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!
Isn’t a bad idea for Verizon to go to GSM in the long run? I mean, if Verizon and AT&T (at some point in the future) will have networks that are more or less comparable in terms of voice quality and signal strength, why would anyone side with the provider that has a history of crippling their phones?
In the D.C. metropolitan area, Verizon has excellent service. If, however, AT&T’s service was just as good as theirs, I would dump big red in a heartbeat (and take my parents with me) so that I could get a superior phone that doesn’t have anything locked.
The network’s really the only thing keeping me with them, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. With their well-known history of cripppling awesome phones, is this wise?
It’s real simple: GSM=2G; CDMA=3G; ODFM=4G.
Yes, that’s correct, 3G comes in basically two flavors of CDMA, but ALL 3G is CDMA. GSM (TDMA) is the one going the way of the dodo. 4G (LTE) is an entirely different technology based on ODFM.
@ ComeOnPeople:
The term you are looking for is OFDM. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing.
VZW = Great wireless & data & CS. Thats it.
Sales people have barely any knowledge of devices they sell. Managers for the local corp stores know less.
The big shots make the GUI all the same across the board for easier trouble shooting and to lock down features that they can scam the consumer into paying more for, either at present time or down the road “i.e. BB8830″
FIOS – Total joke, they tried launching it in Delmar NY, and months down the road they finally got it up and running. If your area is NOT fiber optic with Verizon, YOUR NOT going to have FIOS.
Roadrunner hands down is the best in Highspeed Internet, Digital Phone and Cable TV.
Could this be the end of the road for CDMA?
Isn’t next generation GSM a form of WCDMA?
You’re full of crap. Both you and Jef have no clue what you’re saying. UMTS/HSDPA use what is known as W-CDMA which is really not CDMA at all. The W-CDMA air interface (nothing but a standard GSM air interface running at the typical frequency — not CDMA at all) gets coupled with what is nothing more than an enhanced EDGE radio interface and viola! You’ve got UMTS. Now, add the HSDPA add-on cards to the cabinets and you’ve got faster downloads (500 to 700Kbps — equivalent to EVDO Rev. A), but your uploads are still running about 70Kbps (EDGE speeds). Now, take all of that information and add HSUPA to the mix and you now have what is collectively known as the HSPA standard. HSPA gives you upload speeds of about 200 to 300 Kbps — at least in the short term. Until you get done, you have the same old, same old with faster speeds. There is no CDMA involved here at all. Get a clue! To find out more, you might want to check with the GSM Association before you open your big trap the next time: http://www.gsmworld.com and READ, dumbass.
just wondering, what is the difference between the CDMA and the 4g GSM, is it stating that verizon is going to start using sim cards?
so does this mean i can use my sim card in a verizon phone in the near future? how long will this take
Guys,
I know how confusing this could be.
Here is the evolution path for both CDMA and GSM. When people are using these terminolgies we need to be very careful. Since it can be very misleading.
GSM=>GPRS=>EDGE=>WCDMA(UMTS)=>HSDPA=>HSUPA=>HSPA+ =>LTE
IS-95=>CDMA 2000=>EVDO=>Rev A.=>Rev B(May not come)==>Rev C./UMB (may not come)
Bascially GSM chose a form of CDMA technologies for its 3G technology, yet it is signifcantly different from EVDO. It is correct to say that WCDMA is a evolutionary path of GSM familiy technology that leverages a form of CDMA technology that is somewhat different from EVDO(CDMA 3G)that CDMA camp adopted. Yes, it is a CDMA technology, but this is not the same CDMA technology that CDMA camp adopted.
I hope it cleared many people’s confused mind.
4G’s underlying technoligy is based on OFDMA and MIMO. LTE, Mobile WiMax, and UMB are all based on OFDMA; however, these technologies are still different in other ways.
To give a tangible example, mobile wimax only supports TDD (time division duplex) while LTE will support both TDD and FDD (Frequency division duplex).
