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# 53

Global System for Mobile Communications

Document A

§1 During the early 1980s, analog cellular telephone systems were experiencing rapid growth in Europe. Each country developed its own system, which was incompatible with everyone else's in equipment and operation. This was an undesirable situation, because not only was the mobile equipment limited to operation within national boundaries, but there was also a very limited market for each type of equipment, so economies of scale and the subsequent savings could not be realized. The Europeans realized this, and in 1982 the Conference of European Posts and Telegraphs (CEPT) formed a study group called the Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) to study and develop a pan-European public land mobile system

§2 In 1989, GSM responsibility was transferred to the European Telecommunication Standards Institute, and phase I of the GSM specifications were published in 1990. Commercial service was started in mid-1991, and by 1993 there were 36 GSM networks in 22 countries. Although standardized in Europe, GSM is not only a European standard. Over 200 GSM networks are operational in 110 countries around the world. In the beginning of 1994, there were 1.3 million subscribers worldwide, which had grown to more than 55 million by October 1997 (1) . With North America making a delayed entry into the GSM field, GSM systems exist on every continent, and the acronym GSM now stands for Global System for Mobile communications.

§3 The developers of GSM chose an unproven (at the time) digital system, as opposed to the then-standard analog cellular systems like AMPS in the United States and TACS in the United Kingdom. They had faith that advancements in compression algorithms and digital signal processors would allow the fulfillment of the original criteria and the continual improvement of the system in terms of quality and cost.

Document B

§4 Using the ITU-T definitions, telecommunication services can be divided into bearer services, teleservices, and supplementary services. The most basic teleservice supported by GSM is telephony. As with all other communications, speech is digitally encoded and transmitted through the GSM network as a digital stream. There is also an emergency service, where the nearest emergency-service provider is notified by dialing three digits (similar to 911).

§5 A variety of data services is offered. GSM users can send and receive data, at rates up to 9600 bps. Since GSM is a digital network, a modem is not required between the user and GSM network, although an audio modem is required inside the GSM network to interwork with POTS (Plain Old Telephone Services)

§6 A unique feature of GSM, not found in older analog systems, is the Short Message Service (SMS). SMS is a bi-directional service for short alphanumeric (up to 160 bytes) messages. Messages are transported in a store-and-forward fashion. For point-to-point SMS, a message can be sent to another subscriber to the service, and an acknowledgement of receipt is provided to the sender. SMS can also be used in a cell-broadcast mode, for sending messages such as traffic updates or news updates. Messages can also be stored in the SIM card for later retrieval.

§7 Supplementary services are provided on top of teleservices or bearer services. In the current (Phase I) specifications, they include several forms of call forward (such as call forwarding when the mobile subscriber is unreachable by the network).. Many additional supplementary services will be provided in the Phase 2 specifications, such as caller identification, call waiting, multi-party conversations.

John Scourias - University of Waterloo (October 14, 1997)

(1) according to other sources, there were 194 million subscribers in 1997.

BUILD UP YOUR READING STRATEGY

1 Word building

a. Have a quick look at the text and pick up five words formed with the suffix -MENT.

• Analyse these words : What is the root word of each one : a noun ? a verb ? an adjective ? What do these words mean ?
• Do you know other similar nouns ?
• How would you say : nécéssité, exigence (to require) -des progrès ( to advance) - un devoir à faire à la maison ( to assign) - un fichier joint [par email] (to attach)

b. Look at paragraphs 3 and 7 and pick up two words with the prefix UN.

• What does the prefix mean ? Can you think of other prefixes with the same meaning ?
• Give the opposite of : damaged, easy, connect, like, protected, employment, able, stable, appear, cover.

c. §7 unreachable
The suffix -ABLE is the same as in French and can be used to form neologisms (new words).
What is the root word in unreachable ? Is it a noun ? an adjective ? a verb ?

