CDMA or TDMA?

I have relocated in Northern Virginia and there don't appear to be any GSM service providers around, only CDMA (Verizon) and TDMA (ATT and Cingular). I don't really understand the difference between the two and I'm not sure which service I'd prefer.

In terms of needs I'm looking for the following:

Clear calls that don't drop
Service in Virginia, DC, Maryland and North Carolina.

I had VS GSM service in Denver and absolutely loved it, but they have no coverage in Virginia. Anyone have any recommendations? Thank you.

[larry]

Sprint is another CDMA provider in your area. VoiceStream will probably be coming there later this year.

[Matt]

What part of Northern Virginia are you in? DC Metro? VoiceStream is throughout NoVa, that's where I live. But the "VA" state is not highlighted - you can get to it in the online store though, or just choose DC. I've been a customer for 2 years. They have 7 stores in VA.

VS coverage extends south on I-95 to Fredericksburg. (40 mi. south of DC) Richmond/VaBeach/Norfolk/Charlottesville is supposed to go live in April.

I live off 95 just north of Fredericksburg...basically halfway between Fredericksburg proper and Stafford. In this area, for what I need, Verizon seems to have the best deal at the moment (between Verizon, Cingular and AT&T...after a REALLY bad experience with Sprint in Denver, I refuse to use them ever again). I'm wary of a CDMA carrier though. The (CDMA) salespeople swear it's superior to TDMA, but my Sprint CDMA in Denver was horrible. I used to joke that two tin cans with a string between them gave you better and more reliable connection than Sprint.

Audio quality and a lack of dropped calls is a high priority for me (hence why I loved VS in Denver so much) and I'm just trying to learn as much as I can before making a decision. Keep the input coming please.

Matt: Just re-read your reply and caught something I missed the first time. How reliable is your information that VS is going live in Norfolk/Richmond in April? If that's the case it might be worth waiting for me as I prefer a GSM connect to anything else.

Voicestream and Sprint both have smaller coverage areas. Vorizion,Cingular and ATT (in that order) have larger coverage areas. You are way better off, from a national coverage standpoint.

[KevinJames]

For an understanding of technologies, please feel free to browse my site's links: http://whitehare.topcities.com/WLinks.htm

[Estabon]

Go to Nextel.com and check out their coverage in Virginia the Carolinas and surrounding areas. They use TDMA which is very similar to GSM. Calls are clear and their system drops very few calls. I am also a fan of GSM and the only providers other than GSM that I've been satisfied with all use TDMA.
Good Luck!
Steve

[Jack]

Estabon,

Nextel uses Iden technology something that was developed by motorola.

Jack

[KevinJames]

I know this is splitting hairs, so please forgive my pettiness, but....

Nextel uses iDEN, which is also a time-division coding of digital signal, but it is a proprietary one designed by Motorola. iDEN phones will not work on TDMA networks.

(Whoops, sorry about that, Jack. Your post wasn't there when I started my reply.)

[Matt]

Well, here's what I know. I've been a VS customer for two years in DC (just one month after they bought the system from Sprint) and an investor longer....so this comes from various news/financial sources, and also calls to the local stores here in VA.

About a year ago (last spring), I was told that the Rich/norfolk launch would be in 4Q 2001.
Then, in the fall, I was told January 02.

A couple weeks ago, a VS employee told me they had received and email that the launch was now in April.

So.....while of course it's subject to more delay, I'd think they are just about ready. I've seen numerous news articles from Rich and VaBeach papers regarding tower sitings and planning commissions ets over the last year. They are building. Last month, someone reported GSM service in Charlottesville (about an hour? west of Rich. on i-64....but the service was "barred" by VS. So it wouldn't work but the signal was there. They've extended along 95 about 20 miles in the last year - service just reached Fredericksburg in the fall. I think someone also said there was some coverage on US 301 but I'm not sure if that was in MD or VA - look at a map for the general area. Of course, the i-95 corridor has to be an extremely high priority since VA is the only place on the east coast w/o GSM. Also, they have had retail jobs for those cities advertised on their website from time to time.

[Estabon]

I never stated or implied that Nextel would work on other TDMA networks. I am merely trying to make a point that GSM and TDMA are simmilar in function and call quality. I was also trying to demonstrate that Nextel phones use a channel access of TDMA which offers clear and few dropped calls. I guess this only leaves me wondering what to call their 3G CDMA proposal?
Thanks guys.
Steve

Thanks everyone for your replies and help in figuring this out.

Matt: So theoretically I could take a trip to Northern VA (remember, I'm a mile west of 95 between Fredericksburg and Stafford...exit 133 to be exact), pick up VS service from a shop and I should get coverage at my home? I wonder if the Richmond/Norfolk launches will incorporate more coverage in the Fredericksburg area? I greatly prefer VS, but if I can only use it on my front porch or on 95 heading north, it doesn't do me that much good.

