AirIQ Inc. announced on March 11 its selection of GSM (Global System for Mobile) as its first terrestrial digital RF (radio frequency) transport medium to augment the company's existing suite of wireless technology choices.

AirIQ has created its services to operate in a "wireless agnostic" manner, knowing that multiple wireless media are required to meet varied client needs and applications. For example, satellite RF transport provides ubiquitous global coverage, whereas terrestrial GSM is more urban, but has expanded bandwidth capabilities. GSM is the fourth wireless technology used in the delivery of AirIQ's location-based services.

GSM communications uses cellular technology, which now has in excess of 71 percent of the terrestrial wireless world market. The growth of GSM continues with more than 160 million new customers in the last twelve months. Since 1997, the number of GSM subscribers has increased by ten-fold. In 2004, it is predicted that global GSM subscribers will surpass the one billion mark.

AirIQ delivers data centric services to its customers. GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) enables the data portion of GSM and provides 'always-on,' higher capacity, Internet-based content and packet-based data services. The flexible feature set, efficiency, speed, and availability of GPRS makes GSM ideal for applications like AirIQ's location-based Telematics services.