BB ELECTRONICS CATALOG (2010)

Backup Network
Mobile Police Safety
Wireless
Cellular Technology – The Alphabet Soup Explained
Nothing makes selecting a product more difficult than navigating through datasheets filled with acronyms. Unlike most
technophiles, I absolutely hate acronyms. All technologies have their fair share of random letters grouped together that mean
something to somebody. But it appears that the engineers in charge of cellular technology got in line twice when the letters were
being handed out. And they don’t even sound cool… at least you can pronounce ASCII…
The most confusion comes when discussing the type of cellular network. When you ask
somebody this question, they will usually answer with the company they send the bill to.
But, the answer is actually GSM or CDMA.
GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications. It is the most
popular standard for cell phone networks in the world. This is the standard that
AT&T uses in the U.S. It is also very popular with most international carriers.
Besides the technical difference that I will not go into, GSM networks require a
SIM card. SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module. As the name implies, this
card identifies your device on the network.
CDMA is short for Code Division Multiple Access. This system is mainly used
in the U.S. CDMA systems do not use a SIM card. Instead, your device needs to be
programmed. The CDMA network is used by Sprint and Verizon in the U.S.
Now for the G’s… GSM and CDMA are both 2G networks. The “G” stands for
Generation. The first generation was called AMPS. It was an analog network used way
back in the 80’s. Second generation GSM and CDMA networks are digital and can handle
voice and data - data being what we care about. 2G networks are relatively slow. Third
Generation, or 3G networks are faster and can deliver data at speeds comparable to your home
DSL router or better.
Serial Radio
Modems Modular I/O Antennas WiFi/802.11
Ethernet
Bridges
Cellular
Routers
There are several types of 3G networks.
EV-DO: This stands for Evolution-Data Optimized. It is associated with CDMA networks and can deliver data at speeds
ranging from 144 Kbps to 2 Mbps.
UMTS and HSDPA: UMTS stands for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. HSDPA stands for High-Speed Downlink
Packet Access. These are upgrades to GSM networks, and like EV-DO, they provide high speed data throughput. Without
getting technical, the only difference between the two is that HSDPA is faster than UMTS and is sometimes called 3.5G. In the
U.S., AT&T offers both UMTS and HSDPA.
In between 3G and 2G are the “2.5G” networks. These are generally good enough for most industrial and
commercial applications. A variation of the CDMA standard is 1xRTT, or “1 times Radio Transmission
Technology.” It delivers speeds between 30 Kbps and 90 Kbps. On the GSM side are GPRS and EDGE.
GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service. EDGE is short for Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution.
They also deliver between 30 and 90 Kbps data rates.
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