GPRS is an acronym for General Packet Radio Service, which is a wireless GSM data technology, used for Narrowband data transfer, i.e. it is very slow and comparable to 56kbps Dialup.
GPRS in South Africa does have some important advantages compared to dialup via a Telkom Analogue line:
Telkom charges per minute of part thereof for dialup calls to ISPs, however GPRS is billed according to the amount of data transferred, as opposed to per second, e.g. per Megabyte.
Most recent cellphones in circulation have built-in GPRS, and one can connect to and browse the internet - in some cases without needing a computer, i.e. using the GPRS cellphone's built-in web browser.
Of these cellphones that support GPRS, most allow one to attach to a computer via a cable or Bluetooth, and from there one can use the GPRS cellphone as a modem controlled by one's computer, and connect the computer to the internet.
Some of these phones that have built-in GPRS, additionally have built-in EDGE (a slightly more evolved form of GPRS with better data transfer speeds).
Due to the availability of GPRS in nearly all parts of South Africa, and the unavailability of Telkom lines in most of South Africa, GPRS can effectively enable basic internet access for millions of citizens that would otherwise never be able to get any sort of fixed line service from Telkom.
GPRS cellphones obviously also enable access on the move (i.e. a mobile internet connection), which is obviously much more flexible than a fixed line from Telkom.
Fixed lines are currently only available from the de facto fixed line monopoly - Telkom, however GPRS is available from Vodacom and MTN and CellC.
It is also worth noting that in South Africa, using a chat service such as MXit via GPRS, is effectively much cheaper than sending an SMS, the downside being that both the sender and receiver need to be familiar chatting over the internet - which is not always the case, however most South Africans are familiar with and comfortable SMSing one another.
GPRS in South Africa does have some important advantages compared to dialup via a Telkom Analogue line:
Telkom charges per minute of part thereof for dialup calls to ISPs, however GPRS is billed according to the amount of data transferred, as opposed to per second, e.g. per Megabyte.
Most recent cellphones in circulation have built-in GPRS, and one can connect to and browse the internet - in some cases without needing a computer, i.e. using the GPRS cellphone's built-in web browser.
Of these cellphones that support GPRS, most allow one to attach to a computer via a cable or Bluetooth, and from there one can use the GPRS cellphone as a modem controlled by one's computer, and connect the computer to the internet.
Some of these phones that have built-in GPRS, additionally have built-in EDGE (a slightly more evolved form of GPRS with better data transfer speeds).
Due to the availability of GPRS in nearly all parts of South Africa, and the unavailability of Telkom lines in most of South Africa, GPRS can effectively enable basic internet access for millions of citizens that would otherwise never be able to get any sort of fixed line service from Telkom.
GPRS cellphones obviously also enable access on the move (i.e. a mobile internet connection), which is obviously much more flexible than a fixed line from Telkom.
Fixed lines are currently only available from the de facto fixed line monopoly - Telkom, however GPRS is available from Vodacom and MTN and CellC.
It is also worth noting that in South Africa, using a chat service such as MXit via GPRS, is effectively much cheaper than sending an SMS, the downside being that both the sender and receiver need to be familiar chatting over the internet - which is not always the case, however most South Africans are familiar with and comfortable SMSing one another.