A comprehensive, in-depth presentation of GPRS (general packet radio service). It is designed to help practitioners understand how this system is used as a major building block technology for the emerging mobile Internet. It explores the most critical aspects of GPRS in great detail, and aims to offer a real-world understanding of the inevitable implementation challenges engineers will face in the field. After a general overview of the GSM (global system for mobile communication) and GPRS systems, the text provides detailed coverage of a wide range of critical topics, including the radio interface, Gb interface, signalling plane, user plane and RLC (radio link control) principles. Case studies throughout present simple approaches to implementation problems that arise during the development process, along with proposed resolutions.