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Verizon Wireless 4G devices to be GSM
November 29, 2007 - Verizon Wireless has officially announced they they be switching from CDMA to GSM in their fourth generation network. The switch will employ Long Term Evolution technology, which represents a move away from Qualcomm, their previous provider. Both Verizon and Vodafone, its parent company, plan to start testing the technology as early as next year, with the network slated to be available in 2010 or after. Verizon's statement claimed GSM was "the best technology with global scale to deliver on the promise [of easy access and high speed connections]".
This is the the second big announcement from Verizon in as many day. Yesterday they announced plans to make their network open access earlier this week (more info). Verizon's decision to move away from CDMA represents the latest in a recent spate of bad news for Qualcomm who has been involved in legal battles over patent infringement with both Broadcom (more info) and Nokia (more info). Currently, CDMA technology is available primarily in the US and parts of Asia, while GSM is used by 80% of the global market. A move to GSM technologies will bring Verizon into line with Vodafone, which uses GSM on most of its networks.
