Infrared port Paul de Weerd
Nokia 7110
Cable connector Helen Dale
Nokia 8210 Infrared port Guenther Wieser
Nokia 8250 Infrared port Dave Davey
Nokia 8290 Infrared port Alexandru Ionescu
Mikko Rapeli
IrDA
Nokia 8310 Settings available
GPRS mode
here
Infrared port
Nokia 9110 or Dave Davey
Cable RS232 serial connection
Infrared port Hans Ekkehard
Nokia 9210 or Plesser
Cable RS232 serial connection Info here.
Nokia Cardphone 2.0 PCMCIA device Robert Michel
Nokia N70 GSM via USB cable or Bluetooth Jorge Nerin

Motorola models reported to work

The following have been reported to operate:
Phone Modem by
Motorola 7389 (GPRS prototype) Infrared port Alberto de Vega Luna
Motorola 7389i (GPRS Infrared port
Nikolov Assen
prototype) - GPRS & CSD
Infrared port (not FAX commands)
Motorola L7089 but not Michael McConnell
serial cable (MS Windows only)
Infrared port (Some reservations)
Motorola L718 but not Dave Davey
serial cable (MS Windows only)
Motorola P280 (Tri-band) Serial Cable (No fax commands) Karl Miller
USB cable
Motorola TP280 Mikko Markus Torni
(stability problems)
Serial cable (3 wire - no SLIP)
Motorola Ti260 (GPRS model) Mihai Roman
Infrared port (maybe - not yet tested)
Infrared port (software flow control
Motorola L7389 Dave Davey
only)
Infrared port (including FAX
commands)
Motorola Ti250 Michael McConnell
but not
serial cable (MS Windows only)
Motorola Accompli 008
Serial cable Alfthan Juho
GPRS capable
Motorola C350 USB cable Luigi Corsello
Motorola L6 USB cable (cdc-acm kernel module) Andreas Hinz

Alcatel models that might work

The following information has been provided to me that suggest these phones could work with
linux. Reports requested!
Phone Modem by
Alcatel one touch pocket Serial data cable Benjamin Green
Alcatel OT 735i TD10 data cable (USB with 2.6.7rc1 or later kernel) Benjamin Green

Sagem models reported to work

The following information has been provide to me
Phone Modem by
Sagem MC939 Serial data cable Jindra Vavruska

Merlin models reported to work

The following information has been provided to me
Phone Modem by
Merlin G201 PCMCIA Card device Oliver Kurth

ZTE models reported to work

The following information has been provided to me
Phone Modem by
ZTE F152 3G Qualcomm USB Indika Bandara Udagedara

Samsung models reported to work

The following information has been provided to me
Phone Modem by
 Blackjack 1 & 2 3G HSDPA - USB or BlueTooth Dan Kelly

Wavecom models reported to work

The following information has been provided to me
Model Modem by
Wavecom FASTRACK M1206 modem Serial cable Phil

Restrictions
IrDA for Linux was under intensive development during the development of the 2.2 series
kernels, and required IrDA patches to work properly. You will find the later 2.2 series kernels
patched with IrDA patches work really well. The 2.4 and later series kernels have these as a
standard feature. Older kernels including some on commercial Linux distributions are not very
reliable.
There may be serious restrictions with particular phones.
• Some Nokia phones do not use a simple serial protocol via their IrDA interfaces
(reportedly including the 6110, 6120, 6150 models). The gnokii project provides a user
interface for these phones. The more recently released Nokia phones do not impose this
limitation.
• SMS is not supported by all GSM modems, particularly older ones. Once you can
connect to your modem, try giving it one of the mandatory SMS commands such as
AT+CSMS? which should not produce an error if SMS is supported. (If you want more
information on SMS please see note at the end of this document.)
GSM network services (the simcard provider) may restrict data/fax connections:
• You may need to request data/fax access for your network account.
• You may need to pay an extra fee for network data/fax connection access.
• Your data/fax access may not be supported in foreign countries even though voice access
is available.
• SMS is not supported by all GSM networks.
There are general restrictions:
• For the first generation GSM phones using CSD (Circuit Switched Data), normal serial
speed is 9600 baud, with compression techniques said to increase to an effective 38400
baud. Of course the speed can be limited at the other end of the data link. If you are
calling a conventional modem on the PSD network, the GSM network will convert your
digital data stream to an analog one on the PSD, and the speed can then be limited by the
called modem. If you call a modem with a digital link, e.g. another mobile phone, the
GSM speed limit will apply. This was supposed to increase significantly, to about 170
kbaud with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) where this service is available. A
number of contributors to this page have reported that they have generally experienced
"slow" speeds (slower than CSD), though the service in Finland is an exception to this.
On the other hand GPRS allows for traffic rather than time charging which is an
advantage for many purposes. Since many planned 3rd generation services are built upon
 GPRS, it is possible speeds will improve (and probably become more sensitive to the
total network traffic).

