1. aptyp's Avatar
    gsm vs cdma

    i'm not trying to start a flame war here, just looking for some answers.

    was with sprint then went to tmobile. loved the new phone but the service quality was so horrendous that i reconnected my old blackberry with sprint last night. was with tmobile for approximately 4 months.

    i constantly had people telling me they can't get through, calls went direct to VM. had problems calling out, failed calls, calls that took 10-15 seconds to start ringing. Another big issue is that the handoff between towers was often problematic. This was EDGE to EDGE, not even 3G to EDGE. And I ended up dropping calls at least once a day. Dropping into SOS mode was a daily occurrence. And this was already on a second blackberry 9700.

    People around me who have att complain of similar problems.

    This is in suburban Chicago, we're not talking about a marginal area, Tmobile maps show it to be "excellent" signal. My job takes me all over the suburbs and the city and had similar service issues everywhere.

    I used to have US Cellular and more recently Sprint. With these two CDMA carriers I rarely dropped a call and have never seen it lose service (except with first batch of Tour).

    I have a feeling that GSM technology should be more mature, I have not seen these problems since my first cell phone with primeco in 1998. What gives?

    1) Is it GSM that has these problems?

    2) Is it poor carrier infrastructure?

    3) Are people living with this terrible service quality just because they are reluctant to make a change?

    4) Are people in europe having the same issues or is it just bad equipment in the US?

    Really would appreciate your experience.
    02-17-10 12:06 PM
  2. coolbreezy's Avatar
    dont know exactly how to answer your question but i have used all the carriers in chicagoland at some point and have found the 2 gsm carriers just dont hold up. ive always wondered the same thing. ive also noticed that there really is no difference between sprint and VZW service quality here as well.
    02-17-10 12:20 PM
  3. F0nage's Avatar
    I've used both pure CDMA and pure GSM for years and I never saw any difference in voice performance. My use was probably 50/50 city/rural.

    I haven't used data over CDMA so I can't speak to that.

    Most of it depends on your handset and your carrier's infrastructure. A lot of well made office buildings are tough for cell phones because of construction and RFI from office equipment, a lot depends where you use the phone.

    Maybe some Chicago people will have more to say.
    02-17-10 12:23 PM
  4. trees247's Avatar
    I read somewhere that CDMA go threw walls better than GSM....
    02-17-10 12:24 PM
  5. CanuckBB's Avatar
    I read somewhere that CDMA go threw walls better than GSM....
    Not in my experience. My CDMA phone gets no signal in my basement while GSM one always do.
    02-17-10 01:26 PM
  6. morales0416's Avatar
    IMHO CDMA is better for voice where as gsm is much better for data, I know there is some articles to back up my statement google it

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    02-17-10 01:31 PM
  7. Cleveland's Avatar
    Not in my experience. My CDMA phone gets no signal in my basement while GSM one always do.
    i've seen it both ways ... CDMA where GSM wouldn't get service and GSM where CDMA wouldn't...

    just depends sometimes
    02-17-10 01:33 PM
  8. Xpimp's Avatar
    I read somewhere that CDMA go threw walls better than GSM....
    It depends on the frequency, it has nothing to do with the technology.
    02-17-10 01:38 PM
  9. syb0rg's Avatar
    It really depends on the area you live in. I live in Cincinnati ohio and it seems like GSM rules. my T-Mobile and my sisters ATT gets better signal then some VZW and Sprint users we know..

    As far as data/service goes CDMA is typically clocked faster that GSM on uploads and downloads but, GSM can handle Voice and Data @ the same time. Where as CDMA is Voice or Data, one at a time.
    02-17-10 01:50 PM
  10. rjdangerous's Avatar
    IMHO CDMA is better for voice where as gsm is much better for data, I know there is some articles to back up my statement google it

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com


    worthless post w/out link
    02-17-10 01:59 PM
  11. PGHammer's Avatar
    i've seen it both ways ... CDMA where GSM wouldn't get service and GSM where CDMA wouldn't...

    just depends sometimes
    The GSM v. CDMA debate is often region-specific and carrier-specific. In the US, the Big Two comprise one of each (AT&T Mobility is GSM, while VZW is CDMA); however, their coverage is *not* equal, even in the areas where they overlap (AT&T has better *data* coverage in Manhattan vs. VZW, while VZW is better in Brooklyn and Queens, and the two are about even in the Bronx and both Long and Staten Island).

