The Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) family of technologies has provided the world with mobile communications since 1991. In over 20 years of development, GSM has been continually enhanced to provide platforms that deliver an increasingly broad range of mobile services as demand grows.
The Global System for Mobile telecommunications Association (GSMA) noted that where the industry started with plain voice calls, it now has a powerful platform capable of supporting mobile broadband and multimedia services.
GSM is now used in 219 countries and territories serving more than five billion people and providing travellers with access to mobile services wherever they go. In Nigeria, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), GSM technology has 99.8 per cent penetration. GSM is an open, digital cellular technology used for transmitting mobile voice and data services.