What are the differences between the different wireless networks?
• GSM: This stands for global system for mobile communications, and is the standard transmission and reception technology used for wireless phones in Europe and much of the rest of the world outside the U.S. Most countries, logically, decided to pick a single, standard wireless phone technology years ago, and they settled on GSM. The U.S., incredibly, refused to settle on a standard and that blunder has resulted in a patchwork of multiple, incompatible technologies. The result has been better and more innovative wireless phones and wireless services in Europe than in the U.S. GSM exists in the U.S., and is gaining ground here, though it is broadcast on a different frequency than the system used in Europe. It is used by companies including VoiceStream, Cingular and AT&T, which is in the process of converting its network to GSM. • CDMA: The most widespread of the three main wireless phone technologies used in the U.S., it stands for code-division multiple access, and is the system used b
