The Dream
In technology circles, it has long been known that CDMA beats the pants off GSM. It is, to state it in no uncertain terms, the technology of the future. Even third-generation GSM networks will use CDMA-based technologies.
Why?
Because CDMA is faster.
Because CDMA is more secure.
Because connections on a CDMA network will never gel
dropped when moving from cell to cell.
Because CDMA base-stations cover a larger area.
The Reality
GSM was the world’s hero, really. It replaced the archaic analogue systems, and its popularity grew fast. While CDMA was commercially available in the US only a couple of years after GSM, this wasn’t so for the rest of the world. The purpose of publishing the GSM standard was to have a world standard for mobile communications, so that all mobile users could roam free across the world without needing to bother about changing handsets. The CDMA standard, however, is patented, and anyone implementing a CDMA network or manufacturing a CDMA handset has to pay a royalty to Qualcomm. Telecom companies the world over, therefore, preferred GSM.
Today, the cellular-using world has 1 billion GSM subscribers to CDMA’s 270 million. Using a GSM phone meant that you were more likely to avail of international roaming. CDMA isn’t being adopted by countries as quickly as one would hope, but where it has been adopted, it’s grown phenomenally. The Indian scenario is quite the same. When mobile telephony came to India, GSM was our only choice. CDMA came in only in the beginning of 2003, but has seen huge growth since then. Nonetheless, GSM still remains the preferred network for most of India’s subscribers.
With both GSM and CDMA moving towards better technologies based on the CDMA technique, one hopes that in the future they would become cross-compatible. This would finally concretise the dream of a fully-connected mobile world. For now, GSM is the Goliath to CDMA’s David. We’re all just waiting for that stone to knock it over.
