With existing networks nearing saturation and demand for wireless services continuing to grow, operators are looking at technologies that will deliver increased capacity at the lowest possible cost. In fact, one of the biggest drivers behind 3G is capacity improvement, and network capacity is one of the key criteria for 3G technology selection. cdmaOne and CDMA2000 are the most spectrally efficient technologies and outperform current non-CDMA 2G technologies by a factor of 2 times or better on the maximum number of voice calls supported. The CDMA industry is also deploying new solutions that will further enhance the capacity of existing networks. More importantly, CDMA capacity advantages are real, with operators experiencing these benefits today. cdmaOne delivers the most capacity in the 2G world, even considering the latest frequency hopping techniques and Adaptive Multi-Rate voice codecs in GSM networks. CDMA2000 1X, being deployed worldwide, doubles the capacity of the cdmaOne networks.

New products are being developed and deployed which will further boost the capacity of CDMA networks. These include Selectable Mode Vocoder (SMV), receive diversity, and smart antenna technologies. SMV and receive diversity are specific to CDMA technologies. Both are backward compatible (work on cdmaOne and CDMA2000 networks), do not require new standards, are transparent to the end user and can be rolled out as needed over time.

CDMA Enhancements Build On A Strong Foundation
By CDG, November 2002

Enhancing Technologies

Smart Antennas
Smart antenna technology can significantly increase cdmaOne and CDMA2000 capacity and expand coverage by using multiple antennas to provide more accurate directional targeting. Operators who have been testing the technology have achieved nearly 100% increases in capacity in their cdmaOne networks.

Mobile Receive Diversity
Through the implementation of dual receiver/dual antenna handsets and additional receive diversity at the base station, operators can increase capacity 70 percent. In addition to the capacity enhancements, receive diversity improves coverage, reduces interference and increases battery life of the terminal.

Selectable Mode Vocoder
Learn more about the Selectable Mode Vocoder (SMV), a technology that provides significant capacity and quality gains on cdmaOne and CDMA2000 systems.