A Serving GPRS Support Node is responsible for the delivery of data packets from and to the mobile stations within its geographical service area. Its tasks include packet routing and transfer, mobility management (attach/detach and location management), logical link management, and authentication and charging functions. The location register of the SGSN stores location information (e.g., current cell, current VLR) and user profiles (e.g., IMSI, IP address used in the packet data network) of all GPRS users registered with this SGSN.

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) is part of a smart card ICC (Integrated Circuit Card), also known as SIM Cards, for mobile, telephony devices (such as computers) and mobile phones. SIM cards securely store the service-subscriber key (IMSI) used to identify a subscriber, plus a set of subscriber-specific and service provider-specific information. Most SIM cards are removable, and can allow a user to move a subscription from one device to another by moving the SIM. However, we expect to see new SIM form factors, based on non-removable chips, specifically for M2M in the near future.

is a set of standardized capabilities within GSM that enable the SIM to initiate actions which can be used for various value added services. Without SAT, the SIM is a slave to the device and can only operate according to the needs of the device and its application. With SAT, the SIM can initiate instructions to the device or take proactive measures of its own (e.g. display a message on the device, display or initiate an SMS). SIMs can be programmed with applets that take advantage of SAT, thereby enabling value-added functions and services. Some Jasper capabilities take advantage of SIM applets and SAT.

Short Message Service is the ability to send messages of up to 160 characters to or from a mobile device (or multiples of 160 characters in the case of concatenated messages). As an alternative to 160 text characters, messages can have up to 140 octets of binary data. In many cases SMS is used as a bearer for M2M data, especially where the data payload is small. The network solution for SMS includes automatic retry mechanisms.