| This book is the second in its series. Many readers will also know my first Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) book, which was written during my time in the United States from 1996 to 1998. For this new book on general packet radio service (GPRS) and high speed circuit switched data (HSCSD), I have had considerable support from my old university friend, Holger Sagkob, who is responsible for the HSCSD section. For the last project, Holger was mainly involved in the review process, and at that time we decided that we would publish a book together. He is also now a father— the ‘‘Patrick’’ referred to in the dedication is Holger’s son by his wife Andrea. My wife and I have also been creative on this front and our first daughter, Natalie, now has a little sister, Sophie. This book is dedicated to our three children and to all poor, tortured mobile communication experts.
After my return to Germany from the United States, I founded my own company, INACON GmbH, which, because of our consistency in pursuing the American maxim, ‘‘The customer is always right,’’ and due to our numerous customers worldwide, is growing constantly.
INACONGmbHfocuses on everything to do with mobile communications. Our specialities are expert training and special consulting services for the mobile communications industry. Our best customers and partners include the big names in mobile communications: Siemens, Motorola, Ericsson, Nokia, Tektronix, and Cetecom, with whom I have a special personal relationship. In this book I shall make several references to one particular INACON product: an interactive, multimedia training CD-ROM that contains information on GSM and GPRS and, in the latest versions, also enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) and Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). |