Which Technology is better:

GSM or CDMA?
sages, video, high-speed Internet access, digital camera and
B efore deciding which technology is even PDA function are some of the features we can found on
both technologies. The new CDMA 1XRTT technology, which
superior, let’s talk a little more about previews what G3 cell phones will bring, is more advanced
than EDGE, technology from the beginning of 3G generation,
these two technologies: allowing higher transfer rates.

Even the GSM SIM card advantage, that allows you to change
CDMA: stands for Code Division Multiple Access. Both data and voice your cell phone and keep your phone list, is being surplaced
are separated from signals using codes and then transmitted using a wide fre- by some CDMA operators with a service that allows you to
quency range. Because of this, there are more space left for data transfer (this store your phone book on the operator’s database, allowing
was one of the reasons why CDMA is the preferred technology for the 3G gen- you to recover your phone book even if your cell phone is sto-
eration, which is broadband access and the use of big multimedia messages). len (which is not possible with GSM, since if your cell phone is
14% of the worldwide market goes to CDMA. For the 3G generation CDMA uses stolen, your SIM card will be stolen together). Notice that re-
1x EV-DO and EV-DV. It has a lot of users in Asia, specially in South Korea. cently a new accessory called SIM backup was released, which
allows you to backup the data stored in your SIM card. Also
some GSM operators are offering a similar backup service.
GSM: stands for Global System Mobile. Even though it is sold as “the latest So, nowadays both technologies are equiparated in technol-
technology” in several countries, this technology is older than CDMA (and also ogy, but this picture won’t be like that in the future. After all,
TDMA). But keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that GSM is inferior or worse CDMA evolution ground is wider and in a few years it will be
than CDMA. Roaming readiness and fraud prevention are two major advantages superior than GSM. This means that GSM operators will disap-
from this technology. GSM is the most used cell phone technology in the world, pear? Not at all. They will migrate over CDMA and the war will
with 73% of the worldwide market. It has a very strong presence in Europe. continue, because the existing CDMA operators chose to use
1xEV-DO and1XEV-DV technologies for their 3G network and
TDMA technology is the less used from the three main digi- the existing GSM operators have opted for a different technol-
tal technologies (GSM, CDMA and TDMA) and we think it will ogy, called WCDMA. Also, even though the current GSM op-
gradually be replaced to CDMA or GSM. That’s why the GSM erators will migrate to WCDMA, they still can use their existing
vs CDMA war. At one corner, GSM operators say it is better GSM network. So users won’t feel anything special when the
“because it uses a SIM chip, it is the most used technology operators shift to the new cell generation (3G), independently
worldwide, it is more secure and it is more advanced”. On the from the technology they choose.
other corner, CDMA followers say it is better “because it is the
3G generation chosen technology and GSM will migrate to
CDMA since CDMA is more advanced...” What is the Difference Between
But which one of these statements are correct? Accordingly GSM and CDMA?
to Nokia, “this discussion is not about technology anymore,
but about market”. We think this is the best way to describe C ellular service there are two main competing network tech-
the war between these two cell phone technologies. nologies: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)
and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Cellular carriers
In the beginning, GSM was in fact superior. It had more ser- including Sprint PCS, Cingular Wireless, Verizon and T-Mobile
vices and allowed more data transfer. But CDMA, facing the use one or the other. Understanding the difference between
advantages of the competitor standard, soon delivered the GSM and CDMA will allow you to choose a carrier that uses
same features found on GSM. Nowadays, it is not possible to the preferable network technology for your needs.
say that GSM services are better than CDMA. Multimedia mes- The GSM Association is an international organization found-

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 In the case of EVDO, theoretical high traffic can degrade speed
and performance, while the EDGE network is more suscepti-
ble to interference. Both require being within close range of a
cell to get the best speeds, while performance decreases with
distance.