Use the root words to translate the following French words :
French words : effaçable, configurable, extractible, profitable, imprimable, pouvant être mis en réseau, réinscriptible.
Root words : to configure, to erase, to rewrite, to reprint, to profit, to extract, network

2 Dangerous little words. The following words have several meanings. Analyse the context to find the right one.

• BY: Let's go by bus ( Allons-y en bus) - We must be back by 12 ( Nous devons être rentrés pour midi, au plus tard à midi) - 10 feet by 15 ( 3mètres sur 4). What does by mean in § 2 ( by 1993 )?
• OVER: he jumped over the wall (Il a sauté par dessus le mur) - I'll think over the problem (Je réfléchirai au problème) - She's over 70 (Elle plus de 70 ans). What does over mean in § 2 (over 200 GSM networks )?
• AS : he was given a car as a wedding present (On lui a donné une voiture comme [ = en tant que] cadeau de mariage) - I'll do as I like (Je ferai comme [= comparaison] je le veux) As we are late, we'll drive there (Comme [= étant donné que] nous sommes en retard, nous irons en voiture). What does as mean in § 4 (as with all other communications and as a digital stream )?
• UP TO : It's up to you (Ca dépend de toi) - Count up to 10 (Comptez jusqu'à 10) - He is up to something (Il mijote quelque chose). What does up to mean in § 5 (up to 9600bps) ?

3 Vocabulary. Use the context to approach the meaning of

§1 boundaries, (could not be) realized, (the Europeans) realized
§5 plain (Is it a noun, an adjective, a verb, an adverb ?)
§7 (call) forward(ing) (Is it a noun, an adjective, a verb, an adverb ?)

4 Pick up a contracted adverb clause (= forme elliptique) in §2

First, rewrite it as a full clause, then do the same with the following sentences :

* Even though turned off, a phone can store messages in its SIM card for later retrieval.
* While roaming (= en déplacement) in a foreign country, a subscriber can still send and receive messages.

5 - §1 " not only was the (…) equipment limited (…), but there was also … ".

a. Note the collocation " not only …but also" = non seulement[il y a ceci] … mais aussi [il y a cela].
b. Notice that the sentence begins with a negative word (not only).
c. Note the verb form " was the (…) equipment… ". In what kind of sentences can you find this word order ? Statements, questions, negations ?
d. Other examples : He did not say a word >> Not a word did he say. - Computers no longer simply permit to … >> No longer do computers simply permit to.…
e. Recast with the pattern in (a):
GSM is a European standard; it is also used on every continent
You can have the usual services; you can also have supplementary services.

UNDERSTAND THE TEXT

6 Give a title to parts A and B. Choose among :
a/ Why GSM developed in Europe first - b/ Services provided by GSM -c/ Economic problems connected with GSM - d/ Technical data about GSM - e/ History of GSM.

7 Right or wrong (§1)

• Cellular phones developed in the early 1980s.
• But this development was disorderly. (= anarchique)
• Several countries co-operated from the very beginning.
• It was impossible for a Frenchman to phone an Englishman.
• Being limited to national markets posed economic problems.
• The first mobile system that could be used everywhere in Europe appeared on the market in 1982.

8 What do we know about the following dates? (§2)
1989 - 1991 -1993 -1994 -1997.

9 Answer the questions.(§2,3)

• What part did Americans play in the development of GSM's standards?
• What do the letters GSM mean?
• Which technique was chosen?
• At the time was it a safe and well-known technique?
• Which technical advances did the designers expect? Were they right in their predictions? How do you know?

10 a. List all the services mentioned in Part B of the text.

b. Say what you have understood about:

• telephony and transmission;
• sending / receiving messages and modems,
• the Short Message Service: the kind of messages, how messages are transported, the ways to send individual or collective messages. What happens if you are not on line when a message comes in?
• supplementary services a/ already existing , b/ planned for the future.

IMPROVE YOUR LANGUAGE

11 Passive verbs.

a. Pick up the passive verbs in Part B.

b. Turn into the passive. (Keep the same tenses)

• CEPT formed a study group in 1982.
• This group studied and developed a pan-European system.
• They marketed the digital phone in 1991.
• Before this date, incompatibility had limited the development of networks.
• Today, a user can receive or send data.
• You may use SMS to send private or collective messages.
• The system does not require a modem betweeen the user and GS network.
• Soon, cell-phones will provide new services;
• These new services will attract more subscribers.

