GAIT (an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

for the GSM-ANSI-136 Interoperability Team) is a wireless standard developed in 1999{{cite press release , publisher=GSM Association , date=2001-01-12 , title=GSM GLOBAL ROAMING FORUM TO INCLUDE TDMA TECHNOLOGY , url=http://www.gsmworld.com/news/press_2001/press_releases_0.shtml , access-date=2006-06-17 , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060616063949/http://gsmworld.com/news/press_2001/press_releases_0.shtml , archive-date=2006-06-16 that allows cross-operation of

mobile telephone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radio ...

technologies. Phones compliant with the GAIT standard can operate on either contemporary

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...

networks, or the legacy IS-136 TDMA and AMPS networks found extensively throughout North America. Since GAIT phones are interoperable over several types of networks, users could operate their phones in a much larger area of North America compared to phones that used only the GSM standard. The modern equivalent of a GAIT phone would be a GSM phone that also supports the

CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...

IS-95 cdmaOne, most often simply referred to as CDMA, is a 2G digital cellular technology. It was the commercial name for Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), a technology that was developed by Qualcomm and later adopted as a standard by the Telecommunica ...

modes used in North America. Such phones are sometimes called "

world phone GSM frequency bands or frequency ranges are the cellular frequencies designated by the ITU for the operation of GSM mobile phones and other mobile devices. Frequency bands GSM frequency usage around the world A dual-band 900/1800 device i ...

s," although this phrase is also used to describe a GSM phone that supports all four frequency bands used throughout the world.

Implementation

A GAIT-compliant mobile phone typically accepts a

SIM card A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout)A SIM card or SIM (subscriber identity module) is an integrated circuit (IC) intended to securely store an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number and its related key, which are u ...

, similar to a standard GSM phone; however, depending on the wireless provider, the SIM card enables access not only to that wireless provider's GSM network, but also enables use of the telephone on any TDMA or AMPS networks run by the wireless provider. In addition to the usual

IMEI The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is a numeric identifier, usually Unique identifier, unique, for 3GPP and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the ph ...

found on standard GSM mobile phones, a GAIT-compliant mobile phone also includes an AMPS-style ESN unique to the mobile phone. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Cingular Wireless (now

AT&T Mobility AT&T Mobility, LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and Trade name, marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. Formed in April 2000 as Cingular Wireless LLC, It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T, AT&T Inc. and provide ...

) offered the

Nokia Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, originally established as a pulp mill in 1 ...

6340 and

Sony Ericsson Sony Mobile Communications Inc., originally Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, was a Multinational corporation, multinational consumer electronics and telecommunications company, best known for its Mobile phones, mobile phone products. The ...

T62u to customers who wished to have a GAIT mobile phone (although these phones are no longer marketed through AT&T). An update to the Nokia 6340, the Nokia 6340i, added GSM 850 support and was also carried by Cingular. The Nokia 6340 was also offered by Canadian provider

Fido Solutions Fido Solutions Inc. is a Canadian mobile network operator owned by Rogers Communications. Since its acquisition by Rogers in 2004, it has operated as a Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using the Rogers Wireless network. Fido pioneered th ...

. The version sold by Fido was unique in that it was used solely for analog roaming, with the IS-136 "TDMA" portion of the phone disabled. Fido discontinued the phone upon their acquisition by

Rogers Wireless Rogers Wireless Inc. is a Canadian mobile network operator headquartered in Toronto, providing service nationally throughout Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The company had revenues of just under $15.1 billion in ...

, which allowed access to Rogers' extensive GSM network that already overlaid the existing analog networks in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Rogers Wireless, meanwhile, never offered a GAIT solution to customers, as their entire IS-136 TDMA and AMPS networks were overlaid with GSM by the time the service was launched.

Notes

Mobile telecommunications standards

Implementation

See also

Notes