    With second-tier carriers (even national second-tier carriers such as T-Mobile and Sprint), the situation is even less clear-cut (compared to each other, let alone either of the Big Two).

    It still often boils down to where you use your phone the most, and for what.
    02-17-10 02:11 PM
  12. syb0rg's Avatar
    worthless post w/out link
    WiMAX vs. HSPA+: The Hands-On Test - Reviews by PC Magazine

    HSPA+ could be the winner in the LTE vs. WiMax contest | Platforms - InfoWorld

    I know that's talking about Next Gen Radio technology but still, the proof is there.
    02-17-10 02:14 PM
  13. vincentnyc's Avatar
    The op has 9700 and on t-mo. Since u were getting drop call on EDGE or 3G...y didn't u use UMA? U don't have any wifi at home or work?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    02-17-10 02:16 PM
  14. syb0rg's Avatar
    The op has 9700 and on t-mo. Since u were getting drop call on EDGE or 3G...y didn't u use UMA? U don't have any wifi at home or work?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Because UMA constantly drops calls, as soon as you leave the Wi-Fi area, and the call will drop faster than fat man who sat down do fast. My wife was dropping calls left and right in our house, she turned off wi-fi, went back to EDGE and he calls never dropped again.
    02-17-10 02:24 PM
  15. vincentnyc's Avatar
    Because UMA constantly drops calls, as soon as you leave the Wi-Fi area, and the call will drop faster than fat man who sat down do fast. My wife was dropping calls left and right in our house, she turned off wi-fi, went back to EDGE and he calls never dropped again.
    First don't speak for the op. And y would u leave a wifi area if u r at work or home? U are not making call while u r walking on the street.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    02-17-10 03:39 PM
  16. syb0rg's Avatar
    First:
    1) my house has five different living areas on it
    2) my wi-fi router is on the very top floor of my house
    3) when i go into the basement, to the washer and drier, i lose Wi-Fi due to the Fuse/Circuit breaker box being right there, and i get alot of RF interference. so i lose Wi-Fi = Losing UMA.

    Second:
    Do not tell me what to post and when to post it, do not tell me when i cannot post and who i can refer to... UMA is not all you are cracking it up to be. I cannot count how many threads i've seen on UMA = dropped calls.

    And i am fully aware of the mods that run this joint. And i know each one carries a mod stick, but when the mod sticks come together they make a ban hammer. And some of the users on this site are unaware of that. So please Vinney before you get poked with a stick, do not start anything.
    02-17-10 03:55 PM
  17. vincentnyc's Avatar
    First:
    1) my house has five different living areas on it
    2) my wi-fi router is on the very top floor of my house
    3) when i go into the basement, to the washer and drier, i lose Wi-Fi due to the Fuse/Circuit breaker box being right there, and i get alot of RF interference. so i lose Wi-Fi = Losing UMA.

    Second:
    Do not tell me what to post and when to post it, do not tell me when i cannot post and who i can refer to... UMA is not all you are cracking it up to be. I cannot count how many threads i've seen on UMA = dropped calls.

    And i am fully aware of the mods that run this joint. And i know each one carries a mod stick, but when the mod sticks come together they make a ban hammer. And some of the users on this site are unaware of that. So please Vinney before you get poked with a stick, do not start anything.
    Is that a threat? First I ask the op a direct question and not u. Y r u answering for the op is beyond me. Second, have u heard of wifi repeater? Do some homework before u open ur mouf again.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    02-17-10 04:02 PM
  18. syb0rg's Avatar
    Is that a threat? First I ask the op a direct question and not you. WHY ARE YOU answering for the op is beyond me. Second, have YOU heard of wifi repeater? Do some homework before YOU open YOUR MOUTH again.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    [fixed]
    It's not a threat Vinney, im not a mod, nor an admin. But with your other UMA thread just got 30 post cleaned out of it ... I'd just be really care with what you are saying... i'm not saying i'm just saying...

