High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD)

The standard GSM^TM circuit-switched connection offers a data rate much too low for sophisticated web browsing and the transfer of large files, and as early as Release 96 (on 3GPP website) of the GSM specifications it was realized that a significant increase in speed could be obtained by aggregating two or more channels into a single, grouped, circuit-switched connection.

The specifications (TS 22.034 requirements, 23.034 architecture) allow for up to four channels to be combined, giving 57.6 kbit/s (or 38.4 kbit/s in the USA). The service is known as High Speed Circuit Switched Data, HSCSD.

Since the four channels are tied up in a circuit-switched connection, the network operator is likely to charge an HSCSD call at a considerably higher rate than a simple, single channel call, and the service was never enormously popular. HSCSD has been largely replaced by the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), which are more versatile, offer higher data rates, and are more economical.

The following is a list of the 20 latest published ETSI standards on HSCSD.

A full list of related standards in the public domain is accessible via the ETSI standards search. Via this interface you can also subscribe for alerts on updates of ETSI standards.

For work in progress see the ETSI Work Programme on the Portal.

Standard No.	Standard title.
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+) (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 13.0.0 Release 13)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 13.0.0 Release 13)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 12.0.0 Release 12)
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 12.0.0 Release 12)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 11.0.0 Release 11)
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 11.0.0 Release 11)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 10.0.0 Release 10)
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 10.0.0 Release 10)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 9.0.0 Release 9)
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 9.0.0 Release 9)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); LTE; High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 8.0.0 Release 8)
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); LTE; High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 8.0.0 Release 8)
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 7.0.0 Release 7)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 7.0.0 Release 7)
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 6.0.0 Release 6)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 6.0.0 Release 6)
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 5.2.0 Release 5)
TS 123 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 2 (3GPP TS 23.034 version 5.1.0 Release 5)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 4.1.0 Release 4)
TS 122 034	Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); High Speed Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD); Stage 1 (3GPP TS 22.034 version 5.0.0 Release 5)