CDMA Cell Phones and GSM Cell Phones

    There are two technologies widely used by handsets today. As consumers, you might want to know about these to better understand how your mobile phones work.

    There are CDMA cell phones and there are GSM cell phones. What are these?

    GSM used to stand for Groupe Special Mobile but is now commonly known as Global System for Mobile Communication. This is also called 'cellular technology' because the coverage area is divided into hexagonal shaped cells with their own corresponding network tower that serves all mobile phones in that particular area.

    CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access. CDMA cell phones use a technology that comes with a spread-spectrum technique where electromagnetic energy is spread so that a signal with a wider bandwidth is created. Every device in the coverage network has a special code and one physical channel. With this special code, the device's signal is multiplexed and the physical channel is used to send this signal. The codes change in some cases, in others they remain the same.

    CDMA's standard is more complicated than that of GSM's which is quite straightforward. Take note that GSM in itself is a standard that has attained some technology status over the years while CDMA is first and foremost a technology. Which one is better?

    These two have their good and bad qualities. Concerning call quality, GSM has some limitations with high probability of errors while dropped calls, echoes or voice distortion are very few with CDMA. However, GSM can easily be implemented into any existing technology whereas CDMA cell phones are a bit difficult to integrate.