Press Releases

Telecel today showed to the Media the GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) technology, which is been testing since early this year and will revolutionise the usage of Data Services and the access to the Internet over GSM networks.

In demonstration were several applications that soon may be implemented using the GPRS technology, namely Internet surfing, access to WAP services, e-mail transactions and online chatting.

For this demonstration, Telecel engineers created a communication circuit by GPRS between Telecel’s technical headquarters in Lisbon and Porto. It used prototype handsets with the technology that established permanent communication by infra red with laptops, which can demonstrate the great advantages of data transmission by GPRS in situations requiring mobility.

When GPRS is used in conjunction with WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) Internet access becomes faster, which in turn makes it easier and quicker to look up WAP sites on your mobile phone, make e-commerce transactions and use other services valued by Customers. Telecel launched its WAP service, the first in Portugal, in November 1999.

António Coimbra, Telecel’s Vice-President for Customer Relation said that “the usage of GPRS technology will bring evident advantages for our Customers, once it allows faster access at lower rates, and with the possibility of being permanently on-line and be billed just for the volume of information transmitted.
As a cellular and Internet service provider which also offers fixed services in Portugal, Telecel is again in a good position to develop new projects that will contribute to the growth of the information society in our country. With this technology, Telecel aims to maintain its leadership in the mobile data and Internet revolution.“

GPRS is a data transmission system by packages, which allows its users to be permanently on-line and it also increases the speed of data communications above those achievable on GSM networks which are currently at 9600 bps. In the future, GPRS will enable rates to go higher than a transmission rate of 100.000 bps.