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Difference Between GSM and CDMA

Published on: July 06, 2023

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Cellular technologies used in mobile networks evolved from 1G to 4G and now 5G. During the 2G and 3G era, two prominent tracks, namely GSM and CDMA, were introduced to provide a single industry standard for development of mobile networks. However, to streamline the future progress of networks, a global 4G standard 4G LTE came into existence, and carriers eventually switched to LTE. Until LTE, both GSM and CDMA continued to progress separately and had some cultural differences. Let us understand what these tracks were and their differences.

CDMA vs GSM:

Refer to the below table to better understand the difference between GSM and CDMA

GSM	CDMA
Global System for Mobiles	Code Division Multiple Access
SIM specific: Stores subscriber information on SIM card	Handset Specific: Subscriber information programmed into the device
FDMA and TDMA Technology	CDMA Technology
Supports voice and data transmission at once	Cannot transmit voice and data simultaneously
Slower Data transfer rates	Higher data transfer and faster internet speed compared to GSM
GSM SIM required for GSM device	CDMA phone do not require a SIM card
Better Roaming Capabilities	Limited Roaming Options
No built-in encryption	Comes with built-in encryption
Less secure compared to CDMA	Offers superior voice quality and security than GSM

Although these technologies were fundamental in the evolution of cellular networks, it is the 4G LTE era now with 5G coming up fast! Get a new SIM from Vi and enjoy a world of benefits.

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