GERAN is an abbreviation for
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...
EDGE Radio Access Network. The standards for GERAN are maintained by the
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is an umbrella term for a number of standards organizations which develop protocols for mobile telecommunications. Its best known work is the development and maintenance of:
* GSM and related 2G and ...
(Third Generation Partnership Project). GERAN is a key part of GSM, and also of combined
UMTS
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a 3G mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. UMTS uses Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, wideband code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technolog ...
/GSM networks.
GERAN is the radio part of GSM/
EDGE together with the network that joins the base stations (the Ater and Abis interfaces) and the
base station controllers (A interfaces, etc.) The network represents the core of a GSM network, through which phone calls and packet data are routed from and to the
PSTN
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the aggregate of the world's telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telephony operators. It provides infrastructure and services for public telephony. The PSTN consists ...
and Internet to and from subscriber handsets. A mobile phone operator's network comprises one or more GERANs, coupled with
UTRANs in the case of a UMTS/GSM network.
A GERAN without EDGE is a GRAN, but is otherwise identical in concept.
A GERAN without GSM is an ERAN.
See also
*
UTRAN : UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
References
External links
3GPP GERAN Plenary page
GSM standard
{{radio-comm-stub