GSM vs CDMA
Two mobile network standards go to war
In a world where digital mobile networks have to fight to survive, nothing can be taken for granted. Only one digital standard has the right to be called the last mobile network standing.
It's the stuff of corny movie trailers; but the competition between the two mobile network standards lends itself to the analogy. The battle lines have been drawn and it's very likely that only one will survive. The rest of the world has already decided and GSM is the one used by over 130 nations through Europe, Asia and Africa. But in North America CDMA is still king but that could be changing. The push has been for more unified standards. In this part of our Parents Guide to Cell Phones we'll give you the lowdown about digital networks.
If you're like most people you might not even realize you're using one or the other digital network when you make calls on your cell phone. You might even be an advanced cellular service user and not realize whether you're sending emails, SMS or downloading web pages through either GSM or CDMA. In fact, it's generally not even an issue when deciding what service you'd like to use.
But there are in fact differences between the two that go a bit beyond the standard GSM-is-used-in-Europe that you've clearly heard already in our Parents Guide.
Let's break it down to specific functional features that will likely be important to a North American consumer market and represent differences between the two networks. We'll award a winner to each category.
- Analog compatibility - CDMA: Today in North America we still use analogue cellular networks for most rural areas. An analogue network is neither GSM nor CDMA, but the phones that allow you to roam between the areas will be compatible to one or the other. In this case CDMA will win. Many GSM phones aren't compatible with analogue networks at all.
- Battery Life - GSM: Typical GSM phones last over 5 hours on a single charge, but CDMA phones aren't quite up to par.
- Gadget Factor - GSM: Are you looking for a cell phone with new features like infrared technology and Bluetooth and that's just for starters? You'll likely find GSM phones are your bag, baby. CDMA phones don't support infrared and only have limited Bluetooth support.
There you have the main categories. There are other concepts that are equally important to consumers; but neither network will yield to the other.
- Network Speed: Both mobile networks have a high speed (3G) version. CDMA has EV-DO and GSM EDGE.
- Reliability and Clarity: Both are equal in this regard. If there were a difference between the two in this all important category it's not the network standard causing a deficiency, but possibly its implementation. The phone you choose could also have something to do with it. If you're using a flip phone you'll be able to speak more directly into the mic with the speaker properly covering your ear which will give you better voice clarity and allow you to hear better. Candy bar phones (straight rectangular phones that don't flip open) are going to have slightly less ability to cover your mouth and ear at the same time.
It's been decided. GSM mobile digital networks win. GSM not only lets you travel the world and remain compatible, but most of the really cool (good quality etc) phones are designed specifically for GSM networks. That should come as no surprise because Europe and Asia have had high quality phones for a very long time and we in North America are getting our first choppy video phones. Europe and Asia laugh at our backwardness - we're like a quaint relic from the 80s to them. But hey, at least we didn't make David Hasselhoff a pop music star.
Now let's take a closer look at Cellular Networks.