subject: Verizon,The iPhone and CDMA Technology [print this page] The news is out, Verizon customers may soon be capable of owning an iPhone. How is this possible? It all has to do with CDMA technology.
What is CDMA? It is a proprietary standard designed by Qualcomm in the United States and has been the dominant network standard for North America and parts of Asia. It stands for Code Division Multiple Access. Its competitor is GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications).
The difference between the two technologies? Very little for the most part. Despite the fact, each must try and outdo the other. Considerations include data transfer speed. Today, cellular phones are doubling as mini computers and the capacity to transfer speed is important to users. CDMA has been traditionally faster than GSM but both can boast 3G standards or third generation technologies. CDMA uses EVDO, also known as CDMA2000 which can downstream at a rate of about 2 megabits per second, or 300-700 kilobits per second. This is comparable to DSL. GSM uses EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates) which claims it can download at 384 kilobits per second.
Despite the near comparison, 3G and CDMA are often used in tandem when referring to wireless Internet and data. The term 3G signifies a specific group of standards the third generation of cellular phones must meet to be designated as so.
So which system should one use? This could depend on whether you stay within the United States or are a global traveler. GSM has taken the lead in global accessibility. It is used in more than 74% of markets across the globe. It also offers users a multiband capability. CDMA does not offer multiband and therefore is limited in certain countries. Currently CDMA supports over 270 million subscribers worldwide while GSM serves over 1 billion.
Currently, Sprint and Verizon are CDMA while AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM. While both systems often can run together in a densely populated area without causing interference with each other, lately, many high-powered CDMA signals are starting to interfere with GSM receivers, which causes dropped calls where there is a high concentration of CDMA technology. Conversely, GSM signals are also jamming CDMA receivers. This competition for airspace has led many cities to pass ordinances limiting the space between cell towers or the height they can reach therefore not allowing one technology to have an advantage over another.
One benefit CDMA does have is that consumers who use phones on CDMA networks do not need to use a subscriber identity module (SIM) card. SIM cards, which can be easily interchanged amongst phones and computers. On a GSM network, which relates to second generation (2G) models, SIM cards are necessary.
Despite the differences, the GSM network has had control over the iPhone and with that, captured a lot of potential Verizon and Sprints customers. That is until now.
Verizon states that it will be releasing its own CDMA version of iPhone January of 2011. Surveys are already showing that 23 percent of currently frustrated AT&T customers plan to switch over to Verizon with this new release. The same holds true for Sprint and T-Mobile customers, 22 and 20 percent, respectively, said they would transfer. With such a transfer and increase in business, the question is whether Verizon is ready for the mass increase in business or will it crumble like AT&T did when it first released the iPhone?
