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DoD Dreams of Efficient Spectrum Usage

Posted by michael on from the spectrum-spectrum-everywhere-and-nary-a-drop-to-drink dept.

Unstrung writes "US Military research agency DARPA is sick of all those static-filled cellphone calls and dropped connections too. The shadowy eggheads are working on a way of using the bandwidth available today more efficiently."

2 of 135 comments (clear)

  1. You should see the logo by cosmicg · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    It's a smilling cartoon cellphone, in front of a burning WTC, encased in the Pentagon.

    --
    Cache Rules Everything Around Me
  2. Re:GSM by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    GSM (TDMA) is so inferior to what most providers in the US use (CDMA) that the rest of the world is gradually changing their GSM networks to CDMA. The trick is, it's still going to be called GSM.

    GSM came into existence pretty much by committee with alternatives not allowed. The US took a hands-off approach and let the wireless companies implement whatever system they wanted, so that the better product could win. The better product (CDMA) has won, and the US is sitting pretty while the rest of the world faces an expensive transition of their network hardware from TDMA to CDMA.

    Universal compatibility is good, but it's not so important a factor that it should always outweigh higher quality. Kinda like Microsoft software provides universal compatibility but otherwise sucks.