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards: In the United

States only GSM phones use SIM cards. The removable SIM
card allows phones to be instantly activated, interchanged,
swapped out and upgraded, all without carrier intervention.
The SIM itself is tied to the network, rather than the actual
phone. Phones that are card-enabled can be used with any
ed in 1987, dedicated to providing, developing, and oversee- GSM carrier.
ing the worldwide wireless standard of GSM. CDMA, a propri- The CDMA equivalent, a R-UIM card, is only available in parts
etary standard designed by Qualcomm in the United States, of Asia but remains on the horizon for the U.S. market. CDMA
has been the dominant network standard for North America carriers in the U.S. require proprietary handsets that are linked
and parts of Asia. However, GSM networks continue to make to one carrier only and are not card-enabled. To upgrade a
inroads in the United States, as CDMA networks make prog- CDMA phone, the carrier must deactivate the old phone then
ress in other parts of the world. There are camps on both sides activate the new one. The old phone becomes useless.
that firmly believe either GSM or CDMA architecture is supe-
rior to the other. That said, to the non-invested consumer who Roaming: For the most part, both networks have fairly con-
simply wants bottom line information to make a choice, the centrated coverage in major cities and along major highways.
following considerations may be helpful. GSM carriers, however, have roaming contracts with other
GSM carriers, allowing wider coverage of more rural areas,
Coverage: The most important factor is getting service in the areas you generally speaking, often without roaming charges to the
will be using your phone. Upon viewing competitors’ coverage maps you may customer. CDMA networks may not cover rural areas as well
discover that only GSM or CDMA carriers offer cellular service in your area. If so, as GSM carriers, and though they may contract with GSM cells
there is no decision to be made, but most people will find that they do have a for roaming in more rural areas, the charge to the customer
choice. will generally be significantly higher.
International Roaming: If you need to make calls to other
Data Transfer Speed: With the advent of cellular phones doing double countries, a GSM carrier can offer international roaming, as
and triple duty as streaming video devices, podcast receivers and email de- GSM networks dominate the world market. If you travel to
vices, speed is important to those who use the phone for more than making other countries you can even use your GSM cell phone abroad,
calls. CDMA has been traditionally faster than GSM, though both technologies providing it is a quad-band phone (850/900/1800/1900 MHz).
continue to rapidly leapfrog along this path. Both boast “3G” standards, or 3rd By purchasing a SIM card with minutes and a local number in
generation technologies. the country you are visiting, you can make calls against the
card to save yourself international roaming charges from your
EVDO, also known as CDMA2000, is CDMA’s answer to the carrier back home. CDMA phones that are not card-enabled
need for speed with a downstream rate of about 2 megabits do not have this capability, however there are several coun-
per second, though some reports suggest real world speeds tries that use CDMA networks. Check with your CDMA pro-
are closer to 300-700 kilobits per second (kbps). This is com-
vider for your specific requirements.
parable to basic DSL. As of fall 2005, EVDO is in the process of
being deployed. It is not available everywhere and requires a
phone that is CDMA2000 ready. According CDG.org, CDMA networks support over 270 million
subscribers worldwide, while GSM.org tallies up their score at
GSM’s answer is EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evo- over 1 billion. As CDMA phones become R-UIM enabled and
lution), which boasts data rates of up to 384 kbps with real roaming contracts between networks improve, integration
world speeds reported closer to 70-140 kbps. With added of the standards might eventually make differences all but
technologies still in the works that include UMTS (Universal transparent to the consumer.
Mobile Telephone Standard) and HSDPA (High Speed Down- The chief GSM carriers in the United States are Cingular Wire-
link Packet Access), speeds reportedly increase to about less, recently merged with AT&T Wireless, and T-Mobile USA.
275—380 kbps. This technology is also known as W-CDMA, Major CDMA carriers are Sprint PCS, Verizon and Virgin Mo-
but is incompatible with CDMA networks. An EDGE-ready bile. There are also several smaller cellular companies on both
phone is required. networks.