    and me dropping UMA to EDGE is not worth me going out and spending extra money for 15mins of "well darn it, I don't have UMA" and my wife and i have unlimited minuets on our phone so UMA has no beneficial end results for us to use it.
    Last edited by mjneid; 02-17-10 at 04:40 PM.
    02-17-10 04:38 PM
  19. pkcable's Avatar
    Guys,

    Ok this one ain't TOO bad, HOWEVER there were a few reports, and NOT from each other. Other members actually reported this. Come on guys, you have taken this argument from another thread. Can we give it a rest? You both are valued members of the CB family. Can we shake like men and agree to disagree and move forward, and end this silly thing? Don't make me use that famous mod stick.
    02-17-10 04:44 PM
  20. aptyp's Avatar
    The op has 9700 and on t-mo. Since u were getting drop call on EDGE or 3G...y didn't u use UMA? U don't have any wifi at home or work?

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    To be fair, the UMA is the only stable thing I had with the service. Calls never dropped and always dialed out immediately. This was the only way I could have Tmo at my house since i seem to live in a cell phone black hole.

    But the coverage did not extend into my garage, so i would always drop when getting into my car. It would usually go into SOS mode and would not recover for 5-10 minutes or until i turn the network off, count to 5, turn it back on.

    Tmo support is wonderful and they promised to look at the problem. They have always been best of all the cell carriers in my opinion. But i made up my mind that i can't take this quality of service, while I was driving on a highway and calling tmobile to report poor coverage at my house the connection dropped due to cell tower handoff not working. I mean honestly, i was driving on a major highway and the connection dropped. No words to describe how i felt at that moment.
    02-17-10 09:41 PM
  21. aptyp's Avatar
    But my question is this, is there anything inherently flawed about GSM in general or is this just poor network execution? And if it's poor network, then how can the two competing companies have the same types of issues? I can't imagine that they are sharing towers or equipment.
    02-17-10 09:44 PM
  22. syb0rg's Avatar
    But my question is this, is there anything inherently flawed about GSM in general or is this just poor network execution? And if it's poor network, then how can the two competing companies have the same types of issues? I can't imagine that they are sharing towers or equipment.
    In the USA T-Mobile and AT&T share nothing. T-Mobile will have selective service areas. meaning T-Mobile will have fewer HSPA active areas. But they do not have the iPhone and the soon to be iPad and every other smart phone out there bogging it down.

    I personally prefer T-Mobile, they have better coverage, they are faster, and the customer service is top notch. But i live in Cincinnati Ohio, BUT ATT might have better coverage in your area. It's really hard to ask.

    IF you are worrying about service, ask people you know that live near you. I'm sure you'll find someone with ATT and someone with T-Mobile.
    02-18-10 07:51 AM
  23. mciriello's Avatar
    I have a VZ BB and an ATT iPhone. I find that the GSM quality is better in urban areas but CDMA coverage is better in rural areas. YMMV.
    02-18-10 09:44 AM
  24. aptyp's Avatar
    In the USA T-Mobile and AT&T share nothing. ....
    I mean do they use the same brand equipment? This might be a little too off topic for the blackberry forum :-)

    in any case, now i'm happily back on my ancient 8130 with it's tiny low rez screen and slow processor. but at least i have not lost a call in 36 hours.
    02-18-10 09:17 PM
  25. JoshiesWorld's Avatar
    It's really depends on where you live and where you use the most. I was with GSM and it was alright, but then I switched to CDMA and data and voice here is more amazing than GMS I was on in Kentucky.

    For main about that is most of GSM offers unlimited pics, videos, audio messaging and unlimited data plan in certain price. But often, in my experience. CDMA sells limited data and limited text messaging, but however there's certain, especially I am with do sell unlimited text messaging but it never comes with pictures/videos/audio messaging feature although.
    02-18-10 10:01 PM
30 12
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD