The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablets. GSM is also a trade mark owned by the GSM Association. GSM may also refer to the Full Rate voice codec.
Thomas Haug (first GSM president) and Philippe Dupuis (second GSM president) during a GSM meeting in Belgium, April 1992
Prototype GSM phones
GSM cell site antennas in the Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany
A nano sim used in mobile phones
A cellular network or mobile network is a telecommunications network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless and the network is distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver. These base stations provide the cell with the network coverage which can be used for transmission of voice, data, and other types of content. A cell typically uses a different set of frequencies from neighboring cells, to avoid interference and provide guaranteed service quality within each cell.
Top of a cellular radio tower
Indoor cell site in Germany