This article will help you understand what the Edge option on your phone means.

If you use the Internet through your phone, then you may have a question: what does Edge mean in a phone? This option helps to increase the speed of information transfer in GSM networks. In order for you to use it, your operator mobile communications should support this option.

Heavy load on network lines, the level of data supply, the amount of free information in the network database - all this affects the operation of Edge. But using this option has its advantages compared to gprs:

• Highest speed of information transfer.
• Possibility of access to global network from anywhere in your locality.

Currently, this seemingly modern, but already slightly outdated option is gradually being forced out of the global mobile communications market. Evolution of standards cellular communications moves forward. This is necessary for consumers who live in the rhythm of a big city. After all, you need access to the Internet not only at home or at work, but also on the subway or on a minibus on the way home.

Users often ask the question: what does Edge mean in Samsung? In phone Samsung Galaxy S7 edge prefix talks about curved screen. This version is much more popular than the previous model.

It's rare to find a user with Edge on their phone these days. This technology is being replaced by 3G and 4G networks. They have an even higher information transfer speed and a better signal.

Video: SPEEDTEST WIFI VS 2G/EDGE VS 3G VS 4G/LTE

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Every Internet user knows what edge is on a phone. This option is designed to speed up data transfer on GSM networks, and it must be supported by the mobile operator you use.

The quality of edge work is affected by network congestion, operator signal strength, and the amount of free basic network resources.

Why is this technology needed?

• This option first appeared in 2004 in North America. The main purpose of edge is to provide high-speed Internet access to the user of a modern gadget.
• This function is necessary for business people who need to quickly send information via the network.
• This option is also needed by ordinary people who cannot imagine their life without the Internet and those who do not have desktop computer to access the World Wide Web.
• Edge has its advantages over gprs - higher speed and the ability to access the Internet from almost anywhere in the city.
• gprs has an unstable connection, and the data transfer speed rarely exceeds 56 Kbps, which is very slow by modern standards.

How edge works

• At the time of its conception, edge was supposed to be just an extension of gprs. But later this idea was abandoned. Due to the fact that edge uses 8-PSK, the Internet speed is twice as fast as gprs.
• In fact, this speed is much lower than the declared almost 400 k/bit per second. It all depends on the settings and capabilities mobile operator. When transmitting information via edge, timeslots are used.
• Edge is capable of transmitting up to 48 Kbps in one stream, while gprs's capabilities in this regard are only 9 Kbps. But such data transfer rates are only possible under ideal conditions.
• In cases where there is a failure in the operator’s network, the user cannot access the Internet. Edge is gradually being forced out of the global market, as it is being replaced by 3G and 4G networks. Edge fall into the 2G and 2.5G network categories.

Let's start with GPRS as the slowest standard. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service - packet radio communication common use) is an add-on to GSM used for packet data transmission. The GPRS standard allows the user to exchange data with other devices on the GSM network and with devices located on external networks, including the Internet.

GPRS collects information in packets (packet communication principle) and transmits it through voice channels, which this moment are not used. The priority of voice or data (what is more important - voice or data?) is selected by the operator. Typically voice is more important than data.

If GPRS uses several free channels, then the data transfer speed may be low, but quite sufficient for working on the Internet. The maximum speed with all occupied channels (or time slots) is 171 Kbps. It is clear that in practice one can only dream of such speed.

There are different classes of GPRS. All of them differ in data transfer speed and the ability to combine a voice call and data transfer.

• Class A - allows you to make or receive a call and at the same time transfer data. The class is outdated; since 2005, class A devices are no longer produced.
• Class B - provides automatic switching between sessions, i.e. During breaks between sessions of receiving and transmitting data, you can make calls.
• Class C - used in GPRS modems (and not in mobile phones) and implies only one type of service - only data transfer or only voice calls.

In general, GPRS classes consist of two parts: we have already considered the first part of the class (A, B and C) it determines the possibility of simultaneous data and voice transmission. And the second part of the class specifies the number of time slots and, therefore, the data transfer rate.

