What is CDMA?

Definition: CDMA, or Code Division Multiple Access, is a competing cell phone service technology to GSM, which is the world’s most widely used cell phone standard. CDMA uses a “spread-spectrum” technique whereby electromagnetic energy is spread to allow for a signal with a wider bandwidth. This allows multiple people on multiple cell phones to be “multiplexed” over the same channel to share a bandwidth of frequencies. With CDMA technology, data and voice packets are separated using codes and then transmitted using a wide frequency range. Since more space is often allocated for data with CDMA, this standard became attractive for 3G high-speed mobile Internet use. The CDMA standard was originally designed by Qualcomm in the U.S. and is primarily used in the U.S. and portions of Asia by other carriers. Sprint, Virgin Mobile and Verizon Wireless use CDMA while T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM. While CDMA and GSM compete head on in terms of higher bandwidth speed (i.e. for surfing the mobile Web), GSM has more complete global coverage due to roaming and international roaming contracts. GSM technology tends to cover rural areas in the U.S. more completely than CDMA. Over time, CDMA won out over less advanced TDMA technology, which was incorporated into more advanced GSM.

What is EDGE?

Definition: EDGE takes GSM even further. GSM, which stands for Global System forMobile communications, reigns as the world’s most widely used cell phone technology. EDGE, which stands for Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution, is a faster version of GSM. EDGE is a high-speed 3G technology that was built upon the GSM standard. EDGE networks are designed to deliver multimedia applications such as streaming television, audio and video to mobile phones at speeds up to 384 Kbps. Such speeds still pale in comparison, though, to standard DSL and high-speed cable access today. EDGE delivers a boost of more than three times the capacity and performance over GSM. The EDGE standard was first launched in the United States in 2003 by Cingular, which is now AT&T, on top of the GSM standard. AT&T, T-Mobile and Rogers Wireless in Canada all use EDGE networks.