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Gsm's worst enemy in the US |
Deltayoda
Joined: Mar 03, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Los Angeles, California
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http://www.sprint.com/vision/
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laffen
Joined: Aug 07, 2001
Posts: > 500
From: Oslo, Norway
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"Once again Wall Street has it wrong. The analysts have buy recommendations on AT&T Wireless and are waiting with baited breath for Cingular Wireless to go public. They also love Voicestream. These analyst guys just don't understand technology. The wireless operators they have picked are using the wrong technology: GSM/GPRS... To implement their GSM technology, AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless will spend about $4 billion each - plus the technology doesn't allow for additional voice capacity. It'll take years for these operators to make a return on their investments... Invest instead in the now bargain-priced carriers upgrading to CDMA2000lx. These CDMA networks are less dependent on the success of wireless data. Here are my recommendations: Leap Wireless...Qualcomm...Sprint PCS operates the U.S.' largest all- digital, wireless network...The company will be the second carrier, after Verizon Wireless, to announce nationwide 3G service by the middle of this year."
- Andrew Seybold, "3 Stocks for 3G,"
Forbes, March 2002
Probably smart in the short term, but what happens when AT&T, Cingular and Voicestream all goes GSM like Europe. Who's going to make the handsets for Sprint? LG?
Don't know much about CDMA One. It may be a better technology than GSM. It could result as it did in the video war where VHS won over the better BETA technology. |
arnoldc
Joined: Dec 14, 2001
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
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the biggest problem of cdma is roaming. what good is a technology when you can't use it outside? in the philippines we had cdma one, no data, no sms - it died. voice is good, but that's not what the people want. i can't even roam on singapore's M1 cdma one because the freaking band is different. the singapore government asked M1 to remove their cdma because it's using the frequency that will be allocated to 3G.
the wireless industry is still divided. even UMTS "standard" where both CDMA2000 and W-CMDA are boxing each other out. |
Deltayoda
Joined: Mar 03, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Los Angeles, California
PM |
Both Sprint and Verizon are big supporters of the CDMA systems. I'd really like it if they all went GSM, but the truth of the matter is, CDMA is more widely supported in the US than GSM systems.
AT&T and Cingular both use GSM, TDMA and CDMA systems, and I doubt they'd all agree to going all out on GSM, especially AT&T (Which has been known for it's TDMA/CDMA phones).
The only real thing I really prefer GSM over CDMA is the ability to change SIM cards at any time I want and having full control over my phone, instead of knowing some secret code I have to punch in my phone to get another provider, which doesn't guarantee it will work.
Also, not too long ago, I was watching a broadcast about CDMA phones having satellite tracking chips in every phone, which means there's obviously some government support to bringing CDMA up. |
shawnmccall9
Joined: Apr 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Chicago, IL USA
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Data is cool and all, I think that the thing that I'm after is a phone that I can talk on. You know, I like the external antena and TDMA/GSM/iDen voice quality. That digitized CDMA sound blows. I hope that in two years or so, if CDMA becomes dominant, that they work on the damn voice quality. I don't want a phone that soounds horrible but gets 600MB download speed. A phone is for talking first. Everything else is fluff to me. |
Cophia
Joined: Jul 22, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Sydney
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Sprint actually have GSM networks in the U.S. as well, I often roam on their network in San Francisco.
Even though CDMA technology is popular in the U.S., the real question is which standard will be adopted for 3G networks. W-CDMA or CDMA2000? The latter seems to be favoured by most CDMA networks but WCDMA is more popular for GSM operators like Vodafone who own a big chunk of Verizon, and the future development of wireless requires more easy roaming especially with compatible networks.
CDMA will never take off in Europe, GSM is the only network that is available in most parts of the world for real global roaming (except notably, in a few places like Japan which however is now also W-CDMA).
For now, if you want a single roaming standard (albeit in a number of frequencies) then there is only GSM. You need to see what 3G standards will be adopted by the other operators.