GPRS classes (transmission speed)

Class	Reception	Broadcast	Total
1	1	1	2
2	2	1	3
3	2	2	4
4	3	1	4
5	2	2	4
6	3	2	4
7	3	3	4
8	4	1	5
9	3	2	5
10	4	2	5
11	4	3	5
12	4	4	5
13	3	3	-
14	4	4	-
15	5	5	-
16	6	6	-
17	7	7	-
18	8	8	-
19	6	2	-
20	6	3	-
21	6	4	-
22	6	5	-
23	6	6	-
24	8	2	-
25	8	3	-
26	8	4	-
27	8	5	-
28	8	6	-
29	8	8	-
32	5	3	6

Receive is the number of time slots to receive data, and transmit is the number of time slots to transmit data.

As with any other data network, data can be transferred from the Network (download) and to the Network (upload). Modern phones can simultaneously use four time slots to download data from the network (download) and up to two time slots to upload data to the network (upload). This is class 10 - a 4+2 scheme (see table). Simultaneous use of four time slots to download data from the Internet allows you to achieve a data transfer rate of 85 Kbps. That is, one time slot provides data transmission at a speed of 21.4 Kbps. It is clear that the maximum speed (85 Kbps) may not be achieved, since there are not always four free channels.

When connecting to GPRS, a virtual channel is allocated to the subscriber. The channel is dynamic, i.e. now it is used by one user, and when he no longer needs it, it can be used by another user. The same channel can be used by different users. This results in a packet queue and communication delay. In modern networks, one time slot can be used by sixteen subscribers at different times and up to 5 time slots per frequency, resulting in 80 subscribers who use GPRS on one communication channel (the average maximum speed is (21.4 x 5)/ 80 = 1.3 Kbit/s per subscriber).

But there is another case when time slots are packaged into one continuous stream, displacing voice subscribers to other frequencies. In this case, the speed will reach the maximum possible for class 10 - 4+2 time slots or 85 Kbps for receiving data and 42.8 Kbps for sending.

EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) is a digital technology for mobile communications, which is an add-on to GPRS.

To provide EDGE support in the GSM network, the following modifications are used:
• ECSD (Enhanced Circuit-Switched Data) accelerated access to the Internet via the CSD channel;
• EHSCSD (Enhanced High-Speed ​​Circuit Switched Data) - high-speed Internet access via the HSCSD channel;
• EGPRS (Enhanced GPRS) - access via GPRS channel.

EDGE technology uses 8PSK modulation for five of the eight code schemes (MCS). Compared to GPRS, this modulation increases the data transfer speed by 3 times.

The maximum theoretical data transfer rate is 474 Kbps (8 time slots of 59.2 Kbps each), this speed is achieved with the MCS-9 encoding scheme (see table).

EDGE Data Rate

Coding scheme	Speed ​​of one slot, Kbit/s	Maximum speed, Kbit/s (using 8 channels)	Modulation
MCS-1	8.8	70,4	GMSK
MCS-2	11.2	89,6	GMSK
MCS-3	14.8	118,4	GMSK
MCS-4	17.6	140,8	GMSK
MCS-5	22.4	179,2	8-PSK
MCS-6	29.6	236,8	8-PSK
MCS-7	44.8	358,4	8-PSK
MCS-8	54.4	435,2	8-PSK
MCS-9	59.2	473,6	8-PSK

Now we are very close to our days - to 3G technology. More precisely, 3G is not a technology, but the third generation of mobile communications, combining not only data transmission, but high-speed data transmission - Internet access speeds are up to 2 Gbit/s. There are two common 3G standards in the world: UMTS (mainly in Europe) and CDMA2000 (in the USA).

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) in practice provides access speeds of up to 2 Mbit/s (this is a practical limit, not a theoretical one), i.e. the theoretical maximum EDGE of 474 Kbps for UMTS is not the limit at all.

Which standard should you choose? It all depends on your needs and capabilities. If you need high-speed Internet access, then only UMTS (3G), but here you must remember: such access is more expensive, and terminals (i.e. mobile phones) with UMTS support are more expensive, while EDGE support is available in any modern phone (even the budget version). It is generally better to forget about GPRS, since GPRS does not provide the data transfer speed required by a modern user. Compared to DSL access, EDGE is also quite expensive, but over time the situation will change, and broadband wireless access Internet access will become not only high-speed, but also cheap. If you have the money, then you can buy a phone that supports UMTS - this standard is the future.