Its about time Verizon got its head in the game…however will verizon make thier customers resign contracts becasue of the network change to GSM…and I feel sorry for all the customers that have to turn in thier old phones and pay for new ones
HORIZON, I mean Verizon has been talking and working on the 3G / 4G technology for a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG time.
Here’s the catch, AT&T still does NOT have 3G in all of its towers. SO WTF do you think is going to happen when the 3G iPhone comes along and what is going to be the first area its released in?
Also VZW is going to be testing GSM devices starting next summer and looking for unhappy AT&T and TMO people to come over to there network, which in my honest opinion is a hell of a LOT more stable than AT&T’s
It is good news that Verizon is joining the GSM camp. Handsets will get smaller and more powerful, since there will be even more sales (and thus competition) on the GSM platform.
As many are learning now, Verizon’s marketing clout doesn’t make it a better network – it just makes people believe that it is better. But if you look at the market research studies out there, all of the providers suck and are effectively the same if you pay attention to the margin of error.
Marketing is no substitute for a good service, and that’s something that both AT&T and Verizon have yet to learn (unlike, say, T-Mobile, which has clearly stepped up its game).
I left Verizon years ago, and I’m very happy I did. I went from a poor quality service to an adequate service. Hopefully others will question their quality of service instead of just taking it on marketing faith.
At least they can spell as they stand on their soapbox!
I’m glad to see this. Having worked for Verizon in the past I knew this was coming with the onset of 4G. Around 2003 Verizon started selling “international” models of phones off the counter. Meaning that they were not displayed or stocked in the stores, but they were available on an individual customer basis. These phone incorporated the best of Verizon’s technology with compatibility in the USA on CDMA but allowing access to GSM networks outside the USA. A Hard programming chip inhibited access to GSM networks in North America though.
Overall I think that I only sold 5 of these units over the four years I was with Verizon. They are/were good phones, but the price and the tech restrictions were too overbearing.
Now that I live in the Philippines and see all the amazing things that can be done with GSM technology when it’s not regulated or governed, I am much more excited about Verizon’s transition.
The nice thing is that Verizon’s network is independent, meaning that unlike other carriers they own the towers in place for a majority of the network. This allows easy replacement or addition of service products to the tower compared to the leased towers which must be cleared through the leasing company and local government.
I can see that a GSM rollout for Verizon would start with a multi-band phone set where the GSM networks would work within the major metro areas and CDMA (even the 3.5 network) would operate everywhere else until the GSM rollout was complete.
If the 3.5 rollout of Verizon is any indication, it will take about 2 years for the complete GSM transition to take place and then another 5 years (out of consideration for the customers with existing phones) to pull the plug on the CDMA network.
Heck, they may even keep the CDMA network for exclusive data streaming, all the bandwith freed up from not having cell phones would make Verizon the largest wi-fi network in the USA.
GSM is only good to 30 miles because of the fact that for the phone and tower to sync it takes too many milliseconds after 30 miles. CDMA works to 70 miles, which is feasible with a rooftop antenna and amp. Woe be for us poor rural users and users in vast places like Australia.
I don’t know anything about the technical part of the networks but think Verizon sucks the most because they have terrible customer service and are way too expensive. When you call you cant even get a live person half of the time for crying out loud! When you go to their store, you have to take a number like you are at the DMV or something and wait an hour before you can talk to someone. I think that Verizon wont allow the use of sim cards because they just don’t want their customers buying phones anywhere else but from them. Dont people pay enough for service each month? I have had cell service for 11 years and have used every cell company out there. Including Verizon and I pick T-Mobile!!!
We should all get tmobile it is cheap and not that bad and they have the g1
Great, so now we’ll all be forced to own phones that have no reception.
If you don’t know the difference between CDMA and GSM, pick up a Sprint phone and an AT&T phone and drive around Los Angeles for a few hours and watch how quickly you end up throwing the AT&T phone out the window.
My brother lives in Indiana, a place so flat that you can sit on your front porch and watch your dog run away for three days, and his Iphone is virtually worthless.
“AT&T, bringing you the Sounds of Silence for over 100 years”