GAIT (an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in '' NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, a ...

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, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

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

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such as ...

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 communication ...

IS-95 Interim Standard 95 (IS-95) was the first ever CDMA-based digital cellular technology. It was developed by Qualcomm and later adopted as a standard by the Telecommunications Industry Association in TIA/EIA/IS-95 release published in 1995. T ...

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 ...

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 file:Simkarte NFC SecureElement.jpg">thumb"> thumb">A TracFone Wireless SIM card has no distinctive carrier markings and is only marked as a "SIM card" A SIM card (full form Subscriber Ide ...

, 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, for 3GPP and iDEN mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones. It is usually found printed inside the battery compartment of the phone but can also ...

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, 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. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T, AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobi ...

) offered the

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finlan ...

6340 and

Sony Ericsson Sony Mobile Communications Inc. ( ja, ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社) was a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Ericsson. I ...

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 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's logo is a yellow doghouse ...

. 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 wireless telephone company 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 billio ...

, 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 ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. 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

Implementation

See also

Notes