CDMA
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Telecom
| Stands for | Code-division multiple access |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
CDMA stands for Code-division multiple access, a telecom abbreviation.
Radio technique, and the family of cellular standards built on it, in which many users share the same frequencies simultaneously by giving each transmission a unique code. In the United States, Verizon and Sprint ran CDMA networks, while AT&T and T-Mobile used GSM.
Example: My old Verizon phone was CDMA-only, so it wouldn't work with a European SIM card.
Usage notes
Qualcomm commercialized CDMA with the IS-95 (cdmaOne) standard in the mid-1990s and later CDMA2000 for 3G. Early CDMA phones lacked SIM cards and were tied to carriers by serial numbers, complicating switching. Verizon shut down its CDMA network at the end of 2022. Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), used in UMTS, applies the same principle in the GSM family.
Related abbreviations
More telecom abbreviations
- AMPS – Advanced Mobile Phone System
- APN – Access Point Name
- ARPU – Average revenue per user
- BT – British Telecom (BT Group)
- BTS – Base transceiver station
- CBRS – Citizens Broadband Radio Service
- CLI – Calling line identification
- CPE – Customer premises equipment
- DAB – Digital Audio Broadcasting
- DECT – Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications
- DOCSIS – Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification
- DSL – Digital subscriber line