It's not a question of which is the best service to use, it's a question of which will be the best-used service.
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Bajie
Joined: May 20, 2002
Posts: 92
From: London
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"3G" is all about speed and killer applications.
Its not about talking on the phone. Thats been done with 2G.
When we made the first 3G call it was touted in the papers as the biggest step forward since Alexander Graham Bell called for a pizza.
Then the government got all excited saw £ signs and let the operators rape themselves financially by paying ludicrous amounts for the licenses.
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jplacson
Joined: Apr 21, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Philippines
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CDMA is, and always has been, technically superior to GSM. They tried that marketting angle...didn't work. They tried showing that voice calls were clearer, didn't work. Face it, people love GSM for a very simple reason... compatibility. I can buy a sim-free GSM phone in the UK, and it works here in the Philippines...GUARANTEED.
CDMA had the potential... I just think they concentrated too much on the "encryption" crap. Who cares if the CIA can listen in on my calls? Jeez, GET A LIFE! So they'll hear my grocery list, or a few figures from my company's accounting? So? GSM allows me to upgrade my handset without having to fill out forms from my provider. I can roam all over the world and use my SIM, retain my number, avail of data/fax services & pay for my calls when I get home!
I personally think that the one thing that made GSM successful was the SIM card. It made pre-paid, or pay-as-you-go, systems easy to deploy. And people didn't feel bound to the phone itself, since your number goes with the SIM, or vice-versa... you could keep your favorite phone, and change providers... it gave us more options. |
Bajie
Joined: May 20, 2002
Posts: 92
From: London
PM |
CDMA better? Really?
I thought GSM had better encryption than CDMA.
Worked on D-Amps but most of my life has been AXE10.
Not being biased toward GSM but now I have some time on my hands in the evenings I'm gonna try hard to get reading the specs so I know a bit more about the true functionality of what I'm working on. |
Deltayoda
Joined: Mar 03, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Los Angeles, California
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Agreed jplacson, I feel GSM is much better just because of that SIM card. Easy to take out, easy to put a new one in at anytime, anywhere in the world. No need to fill out any forms, no need to punch in secret numbers, no need for getting a new phone.
With CDMA, it seems it's the other way around. Even though CDMA is a bit better, but the fact that I have to call my provider to change my service is just absurd. I can see it now, "Sorry sir, we won't allow you to change service". My family already has over 20 CDMA phones over the years, only 3 of them still work, and to switch service while keeping the phone is just too much of a hassle.
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Harleydog
Joined: Nov 06, 2001
Posts: 417
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Until about a year and a half ago there was no provider in the US for GSM. I Had to have two phones when travelling outside the united states. Now with GSM, I can travel outside the united states, keep my number and be always connected. Also with smart cards like the sim car, this is the future. the goal it seems it to be able to have banking transactions, movie rentals and other functions throught hte use of a smart card. Since CDMA and TDMA do not use smart cards it will be difficult to implement this in the US without the major networks migrating to the GSM standard.
In fact ATT and Cingular are now migrating their networks, i think there will be a consolidation in the US mobile market. In fact, I heard a rumor that ATT and VS where in merger talks, but have not hear anything about this in a while.
The United States thought it could impose the CDMA TDMA standard on Europe, but it was not able to do this and this is why we are lagging in the mobile market. US carriers are now taking steps backward in order to catch up to where Europe was 10 years ago, but soon and I hope this is true Europe and th US will be on the same systems so that they can do research and development together, it will only benefit us all.
These are just one layman's thoughts
what do you guys think |
Deltayoda
Joined: Mar 03, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Los Angeles, California
PM |
Actually, Pacific Bell offered GSM service for more than over a year in Southern California, I'm not sure for how long.
My girl friend still has a Pacific Bell SIM card that's at least over two or three years old for her old breaking down Nokia that is held together by Scotch tape 
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Posted: 2002-08-15 05:48
