GPRS or General Packet Radio Service is a method, in the course of which 2G phones are developed to facilitate them to send and receive data at a great speed. With this GPRS connection, the phone is always on and can transfer data typically at a speed of 32-48 kbps without any delay. Moreover, the added advantage is that the data can be transferred at the same time while making a voice call. GPRS is part of a series of technologies that are intended to move 2G networks nearer to the performance of 3G networks. This speed at which data is transferred is determined by the class of a GPRS phone. Technically the class refers to the number of timeslots available for upload (sending data from the phone) or downloads (receiving data from the network). The timeslots used for data are in addition to the slot that is reserved for voice calls. These timeslots are available concurrently, therefore the greater the number of slots, the faster the data transfer speed. GPRS transmits data in packet and therefore the timeslots are shared amongst all users of the network instead of making use of them all the time which in turn increases the overall data capacity of the network. The bill for using this technology depends on the quantity of data transmitted and not on the time of being online.
