CellRev

As you may have noticed in my previous posts, I’ve been referring to different types of mobile technology using a variety of acronyms. These acronyms, like “HSDPA” and “UMTS” are mobile standards – unique systems which encompass everything from the end-user’s device to the hardware used by an operator to broadcast a radio signal at a transmission site. From the perspective of the mobile consumer, the standard you chose (based on what operator you chose) can have a huge impact on what you are able to do with your mobile device and service.

In the US there are 2 main mobile standards: GSM and CDMA. GSM stands for “Global System for Mobile” and is an open-access standard managed by the non-profit GSM Association. CDMA stands for “Code Devision Multiple Access” and is a proprietary standard owned and licensed by the American semiconductor corporation Qualcomm.

There are two major differences between these standards: First, GSM employs a small removable card called a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), which allows the user to switch devices at their leisure, without the knowledge of the mobile operator. CDMA on the other hand, does not use any kind of removable identity module. CDMA devices are bound to a particular network by a hardware identification number (called an Electronic Subscriber Number, or ESN) and can only be used on another CDMA network if both the original and new operators cooperate (American CDMA operators DO NOT allow this or even admit that it is technologically possible). The second main difference between GSM and CDMA is that GSM is the international mobile standard, in use in over 200 counties by 3.7 billion people (thats over half of the world’s population). CDMA on the other hand is only used as a major technology in a handful of countries, resulting in its low usage by about 450 million people.

Because there are so many more GSM operators and users in the world than there are for CDMA, hardware manufacturers make a significantly larger variety of GSM based equipment than they do CDMA based. What this means for American consumers is that choosing a GSM operator and device over a CDMA equivalent will not only provide you with a much larger pool of devices to choose from, but also significantly cheaper devices and services, since the cost of products decreases with volume and fierce competition in an open-access environment like that of GSM. So in all, GSM is, at the present, the best choice from a mobile rights prospective for getting the most out of the American wireless industry.

Pictured below are two charts that I made detailing the various evolutionary sub-standards that make up GSM and CDMA, including the maximum data transfer rates possible with each evolution and their dates of introduction (or proposed introduction). Today the American GSM carriers (T-Mobile and AT&T) are operating all forms of TDMA based GSM as well as WCDMA based GSM up to HSUPA. CDMA carriers (Verizon and Sprint) are operating cdmaOne and CDMA2000 up to 1xEV-DO Revision B.

Click to enlarge.





Sources:

CDMA worldwide usage statistics:
CDMA Development Group

GSM worldwide usage statistics:
GSM Association