CDMA vs GSM - Which will rule the world

In Gainesville, Fl, phones that use the GSM network barely get signal compared to the CDMA phones. I was a customer of Sprint for 2 years, and while the plans sucked, the call quality was great. My girlfriend is a Cingular customer, and she keeps getting dropped calls. We laugh at all those commercials that say Cingular has the fewest dropped calls, because for anyone attending the University of Florida, Cingular is the worst! Tmobile also uses GSM technology, and while the signal is a bit better than Cingular's, it still stinks compared to Verizon and Sprint in Gainesville. So, I chose CDMA for my part of town. If I'm traveling to another country, I always carry a quadband phone and pick up a sim card there.

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In a local area the difference maybe more apparent, but as a global traveler I use GSM exculsively. With GSM I can go to most countries and get a signal. Currently I'm with AT&T through work. (Still keep the Go Phone for personal/back up use) and I can go to Europe with no problems and same with SE Asia. Granted, I don't think the company likes the international roaming costs (or maybe I have a global plan, hell i dunno, I just use the bloody crackberry).

Although I remember when Erickson said CDMA would never work. They kinda got egg on their face over that one.

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I keep with GSM because in Canada or at least in Toronto/GTA, GSM and CDMA are almost the same, you won't even notice a difference. I chose GSM (Rogers exclusive) because I travel to Hong Kong quite often and I need a GSM phone since Hong Kong uses GSM almost exclusively.

xboxrulz

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In Kenya, where I operates from, there are two Wireless Networks companies that relies on GSM I.e. Celtel Kenya and Safaricom Ltd and one using CDMA I.e. Telkom Wireless. Whenever I used Telkom Wireless service, I get clear service as compared to the two GSM Networks services. I have assumed that may be the two GSM companies have more subscribers hence affects quality of service unless the Telkom Wireless that is slowly scrolling subscribers' space. My assumption is still under test but I assume even though both have dos and cons, I think GSM networks eventually gives the best! Though I wait to be assisted with more information.

-Richard Omolo

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What standards will be used is depending on country's regulation and frequency regulation. GSM and CDMA run on different range of frequencies. And if a range of frequency is full, then providers will start looking other standard and implement the new standard.

I'm using both GSM and CDMA (I have 4 handphones with 4 different numbers, 2 GSMs and 2 CDMAs). There's no favourite. They have their own functions.

GSM : 1 number for Internet via GPRS, and another for my wife's communication
CDMA : me and my wife. usually CDMA is bad for text messaging and the signal is poor, sometimes we have to recharge the batteries often because the handphones try to look for signal.

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out of cdma and gsm, i choose gsm.

telstra are getting rid of their cdma service next year anyway.

i have a next g phone, i prefer next g. the internet on it is so much faster!

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I have to say that in the areas I have been (now i am in the US here)....CDMA seems to be better....I mean I have signal almost everywhere that I ever go.

Yet I have some friends who have GSM (AT&T phones), and their service is awful. It'll show full signal...but the number of dropped calls....or the fact that the phone won't ring one minute, but be in the exact same spot and ring the next....Or even better when you call them and you get this nice little voice saying something along the lines of "Welcome to AT&T we are sorry but this user is currently unable to receive phonecalls at this time. Error blah blah" (now that isn't exact but it is something like that....and why on earth it wouldn't go to voice mail I have yet to figure out)...but that has been my experience with GSM service...

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I am fascinated by cdma offerings that attracts the rural people but gsm is not so economically attractive BUT major businesses of the city runs on GSM technology.majority of the business outfits runs on gsm..

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Xboxrulz doesn't know what he is talking about... CDMA and WCDMA are not at all the same thing. Not only is WCDMA not CDMA, the two technologies are not even compatible.

Also, there are no WCDMA plans for Canada. I work in the mobile phone industry both for my employer (in a technical capacity, but I am not at liberty to name them, and with my own startup company that works with mobile data delivery

Technically speaking, CDMA is superior and offers several technical benefits (greater data transfer speeds, greater reception and range, less susceptible to dropped calls), but since it is a patented technology it is not free and its use incurs royalties for the cellular provider. Because of this, and because GSM already boasts 8 times as many users, and therefore the more important market for phone manufacturers, GSM and then UMTS will win out and that's a shame.

-AllC

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Using non-Bell phones
CDMA vs GSM

I'll try to make this short and clear. I have a student plan (non data) through bell. I want to get the HTC 6800 but don't want to buy it through Bell because they will make me sign a data plan and another contract to get a decent price. I have found a couple of the phones on Ebay but they are American.

My questions are:
1. Will an American CDMA phone work with Bell? Does it have to be unlocked like the GSM phones?
2. Since this isn't a Bell manufactured phone, will the Wi-Fi work?

Thanks!

-Curious Bell Customer

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