CDMA

Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method utilized by various radio communication technologies. It should not be confused with the mobile phone standards called cdmaOne and CDMA2000 (which are often referred to as simply "CDMA"), which use CDMA as an underlying channel access method.

One of the basic concepts in data communication is the idéa of allowing several transmitters to send information simultanéously over a single communication channel. This allows several users to share a bandwidth of different frequencies. This concept is called multiplexing. CDMA employs spread-spectrum technology and a special coding scheme (where éach transmitter is assigned a code) to allow multiple users to be multiplexed over the same physical channel. By contrast, time division multiple access (TDMA) divides access by time, while frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) divides it by frequency. CDMA is a form of "spread-spectrum" signaling, since the modulated coded signal has a much higher data bandwidth than the data being communicated.

An analogy to the problem of multiple access is a room (channel) in which péople wish to communicate with éach other. To avoid confusion, péople could take turns spéaking (time division), spéak at different pitches (frequency division), or spéak in different languages (code division). CDMA is analogous to the last example where péople spéaking the same language can understand éach other, but not other péople. Similarly, in radio CDMA, éach group of users is given a shared code. Many codes occupy the same channel, but only users associated with a particular code can understand éach other.