Difference between OFDM and CDMA
This page describes difference between OFDM and CDMA technical specifications.
OFDM stands for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing and CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access. OFDM is a multiple carrier system where in multiple carriers are packed very densely and all are allocated with data bits based on complex modulation scheme. CDMA on the other end is a single carrier system. There exists techniques which combines benefits of both viz. MC-CDMA (Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple-Access) and OFCDM (Orthogonal Frequency & Code Division Multiplexing).
OFDM is employed in the WLAN and WiMAX systems as physical layer modulation technique to enhance the data rate. CDMA is the more secured technique employed in cellular systems due to transmission at noise power level. OFDM is more difficult to operate at the cell edge boundaries compare to CDMA technology. CDMA provides protection in cell edge from inter-cell interference due to scrambling code while OFDM do not have such provision.
| Specifications | OFDM | CDMA |
|---|---|---|
| Transmission bandwidth | variable with max. upto system bandwidth | Equal to Full system bandwidth |
| Symbol period | very long and it depends on subcarrier spacing, it is independent of system bandwidth | very short and it is inverse of system bandwidth |
| multipath resistance | Free from multipath upto the length of cycli prefix | It is very difficult above 5MHz |
| MIMO | Ideal for MIMO because of signal representation in frequency domain | Need more computing power bacause of signal defined in the time domain |
| User separation | Frequency and time, scrambling and spreading can also be used. | scrambling and orthogonal spreading codes |
| Frequency domain distortion & interference sensitivity | It is vulnerable to narrow band distortion and interference | It is averaged across channel due to spreading |
| Equalization | Easy for all the bandwidths because of frequency domain representation | It is very difficult above 5MHz |
| Frequency selective scheduling | It is possible and need very accurate real time feedback of channel conditions from receiver to the transmitter | Not possible |
What is Difference between
difference between FDM and OFDM
Difference between SC-FDMA and OFDM
Difference between SISO and MIMO
Difference between TDD and FDD
Difference between 802.11 standards viz.11-a,11-b,11-g and 11-n
OFDM vs OFDMA
CDMA vs GSM
Bluetooth vs zigbee
Fixed wimax vs mobile