Please help improve this information

If you have experience with Linux and GSM-phone-modems other than the ones mentioned here,
please let me know by e-mail. I would particular appreciate information on experience with
Australian CDMA phones and Linux.

Note on SMS
It is not the intention of this page to provide information on SMS capabilities of GSM modems.
These vary considerably depending on manufacturer, model (year of manufacture), modes
supported and the range of optional commands supported. Documentation on the particular
modem needs to be consulted for this information. I do not have access to most of these
documents, and not all manuals provide listings of supported commands, as it appears to be
assumed that any computer writing and reading messages will use proprietary Windows
software. The contributors to this page have not generally been interested in SMS and have not
provided me with advice on whether SMS is supported.
If the documentation on your modem does not provide SMS commands, and you wish to pursue
these questions yourself, I suggest looking at Linux SMS software (e.g. SMS Tools), and/or
reading the European Telecommunications Standard document ETS 300 585 which you can
download from ETSI.

381,911 accesses.
Maintained by Dave Davey daved@physiol.usyd.edu.au
Last updated 4 June 2010

GSM Standards
• Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) is the most widely used standard for
cell phones in the world. The GSM Association promotes its use and claims that 80
percent of all mobile phones are using the GSM standard. GSM is the network these cell
phones use. This means each of these phones search for a cell in the area in which they're
being used. This means there must be a GSM network to handle all GSM-based phone
calls.
GSM Network
• The GSM network is a cellular network. Cellular networks are radio networks that consist
of cells. Each cell is a cell site that consists of an elevated tower that contains transceivers
(transmitters and receivers), signal processors, a timing receiver and electrical power
sources. The GSM network refers to these towers as base stations or Base Transceiver
Stations (BTS). The size of each cell refers to the coverage area it's designed for. There
are five different cell sizes. The cell size, called a macro, is the size used in GSM mobile
phone systems.
Subscriber Identity Module
• The subscriber identity module (or SIM card) is a key feature of a GSM cell phone. The
SIM contains the subscription profile and address book. Although the SIM card contains
account information that prevents or enables certain services, the handset (cell phone) is
the device that locks the user into a specific phone. The phone can be locked from
accepting any other SIM card or multiple SIM cards.
TDMA Technology
• Time division multiple access (TDMA) is the access method GSM uses for shared
networks. In the GSM network, more than one cell phone user can use the same
frequency channel. This can occur because the signal is divided into time slots. A cell
phone user in this system uses only a small portion of the base station channel capacity.
Each TDMA frame contains eight time slots. GSM uses TDMA to raise the efficiency of
the network.
Using A GSM Phone
• Just because a cell phone can be turned on doesn't mean it can be used to make a phone
call. A GSM phone must connect to a base station via a signal. When a phone is turned
on, the phone searches for a signal to connect with. GSM technology assigns a maximum
range for its macro base stations of about 25 miles. In highly populated areas, base
stations are grouped and even overlapped so that their phones are never without an
available signal.
Sharing GSM Signals
• Behind the scenes, a cell phone is in constant contact with the available base station,
moving in and out of range of one and into the range of the next one. This connecting and
reconnecting happens through the relationship of a GSM controller, located on the base
station, and a GSM phone's inner mechanism. When a GSM cell phone moves toward a
tower or mast, it checks for the strongest signal available and connects. Simultaneously,
the weaker mast signal is released and becomes available for the next u

Read more: How Does a GSM Phone Work? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-

does_5041190_gsm-phone-work.html#ixzz1JWGsZxzj