At this point, assuming no VS coverage, I'm leaning toward AT&T I suppose. While salesman claim that CDMA technology is superior, 90% of the "real person" input I've received here, elsewhere and from friends says that TDMA is the way to go in the absence of GSM service. Anyone refute this with something concrete?

Thanks again for the input, I just want to make sure I get the right service before signing a 1 or 2 year contract.

[larry]

Don't always go by what you read on here because this forum happens to have a lot of pro AT&T and Nextel people. CDMA has some advantages over TDMA and GSM. One being that each cell site on the network can handle a higher volume of calls than the other two technologies. This can be an advantage in highly populated large cities during peak hours of use. Also CDMA carriers cover a much larger area nationwide than GSM carriers do and are in a better position to launch 3rd generation service more quickly. CDMA also gives you the best selection of phones to chose from. Have you looked into Verizon yet?

[KevinJames]

Here we go again.

Here is my take in direct response to the "which technology is best" debate.

Note that I <u>do not</u> disagree with my esteemed colleage's (Larry's) statement that CDMA as a technology is superior. It is just that technology is not the only measure.

Larry: Yes I looked into Verizon and I have to admit they probably have the best package deal(s) in terms of minutes/LD for the money in my area. The shared package I looked at is 300 anytime minutes with 3200 night and weekend minutes, LD included for $55/month. That's tough to beat.

However, unless I've missed some critical information, I have to disagree that CDMA gives the best selection of phones to choose from. For exmaple, none of the higher end Nokia phones are CDMA. Admittedly however, I am partial to Nokia phones. The LG-TM510 looks to be a decent CDMA phone though.

[larry]

CDMA providers don't offer many Nokias because they simply don't perform that well with CDMA technology since Nokia won't use the Qualcomm chip. I prefer Kyocera and Sanyo myself which are among the top performers on CDMA and have been rated highly by consumers.

[Matt]

Well, I can't offer any exact guarantees about Fredericksburg right now. I haven't been that way in a while, but VS sent me a note in my bill in the fall talking about expanded coverage to Fredericksburg, and when I was there last summer, I had a signal until I crossed into the city proper (crossing whatever river that is to leave Stafford Co.) - and that was in July last year, and I've heard the signal has gotten better. I would assume coverage would improve when they turn it all on. My advice if you want VS, go up to the Springfield Mall store (about exit 168? or so)......on a Friday....you have 72 business hours to return your phone and cancel w/o penalty, so that gives you until Tuesday I suppose. Drive around over the weekend and see if it meets your needs.

Matt: You hit on almost exactly what I plan to do. The Springfield mall store seems closest to me and the way I figure it, with them launching Richmond and Norfolk (even if it isn't on time in April), coverage has to expand overall because at some point they'll want to fill in the blanks between say Stafford and Richmond. Another reason I'm so big on VS now is that I plan to do a family plan with my uncle. He has a "beach house" in NC and it appears as if VS is the only carrier with service both in Virginia and there without any sort of outrageous roaming fees. Both he and I would then have full access to our plans while visiting the house.

However, when reading the fine print at the website I noticed two things I have to look into first. Fine print states that 1) Your billing address must be within a VS home market and 2) A minimum of 10% of your incoming/outgoing calls must be made from your home market. So basically I have to call them and see how exactly they define "home market". If it's by area code or zip code(s) I'm probably screwed for now. If however, Fredericksburg is part of the D.C./Baltimore home market I'm ok.

I'll pick up a plan, drive around to the spots I usually inhabit around Fredericksburg and see if I get a signal. If so, great, if not I guess Verizon is the best second option.

Again, thanks everyone for your input and advice.

[Matt]

I would assume Fredericksburg is part of the DC market. It's live, has been for a while, and is only 40 miles south of the Capital Beltway. Perhaps you should call the Spgfld store first before you go up there so they can activate you with a Fred. number. The 10% thing is new since all of the plans are nationwide roam/LD.

I would assume I-95 from Fred. south to NC would get turned on at once. Charlottesville too since people have picked up signal there.

Just wanted to give a final thanks to everyone of their help and input. I finally decided the VS coverage around here is just too sparse at the moment and went with a 1 year Verizon contract (at the end of 1 year I'll see both how happy I am with Verizon and how VS has expanded in the area).

My initial impression? I can definitely tell a difference in audio quality between Verizon CDMA and VS GSM. However, Verizon seems acceptable so far, even by my Nazi-like standards. The new plan they have is pretty nice also: $65/month, 2 phones, 400 anytime minutes, 250 mobile to mobile minutes, 3000 night and weekend minutes, LD included and no roaming over much of the United States. Hard to beat that deal from what my research showed.

Take care everyone.