GSM and TDMA have traditionally used a system of assigning a specific frequency to each user.  CDMA systems use instead, every channel available in the spectrum.  The concept of message sending over several frequencies, instead of one is a military technology developed during World War II by English allies to foil German attempts at jamming transmissions.  Qualcomm created communications chips for CDMA technology and it was privy to the classified information.  Once the information became public, Qualcomm claimed patents on the technology and became the first to commercialize it.

Individual conversations are encoded with a pseudo-random digital sequence.  CDMA consistently provides better capacity for voice and data communications than other commercial mobile technologies, allowing more subscribers to connect at any given time.  It is the common platform on which 3G technologies are built.

3G is the term used to describe next generation mobile services which provide better quality voice and high-speed Internet and multimedia services.  The CDMA technology is also noted for the superior voice and call quality as it filters out background noise and interference, fewer dropped calls as a result of its "soft-hand-off" method of passing calls and improved security and privacy virtually eliminating eavesdropping and fraud.

In the purest techno terms, CDMA is characterized by high capacity and small cell radius, employing spread-spectrum technology and a special coding scheme.  This is what makes CDMA networks ideal for the provision of high-speed internet services.  It is facilitated by 1xRTT or CDMA 2000 (which is 3G wireless technology based on the CDMA platform).  Similar to the GPRS service offered on GSM networks, 1XRTT is the data service overlay on the CDMA network but with noticeably higher speeds than GPRS.  1XRTT offers maximum speeds of144kps; however, one can reasonably expect to experience speeds of 80kps -100kps.

MiPhone, the sole CDMA carrier in Jamaica, currently offers high-speed internet services using 1XRTT on selected areas of its network.  In the United States, leading carriers such as Verizon and Sprint operate complete CDMA 2000 (1xRTT) networks.  It is the fastest growing wireless technology with over 256 million subscribers worldwide.  Currently 35 countries have either commercial or trial activity ongoing with the system.

Other than providing high-speed internet services, 1xRTT is the enabler for a host of innovative, revolutionary and fun applications and services - both for businesses and consumers.  One such application is BREW.  BREW - Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless - was developed by Qualcomm and is an open source application development platform for wireless devices - primarily CDMA devices.  BREW makes it possible for developers to create portable applications that will work on any mobile handset equipped with CDMA chipsets.

There are a bevy of BREW developers across the world that create a variety of applications and content such as downloadable interactive multiplayer games, wallpapers, ring tones and instant messaging for mobile handsets.  But there is so much more.  For businesses, imagine being able to manage, dispatch and track your fleet of vehicles using a BREW enabled cell phone.  Through Qualcomm's OmniOne Solution, dispatchers are able to send work assignments to a driver's OmniOne solution enabled phone.  Drivers view the information on their mobile phone in an easy-to-read format.  After viewing the load assignment, a driver simply presses one key to accept or reject the assignment-the transaction is quick and convenient.  Upon request, directions can be automatically provided to the driver via the mobile phone.  Televigation, a company based in California, has developed TeleNavTrack which reports the location of your mobile resources (employees, vehicles, etc.) by recording data from the GPS receivers in a BREW enabled cell phones and sending this data wirelessly to the TeleNavTrack server, from where it is transmitted to the companies PC via the Web.  Another great service that BREW can enable is Push-to-Talk (PTT) which has been made popular by U.S. carrier Nextel.  PTT is a software technology for mobile phones that is designed to let you use your phone in real-time direct one-to-one and one-to-many voice communication.  Essentially it is a walkie-talkie type service using a mobile handset that allows group calling, meaning one person can speak to everyone in their assigned or current group at once, just by pressing a PTT key on the mobile phone.  PTT has the ability for you to set-up various lists of contacts within your phone that you can communicate with at once e.g. Managers list, field worker list or Sales Representative list.  To control which person can speak and be heard, PTT requires the person speaking to press a button while talking and then release it when they are done.  The listener then presses their button to respond.  This way the system knows which direction the signal should be travelling in.  This service is ideal for companies with mobile workers or for any company that has the need to communicate quickly with a group of related individuals at the same time.  For the everyday mobile user, imagine being able to watch your favourite show or sports game LIVE on your BREW enabled handset.  BREW enables video streaming directly to the handset.  MobiTV has been leading the way with this innovation.  Subscribers on Verizon's and Sprint's network currently enjoy this service.

Worried about what is happening at home or office while you are away?  InetCam has developed a software, iMviewer that enables users to monitor virtually any camera or video source live from their cell phone.  Built on the BREW platform, iMViewer provides the user with a high quality and secure connection to their business or home while they are away.  The user is able to select which camera they would like to view from the list of camera locations on their phone.  Once the camera/location is selected, the user is able to view the location and navigate the camera.

CDMA carriers, such as Verizon, have recently adopted the evolution or upgrade to the CDMA network - EV-DO.  EV-DO stands for Evolution Data Only or Evolution Data Optimised.  EV-DO runs at a maximum download speed of 2.4 Mbps with typical speeds of 400 to 800 Kbps.

MiPhone is Jamaica's exclusive CDMA mobile phone network operator.  MiPhone's CDMA network provides crystal- clear voice calls across the 14 parishes and high-speed packet data services over its 1XRTT network in Kingston.  MiPhone offers innovative products and services such as MiBiz and MiCircle, the leading flat rate closed user group plans in Jamaica.  MiPhone is solely owned by Oceanic Digital Communications Jamaica Ltd.