Verizon adopts GSM standard for 4G network, CDMA limelight fading?
Could this be the end of the road for CDMA? Both Verizon and Vodafone have announced that they will be running their 4th generation data networks on LTE, which is the GSM Association’s 4G protocol. The specifics of LTE, which stands for Long Term Evolution, have yet to be fully solidified, but one thing is certain. There’s not a bit of CDMA compatibility in sight. This bit of news, coupled with Sprint’s recent adoption of WiMax in lieu of EV-DO Rev. C leads one to believe that, well, CDMA could finally be on its way out the door. The lack of global interoperability, lack of SIM card provisioning, and much more means that this departure is a welcome one, to say the least. That said, we wouldn’t shut the books on CDMA just yet. There are no immediate plans to begin LTE network rollout, so the switch, if it does come, won’t arrive for quite a while. We can hardly wait.
Thanks, Rob!
It’s about time! Even in australia telestra is dumping theier old cdma network” lack of interoperabilty being one now if the evli red empire would stop crippling hardware get to gsm faster an have more resonable rates they might have somthonthing.
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Die, CDMA, die!!
Seriously, this is interesting news. My question is: Will VZW have to massively revamp their tech to allow for GSM?
Will AT&T adopt LTE? If so, would you be able to roam seamlessly from VZW to AT&T on 4G?
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LK,
If Verizon went to GSM for their voice service, then yes, it would require a complete overlay of their network with GSM.
With regard to at&t, no one knows what their plans are for 4G. Even if it is LTE, you wouldn’t be able to roam onto VZW, just like you can’t roam onto T-Mobile now when both carriers provide service in an area.
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SIM cards and Verizon?! Hell is freezing over:)
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Haha now all those tools who for years have been on there soap box sayin how much better cdma is over gsm can eat there words!
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Im so glad CDMA is going the way of the dodo. I just love the EMI from GSM radios
P.S. - Seriously though ALL HAIL GSM!
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I am glad to see that Verizon finally realize that isolating yourself from the rest of the world with an incompatible network isn’t the future.
Welcome to the GSM world, VZW!!
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Glad to see an official announcement–a few internal folks have been speculating about this once it was clear Vodafone wouldn’t be selling their stake in VZW. Personally, I always thought we would move to Rev B/C or UMB in order to leverage the existing network infrastructure, but I think we can all agree that adopting a global standard is ideal. Now this is just pure speculation, but I believe the Qualcomm chipset lawsuit and their general “walled garden” approach with CDMA were big factors in this decision.
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As long as the speeds stay what they are i welcome the change…
Does this also mean VZW customers would get phones (ala BB Curve) faster, or will VZW still release phone a year later then everyone else, to cripple the hell out them???
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Jose:
CDMA is better than GSM on the backend. It’s faster and uses less spectrum to carry the same amount of data/voice. That’s why the GSM people have adopted CDMA technology in 3G+. UMTS/HSDPA are CDMA based technologies.
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Jef is correct. CDMA is a much better platform in addition to being faster, less draining on spectrum supplies, and more secure; its also a more reliable technology (and newer) than GSM. The fact that the world hasn’t completely caught up to it shouldn’t be a determining factor in the value of a product. If that were the case then people would still be using VHS and BETA Max. Nor should compatibility. The IPhone isn’t compatible with jack (unmodded) yet look at its success.
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Very interesting, does this mean that (once this happens) that GM Onstar systems will start using (currently they use analog verizon signals). That would be awesome.
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Despite VZW using LTE, I can’t see them using SIM cards. They’re far too evil to see the benefit. Korean CDMA phones have RUIM cards, yet VZW doesn’t….so despite a switch to GSM for 4G, I’d imagine they’d find a way to have it hardwired into the phones. Stupid Verizon.
Also, it’s ironic that GSM 3G is based on CDMA but CDMA 4G will be based on GSM.
Hopefully, there won’t be a mess of frequencies like there are with GSM and 3G. I’d consider it more of a win if LTE was on a single frequency worldwide.
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Ah, the old GSM vs CDMA debate. LTE is Verizon’s 4G choice, but that doesn’t mean it’s switching all of its towers to GSM. Verizon is trending to be #1 in the US and they have the best voice coverage. Sprint, another CDMA provider, has the best data coverage. Are these providers going to just switch all of their towers to GSM in an instant?
No. CDMA will be used for voice for a long time, much the same way Sprint is using CDMA for voice and WiMax for data. LTE can be integrated into CDMA handsets for the LONG, GRADUAL process of converting every tower to LTE. We’re talking total transformation by 2015, folks.
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The only thing Verizon is good for is FIOS. I’ll stick with at&t.
Now I wish FIOS was available in my area.
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DEATH TO CDMA now if spint an alhell geton the gsm bandwagon this will be interesting
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Yo you think there going to do the same thing with telus in canada??
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ummm Eric…I think you’re confusing Verizon Wireless with Verizon Landline. Two different compaines. Don’t they screen these discussions?
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Ya see VZW doesn’t have FIOS. That would be a landline based service.
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Now if they could just get rid of their horrible OS.
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Really? Verizon wireless cellphone service doesn’t supply fiber optic cable into my home. I don’t know if you guys are just retarded or misunderstood. Verizon supplys FIOS ( a landline, DSL and TV provider) Verizon wireless is a branch of Verizon (duh!!!) back to what I was getting at. Verizon is only good for FIOS. The hell with DSL, the hell with verizon wireless.
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You are an idiot.
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Sorry you love Verizon so much…What do you love about them? Their coverage isn’t better than at&t. They disable any good feature that the cell phone should have. The lack of a sim card really limits your option of changing a phone when you want or need.
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This is great news! I have long wondered when this was going to happen, and it seems the gods were listening. From a consumer standpoint it is golden, if not for any other reason just the fact that in forcing GSM to be the standard among big US carriers; a customer armed with an unlocked phone can jump from one carrier to the next without an allegence to a carrier behind a software lock forcing you to re-purchase a phone for a given carrier. I am a huge fan of the European system of cell phone business, and have nothing but good words for the adoption of something like that here in the US, and would be fine with contracts going bye bye all together.
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To author: please read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution and then please rewrite your article.
CDMA is going to be for many years - the best (for now) method of Multiple Access. How is implemented it is different story.
Please note that UMTS is CDMA technicly speaking W-CDMA.
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