GSM/CDMA Comparison

My boss has tasked me with researching the GSM and CDMA protocols.
Does anyone know of any non-biased sites that provides such a
comparison? Our company is ready to spend a large chunk of money on
cellphone/PDAs and we want to make sure we choose the best network --
and hopefully the one that will become the real standard of cell
communications.


Thanks,
Scott

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<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My boss has tasked me with researching the GSM and CDMA protocols.
> Does anyone know of any non-biased sites that provides such a
> comparison?

No, this is a religious issue. There is no such thing as non-biased.

>Our company is ready to spend a large chunk of money on
> cellphone/PDAs and we want to make sure we choose the best network --
> and hopefully the one that will become the real standard of cell
> communications.

Best advice I can give: Ignore the standard. Research what the service and
phones will do for you and your company. Make a list of what's important
to your company and find out how well the different carriers satisfy your
needs and at what cost.

--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

Joseph <[email protected]> wrote:

>On 25 Feb 2005 07:37:21 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>
>>My boss has tasked me with researching the GSM and CDMA protocols.
>>Does anyone know of any non-biased sites that provides such a
>>comparison? Our company is ready to spend a large chunk of money on
>>cellphone/PDAs and we want to make sure we choose the best network --
>>and hopefully the one that will become the real standard of cell
>>communications.
>
>It depends on your needs. If you do all your work in North America
>CDMA has more complete coverage plus decent speed on data.
>
>If your work incorporates any time in Europe or Asia you're better off
>with GSM since international roaming is pretty much available to most
>major and even some minor countries outside of North America.
>
>Right now for data speed CDMA has the edge *mostly* though GSM is
>rolling out high speed solutions (EDGE on AT&T Wireless and cingular
>with T-Mobile to bring it out shortly.)
>
>GSM also has more flexibility as to what and where you can use your
>service. Since GSM uses the SIM "smart card" you can remove it from
>one device such as a regular phone and just insert it in a PDA/PIM and
>you immediately have service.
>
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
The only thing that at present is stopping me from going from GSM to
CDMA is the lack of CDMA SIM card in the country that I live in. I
see that SIM cards are a part of the CDMA standard but Telecom NZ no
doubt to stop parallel importing bought the one with out them..

Joseph <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:07:21 +1300, Mutley
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>The only thing that at present is stopping me from going from GSM to
>>CDMA is the lack of CDMA SIM card in the country that I live in. I
>>see that SIM cards are a part of the CDMA standard but Telecom NZ no
>>doubt to stop parallel importing bought the one with out them..
>
>In the US and Canada they do not use R-UIM either. I believe it's used
>in China.
>
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
What happens when you phone dies. Completed reprogram of a new
one???? Reminds me of the bad old days of AMPs when it was back to
square one every time you changed your phone..

Mutlley wrote:
> Joseph <[email protected]> wrote:
> What happens when you phone dies. Completed reprogram of a new
> one???? Reminds me of the bad old days of AMPs when it was back to
> square one every time you changed your phone..

When you get a new phone, you can have the phone book and such
transferred to the new phone (if the old one is still functional). It's
standard practice these days at Verizon Wireless, and I assume also so
for the other CDMA providers.

Nearly every CDMA handset I have seen synchs with .csv files, exported
from Outlook, Act, etc. It is fast and costs next to nothing. For
example, check out www.datapilot.com I switch CDMA handsets 2x -3x /
year and have never lost any of my 200+ contacts or calendar entries.
With 2.4Mbps EVDO now out I expect that this will all be a SSL site -
wireless synch eliminating the need for cables and SIM cards.

"lagnaf" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Nearly every CDMA handset I have seen synchs with .csv files, exported
>from Outlook, Act, etc. It is fast and costs next to nothing. For
>example, check out www.datapilot.com I switch CDMA handsets 2x -3x /
>year and have never lost any of my 200+ contacts or calendar entries.
>With 2.4Mbps EVDO now out I expect that this will all be a SSL site -
>wireless synch eliminating the need for cables and SIM cards.

That's fine if you have this stuff to do it with but the average cell
phone user wants to be able to update their phone with minimal fuss
hence the beauty of the GSM SIM card. No contacting your carrier to
get the new ESN matched to a cell phone number or having the phone
namd with a new number. I'm not sure how they do that on a CDMA
network.. Also you can go to another country with GSM , buy a prepay
SIM and have service with out paying a bucket for roaming. I find
the CDMA technology far better than GSM but until the carriers add the
SIM card to CDMA the company I work for won't be going down that
road..

Joseph wrote:
> On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:07:21 +1300, Mutley
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>The only thing that at present is stopping me from going from GSM to
>>CDMA is the lack of CDMA SIM card in the country that I live in. I
>>see that SIM cards are a part of the CDMA standard but Telecom NZ no
>>doubt to stop parallel importing bought the one with out them..
>
>
> In the US and Canada they do not use R-UIM either. I believe it's used
> in China.
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I think it's the same for South Korea. If you live in Canada and have a
SIM card, you can use the same GSM SIM card in the local CDMA phones.

TH

>>I think it's the same for South Korea. If you live in Canada and have a
>>SIM card, you can use the same GSM SIM card in the local CDMA phones.
>
>
> Absolutely incorrect. CDMA in Canada does not use SIM cards plus
> you'd have to have a SIM card from Bell Mobility or Telus Mobility.
> Since neither one of them use SIM or R-UIM it's a no go. Why did you
> ever think you could use a GSM provider's SIM in a CDMA handset and
> have it work?
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I mean you can use a Rogers GSM SIM card in the Korean CDMA phones.
Sorry for the confusion. Here is some information from the Fido website.

"Roaming in Korea

For roaming in South Korea, all you need to do is pick up a special CDMA
rental handset at the airport when you arrive. Simply insert your Fido
smart card in the rented handset, and it's just like roaming in any
other country.

For more information on roaming in Korea or to a reserve a rental
handset on line, visit KT Freetel or SK Telecom."

"Roaming in Japan

Travelling to Japan? Fido offers roaming on two W-CDMA (3G) networks in
Japan: Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo. To roam on one of these networks, all
you need is your Fido smart card and a W-CDMA handset. These special
handsets are available for rental at Tokyo's Narita airport or Osaka's
Kansai airport. Don't forget to bring your Fido smart card with you when
you go!

For more information on roaming in Japan or to reserve a handset
on-line, visit Vodafone or NTT DoCoMo."

Source: http://www.fido.ca/portal/packages/i...al.jsp?lang=en