In This article I would like to show you the main difference between GSM and CDMA. In the realm of the mobile phones there are two different networks which are the main competitors. We are talking about GSM which stands for “Global System for Mobile Communication” which is a network often used in Europe and also in the last years has been used in Latin America and United States. In the other hand we have the other famous mobile phone network, CDMA which stands for “Code Division Multiple Access”. This last is used by some important brands and mobile phone companies such as Verizon Wireless, Cingular, spring and others. It is very important to know the difference between these two important networks. When you are attempting buy mobile phones or even select a wireless communication provider; you should be aware of the network’s type that your mobile device requires.
Both networks offer almost the same but we are going to describe some elements that can make a difference. Whether you want to establish a serious difference between CDMA and GSM the main factor you must have to evaluate is the coverage. Sometimes people are using one of those networks but one of them or probably both give you a better coverage in a specific geographical zone where you are located or where you are currently using your mobile device. That’s why it is the first question you should answer. What is the coverage of GSM and CDMA in my city or country? Another important factor is determining the transmission speed of the data. It is especially important if you are using some services such as receiving emails, streaming videos from your mobile device and others. Some experts say that CDMA is faster than GSM in this aspect but currently the technology is changing so fast and probably GSM and CDMA have very similar data transfer speed.
Moreover, another factor that will help you to determine an important difference between CDMA and GSM network is use of SIM Cards. SIM stands for Subscriber Identify Module and consists in a tiny card or ship that is inserted in the GSM mobile phones. It is a great difference between GSM and CDMA. GSM uses SIM card and can be activated instantly but CDMA doesn’t use this modality. In some countries such as Dominican Republic which a Latin American leader in telecommunication, one of its main companies (Claro) is using CDMA mobile phone with SIM card. But most of the countries having CDMA do not use SIM cards.
Another important element is the roaming and international roaming. The GSM network can provide service in all of the most important cities of the world. CDMA offer roaming service in many cities but the GSM network is leading the market of roaming. According to some studies the CDMA network of roaming service can support less than 300 million users around the world in front of the GSM network that is capable to provide this service to more than 1.000 million users in all the important locations around the world.
