(AGI) - Rome, Jul 1 - Ericsson celebrates today 15 years of GSM (Global
System for Mobile Communication.) It was, in fact, Ericsson which first
supplied the network through which German operator Mannesmann made the first
commercial telephone call on July 1, 1991, with what then became the most
popular technical standard in the world for mobile phone users. In the 15
years following, GSM networks firstly replaced the old TACS system, then even
managed to open new frontiers for communication, such as UMTS.
Today, one out of three people in the world own a GSM mobile phone. In June
2005, the number of users exceeded 2 billion, 80 percent of the global mobile
market. The country with the greatest number of mobile phone users is China
(370 million users.) Next are Russia (145 million) and India (83 million.)
"I am proud to be able to state that Ericsson has made a great
contribution to technological development," declared the Swedish
company's vice president, Jan Uddenfeldt, "Looking to the future, GSM
technology's evolutions, such as the 3G system, may double the use of the
internet in just a few years. Often, 3G is the only way to collect information
on the internet, especially in developing countries." Furthermore, this
year Ericsson will also celebrate another important anniversary, the 50th
anniversary of the mobile phone. (AGI) .
