DifferenceBetweenGSMandCDMA

Incellularservicetherearetwomaincompetingnetworktechnologies:GlobalSystemforMobileCommunications (GSM)andCodeDivisionMultipleAccess(CDMA).CellularcarriersincludingSprintPCS,CingularWireless,VerizonandT Mobileuseoneortheother.UnderstandingthedifferencebetweenGSMandCDMAwillallowyoutochooseacarrier thatusesthepreferablenetworktechnologyforyourneeds. TheGSMAssociationisaninternationalorganizationfoundedin1987,dedicatedtoproviding,developing,and overseeingtheworldwidewirelessstandardofGSM.CDMA,aproprietarystandarddesignedbyQualcommintheUnited States,hasbeenthedominantnetworkstandardforNorthAmericaandpartsofAsia.However,GSMnetworkscontinue tomakeinroadsintheUnitedStates,asCDMAnetworksmakeprogressinotherpartsoftheworld.Therearecampson bothsidesthatfirmlybelieveeitherGSMorCDMAarchitectureissuperiortotheother.Thatsaid,tothenoninvested consumerwhosimplywantsbottomlineinformationtomakeachoice,thefollowingconsiderationsmaybehelpful. Coverage:Themostimportantfactorisgettingserviceintheareasyouwillbeusingyourphone.Uponviewing competitors'coveragemapsyoumaydiscoverthatonlyGSMorCDMAcarriersoffercellularserviceinyourarea.Ifso, thereisnodecisiontobemade,butmostpeoplewillfindthattheydohaveachoice. DataTransferSpeed:Withtheadventofcellularphonesdoingdoubleandtripledutyasstreamingvideodevices, podcastreceiversandemaildevices,speedisimportanttothosewhousethephoneformorethanmakingcalls.CDMA hasbeentraditionallyfasterthanGSM,thoughbothtechnologiescontinuetorapidlyleapfrogalongthispath.Both boast"3G"standards,or3rdgenerationtechnologies. EVDO,alsoknownasCDMA2000,isCDMA'sanswertotheneedforspeedwithadownstreamrateofabout2megabits persecond,thoughsomereportssuggestrealworldspeedsarecloserto300700kilobitspersecond(kbps).Thisis comparabletobasicDSL.Asoffall2005,EVDOisintheprocessofbeingdeployed.Itisnotavailableeverywhereand requiresaphonethatisCDMA2000ready. GSM'sanswerisEDGE(EnhancedDataRatesforGSMEvolution),whichboastsdataratesofupto384kbpswithreal worldspeedsreportedcloserto70140kbps.WithaddedtechnologiesstillintheworksthatincludeUMTS(Universal MobileTelephoneStandard)andHSDPA(HighSpeedDownlinkPacketAccess),speedsreportedlyincreasetoabout 275380kbps.ThistechnologyisalsoknownasWCDMA,butisincompatiblewithCDMAnetworks.AnEDGEready phoneisrequired. InthecaseofEVDO,theoreticalhightrafficcandegradespeedandperformance,whiletheEDGEnetworkismore susceptibletointerference.Bothrequirebeingwithincloserangeofacelltogetthebestspeeds,whileperformance decreaseswithdistance. SubscriberIdentityModule(SIM)cards:IntheUnitedStatesonlyGSMphonesuseSIMcards.TheremovableSIMcard allowsphonestobeinstantlyactivated,interchanged,swappedoutandupgraded,allwithoutcarrierintervention.The SIMitselfistiedtothenetwork,ratherthantheactualphone.PhonesthatarecardenabledcanbeusedwithanyGSM carrier. TheCDMAequivalent,aRUIMcard,isonlyavailableinpartsofAsiabutremainsonthehorizonfortheU.S.market. CDMAcarriersintheU.S.requireproprietaryhandsetsthatarelinkedtoonecarrieronlyandarenotcardenabled.To upgradeaCDMAphone,thecarriermustdeactivatetheoldphonethenactivatethenewone.Theoldphonebecomes useless. Roaming:Forthemostpart,bothnetworkshavefairlyconcentratedcoverageinmajorcitiesandalongmajorhighways. GSMcarriers,however,haveroamingcontractswithotherGSMcarriers,allowingwidercoverageofmoreruralareas, generallyspeaking,oftenwithoutroamingchargestothecustomer.CDMAnetworksmaynotcoverruralareasaswellas

GSMcarriers,andthoughtheymaycontractwithGSMcellsforroaminginmoreruralareas,thechargetothecustomer willgenerallybesignificantlyhigher. InternationalRoaming:Ifyouneedtomakecallstoothercountries,aGSMcarriercanofferinternationalroaming,as GSMnetworksdominatetheworldmarket.IfyoutraveltoothercountriesyoucanevenuseyourGSMcellphone abroad,providingitisaquadbandphone(850/900/1800/1900MHz).BypurchasingaSIMcardwithminutesandalocal numberinthecountryyouarevisiting,youcanmakecallsagainstthecardtosaveyourselfinternationalroaming chargesfromyourcarrierbackhome.CDMAphonesthatarenotcardenableddonothavethiscapability,however thereareseveralcountriesthatuseCDMAnetworks.CheckwithyourCDMAproviderforyourspecificrequirements. AccordingCDG.org,CDMAnetworkssupportover270millionsubscribersworldwide,whileGSM.orgtalliesuptheirscore atover1billion.AsCDMAphonesbecomeRUIMenabledandroamingcontractsbetweennetworksimprove, integrationofthestandardsmighteventuallymakedifferencesallbuttransparenttotheconsumer. ThechiefGSMcarriersintheUnitedStatesareCingularWireless,recentlymergedwithAT&TWireless,andTMobile USA.MajorCDMAcarriersareSprintPCS,VerizonandVirginMobile.Therearealsoseveralsmallercellularcompanies onbothnetworks.