What is CDMA Network | How to Work CDMA Technology?

Network telecommunications is one of the most recognized inventions for several decades, and they keep on advancing year by year. There are many inventions in the world which some have caused destruction while others have brought about goodwill to humans. When we look at the evolution of telecommunications, our focus tends to rely on network technologies and how they tend to work.

You may be asking yourself the big question; what is CDMA network technology? In a layman’s term, this is a wireless network whereby one can send information concurrently over a single communication channel. The complexity is not extensive compared to Heisenberg’s Quantum mechanics since it is mostly based on radio waves leading to a correlation to implementing it in mobile phones.

CDMA has been in the world for almost a century, but there are some latest inventions which may see its shut down. Currently, China and the US are working on the latest designs in the telecommunications network, 5G technology. This does not mean that CDMA will be completely shut down of CDMA because it is also used in other platforms aside from mobile phones. If you wish to learn more about the invention of CDMA, what carriers use CDMA, and any info related to it, then this article is for you.

History of CDMA Network Technology

CDMA was invented back in 1935 and was used in the early times by the Soviet Union. The first work was published back in 1935 by Dimitry Ageev, who was a Russian scientist and an educationist. The full name for CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access. It was first used in 1957 by a military radio engineer named Leonid in Moscow.

The purpose was to experiment with a model of a wearable automatic mobile phone. Since then, there have been several advancements in terms of the phones being developed and those associated with CDMA technology. In the past the CDMA was used for the following purposes;

It was used as an early application for the development of a Global positioning system (GPS).
The development of Qualcomm interim standard-95; one of the first cellular phones
CDMA is used in the satellite system for transportation of logistics.
The development of UMTs 3G mobile.

How does CDMA network technology work?

CDMA works in a manner called multiplexing. This is whereby signals are allowed to occupy a single transmission channel, which leads to optimization of the available bandwidth. CDMA, however, uses more processing power because of the Ultra high frequency, which is used in phone with bands ranging between 800-MHz to 1.9-GHz bands. When it comes to the new era of the 21^st century, CDMA works very differently. Every calls data is encoded with a unique key, and calls are transmitted at once.

CDMA is a compelling technology since it led to the creation of 3G, which people tend to presume it is under GSM network technology. The 3G is actually referred to as the WCDMA, and it is more of an advancement of the CDMA since it uses more full channels compared to the old CDMA, and it also has more data capacity.

Which carriers use CDMA network technology in the US?

In the US, there are less standard network operators who use CDMA network technology. Currently, the Mobile virtual network operators have been seen to dominate the market, but people tend to relate them to be using the CDMA or GSM network technology. By virtual, the MVNOs lease network transmission from the standard network operators like Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint, Qlink wireless and many more.

However, the MVNOs lease carriers from both conventional providers that use CDMA and GSM technology. Some are even owned entirely by the standard network operators. So also, MVNOs use network technologies like GSM and CDMA, and the only difference is that they do not hold them fully. Some of the MVNOs that use CDMA include the following;

Credo Mobile
GreatCall
Visible mobile
Pix wireless
Page Plus
Twigby
US mobile
TracFone
Red pocket
Net10
Total wireless
Straight talk wireless

The standard service providers that use the CDMA network technologies are the following;

Verizon wireless

This carrier is known best to offer reliable network coverage across the country and also affordable plans.

Sprint Mobile

Ranked among the big four carriers in the US, this company offers stable nationwide network coverage and also affordable plans.

These are the two major service providers in the US that use CDMA, but they plan to shut the technology, and here is why.

Why is CDMA network technology not widely used?

The latest inventions in wireless networks may see a downfall of CDMA, which once was eminent of network technologies. The latest inventions like LTE have seen around 717 network operators launch it due to the efficiency and reliability that comes with it. CDMA network technology uses an outdated processing system. They also have other downfalls like;

Every phone needs to be preapproved in order to work with the network

Since CDMA network does not use Sim cards, every data about the phone is stored by the service provider like Sprint and Verizon This limits users on the type of phone they wish to buy.

VoLTE is not available in most devices

You are not able to use both voice and data at the same time with a CDMA network technology phone

It is not compatible with most Global standards

Most Global service providers use the GSM and LTE, which you can easily swap your phone, and with CDMA carriers, it is very hard since they do not meet Global standards like GSM and LTE.

Compatible phones are few

Phones which can use CDMA and GSM concurrently are very few and are mostly flagship devices. This makes it hard for people who tend to opt for BYOP in several service providers.

So with all these factors, carriers like Verizon wireless plan to switch off their CDMA networks by the end of this year while Sprint will keep it up to 2020. Once they switch off, you will be able to get LTE and 4G network technologies, which is better compared to CDMA.

Bottom Line

CDMA is becoming more volatile in Global telecommunications due to the latest inventions. This does not mean that it will become extinct. It is also a very powerful tool for doing research, and if research is done well, many other inventions may come out of it.