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 What is CDMA? network operators (who can choose equipment from any of
C ode division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access the many vendors implementing GSM). GSM also pioneered a
method utilized by various radio communication technolo- low-cost alternative to voice calls, the Short message service
gies. It should not be confused with cdmaOne (often referred (SMS, also called “text messaging”), which is now supported
to as simply “CDMA”), which is a mobile phone standard that on other mobile standards as well.
uses CDMA as its underlying channel access method.
CDMA employs spread-spectrum technology and a special Newer versions of the standard were backward-compatible
coding scheme (where each transmitter is assigned a code) to with the original GSM phones. For example, Release ‘97 of the
allow multiple users to be multiplexed over the same physical standard added packet data capabilities, by means of General
channel. By contrast, time division multiple access (TDMA) di- Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Release ‘99 introduced higher
vides access by time, while frequency-division multiple access speed data transmission using Enhanced Data Rates for GSM
(FDMA) divides it by frequency. CDMA is a form of “spread- Evolution (EDGE).
spectrum” signaling, since the modulated coded signal has a
much higher bandwidth than the data being communicated.
Which phone will it work
An analogy to the problem of multiple access is a room (chan-
nel) in which people wish to communicate with each other. when I travel?
To avoid confusion, people could take turns speaking (time
division), speak at different pitches (frequency division), or O ne big question about getting a phone with QWERTY key-
speak in different directions (spatial division). In CDMA, they board (or “pager” as we call them), is “Will it work when I trav-
would speak different languages. People speaking the same el?” The answer will depend on the type of pager you have,
language can understand each other, but not other people. the pager’s wireless network type, the carrier you have, and
Similarly, in radio CDMA, each group of users is given a shared where you are traveling. Answers will vary from “no”, “yes”, to
code. Many codes occupy the same channel, but only users “you will need to rent”, and even “it will cost you lots of money”,
associated with a particular code can understand each other. and so forth.
Generally speaking, GSM/GPRS is the major international stan-
CDMA has been used in many communications and naviga- dard. GSM is used in 860 networks in 220 countries through-
tion systems, including the Global Positioning System and the out the world. The only problem is that in the US/Canada,
OmniTRACS satellite system for transportation logistics. different frequencies are used (850/1900 MHz) than the rest
of the world (900/1800 MHz), meaning your GSM pager will
need to be at least tri, or preferably, quad band in order for it
What is GSM? to even have a chance to work internationally. You can easily
tell if your device is GSM if it requires a SIM card to work.
G lobal System for Mobile communications (GSM: original- CDMA (1xRTT, EVDO), while very popular in the US/Canada, is
ly from Groupe Spécial Mobile) is the most popular standard
for mobile phones in the world. Its promoter, the GSM Asso-
ciation, estimates that 82% of the global mobile market uses
the standard [1]. GSM is used by over 2 billion people across
more than 212 countries and territories.[2][3] Its ubiquity
makes international roaming very common between mobile
phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in
many parts of the world. GSM differs from its predecessors in
that both signaling and speech channels are digital call qual-
ity, and so is considered a second generation (2G) mobile
phone system. This has also meant that data communication
was built into the system using the 3rd Generation Partner- less popular internationally. Your CDMA pager will probably
ship Project (3GPP). only work within South Korea, and a couple of other places
The GSM logo is used to identify compatible handsets and mainly in the Asiatic area. There are some dual radio phones
equipment for the CDMA carriers in the US (Sprint/Verizon) that also have
a GSM radio/SIM card slot for use when roaming internation-
The ubiquity of the GSM standard has been advantageous ally.
to both consumers (who benefit from the ability to roam In this article I will review the major carriers that DeafPagers.
and switch carriers without switching phones) and also to com offers pagers from, and summarize what their interna-

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 T-Mobile
T-Mobile uses the GSM/GPRS standard, and because they are owned by one of
the largest European carriers, Deutsche Telekom, they have excellent EU roam-
ing support. Most T-Mobile devices are able to work worldwide. More specifi-
cally, if your device has tri or quad band GSM, it will work internationally. Most
new phones these days include at least tri band GSM with support for higher
2.5 or 3G speeds (EDGE or HSPDA). Popular devices available through T-Mobile
such as the Sidekick 3, BlackBerry 8800, 8703g, and the Dash have quad-band
GSM. T-Mobile, like the other carriers here, allow you to rent a phone if you’re
tional coverage policies are. going to a country that isn’t covered by T-Mobile.
For more information regarding T-Mobile’s international coverage, click here.