Edge can be used to disconnect any mobile device from the Edge network. various ways, although some of them are characterized by general operating principles that can be used on all models cell phones. Let's figure it out: what is the network and how can you turn it off on your smartphone?

What is EDGE

An icon showing the letter E, usually located at the top of the mobile phone screen, indicates that your mobile device is located within the coverage area of ​​the EGPRS network. Most models of modern mobile devices support different networks, among which the main standard is GSM, as well as another commonly used option, the UMTS network. When the E symbol appears on the screen, you can be sure that an access point has opened for your mobile device Although this does not mean that this EGPRS network can be used for data exchange. You must find out exactly what parameters are indicated in the “access point” line by opening the settings of your mobile phone. The WAP GPRS or GPRS Internet.nw settings allow you to use this particular network for data transfer, and in this option, the E icon is only a potential opportunity to use the EGPRS network.

How to disable EDGE on your phone

The simplest method that is used to disconnect a device from the Edge network, and which is recommended by cell phone manufacturers, is to turn off the device and then turn it on again. You can also use rebooting your mobile device.

If you are sure that mobile phone, which runs on the Android OS, uses an Edge connection to make an active connection to the Internet in order to check for updates. Some forums advise using the specialized service code “*#4777*8665#” to bring up the Attach Mode Settings menu. After this, you need to specify the GPRS detach command and reboot the mobile device.

Apple does not provide an explicit option to disable the GPRS/Edge transmission protocol, although depending on the conditions in which roaming is used, enabling this function may be too expensive for the subscriber. To disable this feature, you must use a tweak to change the APN values ​​in the iPhone device configuration. To do this you need to open “Settings” by going to home page devices, and go to the “Basic” category. Next, you must click on the “network” link and select the Edge category. Then you need to print the sign. (dot) in the “APN address” field after entering the address. After you have completed the steps, if you try to use this function, a message window should appear indicating that this service is disabled and data transfer over it is impossible.

World telecommunications have been experiencing a powerful leap forward for about 80 years now. A lot of time has passed since the advent of the first means of communication. Now, we have the opportunity to communicate not only using telephone networks, but also Internet telephony, which, per hour, is several times cheaper than conventional types of communication. Of course, the cheapest type of communication remains communicating with a person during a conversation in one space-time segment. Let's talk about new technologies. What is edge and what is it eaten with? So:

Edge. What it is?

The edge system first appeared in North America. It was then, in 2004, that the first add-on to the mobile system GSM communications appeared among the Americans.

What is edge? This new system communication that works in mobile communication. It is used in GSM networks. Edge is described as a digital wireless data transmission system over long distances.

So, as already mentioned, edge appeared in 2004 in North America. Many operators, however, were very skeptical about the introduction of edge technologies into their communication systems. Many thought that the next step in their development would be the use of UMTS networks. As work progressed, companies providing mobile communication services realized that the creation of UMTS networks is an expensive and unprofitable undertaking, in connection with this, many cellular operators reconsidered their positions and turned to edge technology. Gradually, the influence and use of edge spread to the European part of the world. In Russia, operators " big three"started using edge towards the end of 2004. People started using edge on their phone." Big three"Mobile operators include Megafon, Beeline and MTS.

Thus, we can conclude that the development of edge technology is moving forward by leaps and bounds. It is important to note that in our time types of communication of the third and fourth generations are receiving great development. For example, Apple is already producing phones based on 4G technology, that is, technologies fourth generation. When we talk about edge, we mean technologies like 2G and 2.5G. This is the second and second and a half generation of communications. There is no point in specifically mentioning that edge will gradually be forced out of the market. But this is a natural passage of time, which requires a quick response from manufacturers and scientists to all the new needs and requests of users around the world. Despite the above facts, edge has firmly established itself as a leader among mobile communication technologies. Only recently has a truly powerful competitor to edge emerged, namely Apple iPhone 3G. It quickly gained popularity among users all over the world and is gaining momentum by leaps and bounds. What will happen next? We'll see you very soon.