When it comes to products and development, competition between rivals is always a good thing, right? Not when it comes to cell phone service. According to a recent article in Parade magazine data transmission in Europe and Asia is much faster than in the U.S. The Japanese have long been able to use their cellphones on the subway or use their handset like a credit card, both impossible anywhere in the United States.

The reason is simple. Europe and Asia decided long ago to adopt a single cellular network—GSM—whereas the United States still has two competing networks—GSM and CDMA. Because Europe and Asia have a single unified infrastructure underlying their cell phone service, different companies have been freed up to improve other aspects of their phones while the infrastructure takes care of itself. Maybe it’s time to turn the page on the battle of the cell phone signals and give American users a break.

Related Posts
Tags: CDMA, Cell Phones, GSM, Mobile Software