A guideline for a rational comparison of TDMA and CDMA multiple access schemes

摘要

The discussion about the 2nd and 3rd generation digital mobilc communications systems air interfaceis mainly driven by strategic lobbying for cither CDMA or TDMA multiple access schemes.This paper provides a guideline for a rational comparison of the schemes without referring to technicaldetail or implementation aspects.Rather issues that are of interest to the operator such as resistance to interference,the maximum reliable information rate on the channel,robustness to channel impairments and the impact on radio link control are addressed.Profound analysis demonstrates that none of the two schemes provides advantages in general,but that both schemes have inherent drawbacks and benefits.