12 Must and may : how to express certainty and possibility / eventuality

a. Concerning the present and the future.

A : Where's my phone ?
B : It must be on the table. I saw it there five minutes ago.
A : Who's calling ?
B: It may be John, he said he would call us today.
Choose the right statement : must refers to something which is practically sure? or something possible but not quite sure ? What about may ?

b. Expressing the same ideas but about the past

A : Why didn't John call yesterday ?
B : He must have forgotten, you know how absent-minded (= tête en l'air) he is.
C : Why didn't John call yesterday ?
D : I don't know, he may have forgotten or he may have been too busy.
Note the pattern : modal + have + past participle.

c. Recast using a modal + the right pattern.

• In the 80s, using a mobile phone was certainly expensive.
• Cell-phones will perhaps replace POTS within 10 years.
• In the 80s, it is sure that only rich people used mobile phones.
• The majority of people will certainly have cell-phones within a few years.
• In the early 80s, perhaps the developers of GSM did not have full confidence in the technology they were promoting.
• A major change certainly happened when the USA adopted GSM standards.
• The variety of services offered has perhaps played a part in today's fast development of cell-phones.

13 Relative clauses.

a. Pick up two relatives clauses.(§1,2)

b. Recast each pair of sentences as one, using a relative clause.

• Europeans created the Groupe Spécial Mobile. They wanted to standardise equipment.
• In 1982 the developers chose a digital systems. This digital system was still unproven.
• The British adopted GSM specifications. The British were using a non standard TACS system.
• The cell-phone relies on digital technology. Lots of people now uses the cell-phone.
• An international compatible network is essential for some people. Some people often roam (=se déplacent) in foreign countries.
• GSM's services are telephony, SMS and call forwarding. These services are part of Phase I specifications.
• POTS are likely to disappear in less than a decade. We use POTS nowadays.

14 Linkwords

a. Analyse each pair of sentences and decide what kind of relationship is expressed. (It can be : opposition, cause, consequence, aim, adding a new idea, giving examples, means, etc…)

b. Link the pairs of sentences using the required kind of linkword. (Make the necessary changes.)
" In the 80s, European countries felt the need for a new system. The old ones were incompatible. " Each country was using its own system. Economy of scale could not be achieved. " In 1982 a study group was formed : it had to develop a pan-European network. " In the Phase 2 specifications, new services will be provided : caller identification, call waiting, etc… " There is a point-to-point SMS. The system can also be used in cell-broadcast mode. " A modem is not required between a user and GSM network. A modem is required to interwork with POTS. " You can connect with POTS : ( the problem is that) you need an audio modem. " GSM has become a great success . The cause ? the advancement in compression algorithms and signal processing.

COMMUNICATE

15 Translation into French (§1).
a. " own : is it a verb, a noun, a kind of adjective ? What does it indicate or stress ? - " Which word is left unexpressed ( sous-entendu) after everyone else's ? Not only … but also : look again at exercise 5
b. Translate the passage into French.

16 Oral work.
" Have you got a cell-phone ? What are your reasons for having / for not having one ?
" One can often see and hear people phoning or answering phone calls anywhere, at the cinema, at church, at a concert, in school, in the middle of a business meeting, etc. How do you react to this ?
To express indifference or hostility, you can use :
" I don't see why… " They should (not) (+ base verbale) " I /they don't mind (+ING) " I don't / can't agree with (+ nom / verbe en ING) " They / I can't be bothered by (+ nom / verbe en ING) [ils se/ je me fiche(ent) pas mal de] " I / they don't care if … " They'd better ) (+ base verbale) [ils feraient mieux de] " It's no concern of mine / theirs [Ca n'est pas mon / leur problême] " I / they couldn't care less [Ca m'est /leur est complètement égal] " It doesn't matter(to me / to them) if / that…

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Source :
Overview of the Global System for Mobile Communications John Scourias - University of Waterloo (October 14, 1997) scourias@voicenet.com

My note: I have not been able to contact Mr Scourias for copyright purposes. Should anyne know how he can be contacted, please let me know at jc.viel@libertysurf.fr

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