Difference Between WCDMA and GSM

WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiplexing Access) and GSM are two technologies that are used in mobile telecommunications. The difference between these two is that GSM

 is a 2G technology and WCDMA is a part of the newer 3G group of technologies. Being newer and more advanced, WCDMA is now the technology that people want and it is slowly being deployed in a lot of areas that are already being occupied by GSM. Sooner or later, the WCDMA network would equal the coverage of GSM, making the GSM network redundant. With this said, it is clear that the GSM network is slowly being phased out and replaced with the newer and better WCDMA. But for now, GSM is still the most widespread technology that is used in the whole world. Surpassing all other 2G and 3G alternatives.

The primary reason why telecommunications companies are having problems with rapidly deploying is the difference in the frequency bands they use. Because of this, GSM only phones, cannot communicate with WCDMA only networks and vice versa. In order to circumvent this, it has become common for most phone manufacturers to include multiple frequency bands for both 2G networks and 3G networks. This ensures that their mobile phones can be used in almost any network and any location in the world. Telecommunications companies need to deploy a WCDMA network over their existing GSM network to provide 3G services while still maintaining compatibility with older mobile phones that are not compatible with WCDMA.

Although WCDMA support has become quite common in most mobile phones, there are still some models that do not support it. When you are buying a mobile phone, you should look at its specifications in order to make sure that it supports WCDMA and the frequencies available in your area. This is to ensure that you can use it in your country’s networks. Even non-GSM networks are choosing to add WCDMA support as it is the most popular 3G technology. Sooner or later older and competing network standards, namely GSM, CDMA, and EV-DO, would probably be phased out and replaced with WCDMA.

Summary:
1.WCDMA is a 3G technology while GSM is a 2G technology
2.GSM is slowly being phased out in favor of CDMA
3.GSM is still more widespread than CDMA
4.WCDMA and GSM uses different frequency bands
5.WCDMA offers much faster data speeds than GSM
6.WCDMA would soon replace GSM