Understanding the difference in the the competing cellular services is somewhat straightforward and simple for those who conduct the necessary research. GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications and is somewhat different from CDMA, which of course stands for Code Division Multiple Access. All the cellular phone service carriers such as Cingular wireless, Sprint and Verizon use one of these technologies or the other. The difference between the two standards of GSM and CDMA will help you to understand and choose a carrier that uses the type of technology that you prefer.
The GSM Association was founded in 1987 and is chartered on an international basis. The GSM Association generally oversees the worldwide wireless standard of GSM and is dedicated to developing and providing support for the network. The competing standard, CDMA, was designed by QUALCOMM, based in the United States. CDMA has naturally been the most popular network for most parts of Asia and North America, although the GSM network continues to expand their reach and make progress in the United States as well as around the world. There is all manner of argument between the two different types of standards over which is superior to the other. The technology involved is extremely technical and is difficult to understand, even for those who are familiar with this type of industry.
While there is tremendous amounts of technical jargon involved, it is important to understand the size of each individual network. The GSM network is tremendous and covers over one billion people around the world. In the case of CDMA, they have far less consumers on board, with only 270 million. The difference is staggering and is a quick estimate of the size of the competing networks. In addition, the continuing expansion of GSM is somewhat stronger than that of the CDMA technology, making another good reason to stick with the larger network. With such a tremendous network behind it, it is clear to see that GSM has a very strong hold on the international as well as the domestic calling plans for most consumers.
Another chief difference between GSM and CDMA is the fact that the GSM phones come equipped with a Sim card that can be swapped from phone to phone. Whenever you might wish to try another phone or upgrade a phone, you can simply put a new Sim card into a different phone or utilize it in other ways. With the Sim card, you are not stuck with any one particular phone, you can move the card from phone to phone and allow the consumer to upgrade on-the-fly without any interference from the company. In the case of the CDMA phones, it you are required to replace the phone entirely in order to upgrade, making for a wasted phone. Rather than utilize a card system, you simply throw away the old phone and transfer service to the new phone. While there is a card system in place for CDMA, is mostly restricted to Asia at the present.
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