Cingular Wireless/”the New AT&T”

Verizon Wireless
C ingular uses the GSM/GPRS standard, so there is a very Verizon uses the CDMA standard for its BroadbandAccess (EVDO) phones, like
good chance devices you are using under Cingular will be Sprint. This CDMA standard does not have the global reach of the GSM/GPRS
able to work worldwide in more than 190 countries. More spe- standard, but there are some areas internationally that do work with this car-
cifically, if your device has tri or quad band GSM, it will work rier’s phones. Popular devices available through Verizon such as the BlackBerry
internationally. Most new phones these days include at least 8700v, Treo 700wx, and Motorola Q can be used in certain areas internationally.
tri band GSM with support for higher 2.5 or 3G speeds (EDGE Verizon also has a GSM phone rental service for international travelers whose
or HSPDA). Popular devices available through Cingular such Verizon phone does not work in their destinations. Verizon also offers some spe-
as the BlackBerry 8800, 8700c, Samsung BlackJack, and Treo cial “Global Phones” that have both CDMA and GSM modes which allow you to
680 & 750 will work internationally. Cingular also offers roam- use the GSM coverage internationally.
ing on cruise ships. Cingular will let you rent a phone if you’re Verizon’s international services website has a good overview of what they have
going to a country such as South Korea or Japan that do not to offer internationally. If you want to learn more about your roaming choices,
have GSM coverage. visit Verizon’s international roaming coverage website. Verizon’s roaming cov-
For more information regarding Cingular’s international cov- ers a good assortment of cruise ships as well. Additionally, here is information
erage, regarding Verizon’s international rental program, which is quite extensive, offer-
ing international phones, Japanese cell phones, Satellite phones, and interna-
tional BlackBerries for rent or purchase.

Coverage:
CDMA: To see where you can roam globally with a CDMA pager, visit this link.
GSM: To see where you can roam globally with a GSM pager, visit this link For
more specific coverage information and carriers for a particular country, visit
this link.
If you want more information regarding international roaming for the six major
US carriers, visit this link, but be warned, the last update to this site was March
2004. You may get better information from the links listed above under specific
carriers.

Recommendations:
It really does not matter what type of pager you get for traveling internation-
Sprint ally, as long as it has quad-band GSM with dual-band UMTS/HSDPA. However,
Sprint uses the CDMA standard for its Vision (1xRTT) and Power Vision(EVDO) it’s been our experience that the most popular pager here in the US is also a
offerings in the US. This CDMA standard does not have the global reach of the great choice especially if you plan to travel to Europe extensively - and that is
GSM/GPRS standard, but there are some areas in ternationally that do work with the T-Mobile Sidekick 3. It works very well, and you do not even have to get an
this carrier’s phones, such as Canada, Mexico, China, India, several countries in international SIM card.
south-east Asia, some countries in central/south America, and some islands in Be warned! If you want to avoid excess data/roaming charges, you may want
the Carribean. Popular devices available through Sprint such as the Treo 700p, to consider getting or renting a different phone while you travel, so that your
700wx, and BlackBerry 8705e, will work internationally. However Sprint has GSM US friends do not text/page/IM you all the time while you are abroad. It’s not as
phones that you can rent if you are going to an international destination that cheap as it is here to stay connected to AIM all the time!
does not have CDMA coverage.
For more information regarding Sprint’s international coverage, click here. Design created by Sergiy Burtovyy - rebruary 21. 2008.

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