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- 01-31-2014, 07:56 PM #1Newbie
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What are the differences between CDMA and GSM technologies.
Did these two different technologies emerge in order to solve some technology related problem or did they come about from the need to find a niche in doing cell phone service business?
I see that there are providers that have their own towers and there are those providers that use other carrier towers (which are called MVNO providers). I see a lot of MVNO providers that charge far less for cell phone service than the provider that they are piggybacking off of. For instance, carrier A has their own towers and carrier B uses carrier A's towers to offer their customers cell phone service. Carrier A charges $60/month for 500 minutes of calls, but carrier B offers unlimited calling for only $30/month. As far as I have observed, this is how it is with most MVNO providers. they offer service for less while using the same towers that carrier A uses. How is it possible for MVNO providers to offer service for far less while using the same towers as carrier A's customers use. what is going on between these two carriers business wise that allows this to happen?
Is it better to stay with MVNO providers in the long run?
I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am looking for just the basic features for service like unlimited calling, unlimited texting, and just 500MB of data (this is plently for me). I see a long list of MVNO and other carriers. how should I go about choosing the right one I don't have time to do any extensive research for each carrier. I did a brief search online for the best GSM carriers in the USA but found just a fraction of the list that is provide here:
cellphoneforums.net/general-service-provider-forum/t349388-list-us-gsm-carriers.html#axzz2s1iLzTKH
and here
cellphoneforums.net/general-service-provider-forum/t349388-list-us-gsm-carriers.html#axzz2s1iLzTKH
Which carrier has the most network coverage and better phone service like call quality and such?
I have a GSM phone that is unlocked. I was told that i can use any GSM phone that is unlocked with carriers that allow their customers to use any unlocked GSM phone even if it is not sold by them.
I would greatly appreciate your help in answering my questions. Thank you and have a great day!
› See More: CMDA vs. GSM providers and other important questions?
- 02-03-2014, 02:00 PM #2
Re: CMDA vs. GSM providers and other important questions?
Here's an old Gizmodo article that explains the actual difference: Giz Explains: What's the Difference between GSM and CDMA?
Fortunately it doesn't really matter unless you want to use the phone on various networks. In that category GSM wins because most of the time, with the exception of phones that are GSM and CDMA (most of Verizon's new smartphones are), GSM phones are able to be unlocked. And since you already have an unlocked phone, you'd probably be better off going with a GSM carrier.
However, if you don't mind a two year contract you can probably get a subsidized phone for free. If you want the flexibility and cost savings of a pay as you go MVNO, then use the phone you have.
The reason MVNO's are able to offer services cheaper is because they are operating on second tier bandwidth - meaning that they are second in line to subscribers that bought plans directly from a provider. This is why you may not have service in an area that gets AT&T service when on a resold AT&T band.
- 04-23-2014, 10:05 AM #3Junior Member
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Re: CMDA vs. GSM providers and other important questions?
To be honest, CDMA networks are much faster than GSM in my country, I tried both service on different phones and CDMA works best for me.
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