BrokenMonitor.NET

AMPS, CDMA, GSM, WTF?

I find myself answering alot of technology related questions… granted, it’s my job. But occasionally people ask me “What is the best mobile phone provider around here?”. (Here being the armpit of Northwest Ohio.) As I explain different companies and their similarities and differences both with pricing plans and technologies, once I start explaining a CDMA and GSM network, their eyes start to glaze over, and I know I’ve lost them.

Cell technologies CAN be confusing these days. All the common consumer cares about is if their kids can send unlimited video/picture messages and not have to kill said child over a $300+ cell bill. And honestly, that’s fine… (The concern about text messaging, not the killing part.) The issue you run into is that here, (in the aforementioned armpit) cell reception SUCKS. Sure, we have Alltel, Sprint / Nextel, Centennial, and they’re all CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). But GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) support around here is practically nil. Heck, where I live, I’m lucky to get a CDMA signal too.

When you’re relatively obsessed about new gadgets like I am, you want a shot at all the new, cool stuff. Unfortunately, if you ain’t GSM, you either don’t get to see it, or you finally get to see it years later.

A good example of this is the Motorola Razr V3. GSM networks had a Razr for almost half a year before a CDMA version (V3c) was made. And then it took another few months before Alltel picked it up. Cingular (actually they are called AT&T Mobility now, but people don’t really know that, so for simplicity I’ll still refer to them as Cingular) will have the iPhone, and it’ll be one of the biggest tech launches this year. And people will buy it just because it’s an Apple product. But the iPhone is exclusive to Cingular and is GSM only until 2009. It’s rumored that we may see a CDMA version around that time, but by then it’ll be too old… And given CDMA providers release track record, probably not released until well into 2010.

So (after that little rant) what mobile provider should you use? I say it all depends on where you’re going to be using the phone. Now that may seem pretty obvious, but if you live here in old cell hell Defiance, Ohio, and will only use it there, a CDMA (Alltel, Sprint) company is probably your best bet. CDMA works practically anywhere in the US, aside from extreme fringe areas. (Ex. West Virginia mountain valleys, middle of Death Valley… Honestly this can happen to GSM providers too.). If you don’t live in Defiance (lucky you) you may want to entertain a GSM (Cingular, T-Mobile) company, depending if you want a cooler phone or not or if you do alot of international travel. Remember, these companies usually have up to 2 weeks return policies, so you can experiment on what works best for you. Try it at work, at home, on the way to work from home AND back.

If you’d like to learn more about current cell technologies and some of the acronyms, here’s a nice quick guide: Link