Basic Diagram of inside the Mobile
Difference between GSM and CDMA, the two leading cellular technologies, lies in the difference in their coverage, market, basic technology and function.
The two leading cellular technologies are Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); both GSM and CDMA have developed significantly in recent years. In the present scenario, it is extremely difficult to compare them in terms of the merits and demerits of TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) used by GSM and Code Division Multiplexing used by CDMA.
In addition to the difference between GSM and CDMA cellular technologies, one must also compare and contrast the markets that utilize these technologies. The biggest comparison that can be made is that CDMA does not offer International Roaming which is the biggest advantage to GSM users.
GSM vs CDMA: Technical Difference Between GSM and CDMA
To distinguish between the two technically, one must know how CDMA and GSM work. The data transmission in GSM is not continuous (Read Working of GSM). It is in small bursts but the interval between these bursts is so small that it is impossible to judge that the speech is not continuous.
In CDMA, a data transmission is encoded and is transmitted along with other similar transmissions using the same frequency (Read Working of CDMA). This effectively results in a situation where efficiency of CDMA becomes inversely proportional to the number of subscribers active at a given time.
A significant technical flaw that's observed in GSM concerns the pulsating nature of TDMA, which interferes significantly with electronic equipments, especially audio amplifiers. This causes disruption in the audio output of the cellphone, as well as the amplifier.
GSM vs CDMA: Market Share
As per market analysis, GSM is far ahead of CDMA. It covers around three fourth of the total number of cell phone subscribers around the world. Though CDMA can accommodate more users per MHz of bandwidth, still GSM remains the favorite of subscribers. GSM covers almost all of Europe, Asia and Africa meaning that a user having a GSM set can travel without changing his handset but just by switching carriers.
GSM vs CDMA: Analysis of Cell Phone Manufacturing Companies
A bigger aspect which is mostly overlooked is that owing to the large number of GSM subscribers globally, cell phone manufacturing giants like Nokia, Motorola focus more on the advancement and spread of GSM technology. Moreover, CDMA still remains a patented technology and it needs to be licensed from Qualcomm.
GSM vs CDMA: How Does Speed Differentiate GSM and CDMA
Today, cell phones are used for much more than making a call or sending a text message. Phones are used for live video streaming, downloads and these services depend heavily on the speed provided by the carriers.
Until very recently, CDMA was considered faster because of the provision of a full frequency spectrum to every channel but GSM too, like CDMA, has offered 3G services to its subscribers with the help of WCDMA technology.
Speed alone cannot be a medium of distinction between GSM and CDMA because speed concerns only those subscribers who use the phone for services other than making calls. These services mostly include general wireless application protocol (WAP) services.
GSM versus CDMA: Roaming Factor in GSM and CDMA Cell Phone Technologies
In terms of the roaming capability of the two technologies, GSM certainly seems to have an edge over CDMA. While both of them cover almost all cities and major highways, CDMA carriers are known for inefficient coverage in some rural areas.
A GSM carrier usually has contracts with other GSM carriers and hence offers cheap roaming services to its subscribers, whereas CDMA carriers may need to tie up with other GSM carriers to provide roaming services but this obviously costs more to both the Carrier and the subscriber.
GSM vs CDMA: Advantage of GSM
The biggest advantage that GSM offers is the flexibility to change Carriers without changing the cell phone. Subscribers tend to switch to a different Carrier when they feel they can be offered better services by another Carrier.
In many countries, including large nations such as China and India, GSM is popular because (owing to the competition) carriers tend to offer cheaper and better services, and generally speaking, subscribers change their respective carriers quite often.
Summary
Notably, it is extremely difficult to rank any one of two most advanced cellular technologies, GSM and CDMA higher than the other. They cater to the needs of individuals and it is totally up to the subscriber to choose which of these two suits them them better. Yet, it can be clearly observed that GSM has a clear advantage over CDMA in the context of changing carriers at will, which can be accomplished without changing the handsets.
CDMA(Code Division Multiple Access) is a digital cellular technology that uses spread-spectrum techniques.CDMA consistently provides better capacity for voice and data communications than other commercial mobile technologies, allowing more subscribers to connect at any given time, and it is the common platform on which 3G technologies are built.It doesn't have sim card.
ReplyDeleteThe reason for more GSM usage is that the international Roaming of GSM is Very good and it has sim card,So you can easily swap your sim card when you need.If we got a locked phone means we can unlock it by getting the unlocking service from any one of the online service provider like Unlock-Free.com