General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)

Europe's packet switched wireless data (not voice) communication technology based on Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard. GPRS offers maximum speed of 115 kilobits per second (kb/s) and typical speed of 40 to 50 kb/s, compared to the maximum GSM speed of 9.6 kb/s. Introduced in 2002, it provides intermittent data transfer (in short bursts of about 500 octet size) and user is billed for the amount of data sent, not for airtime.