Inaccuracy in article
"T-Mobile, for example, predominantly relies upon GSM in the United States, whereas Verizon leverages a CDMA-based voice infrastructure and 3G-powered data network. Sprint/Nextel, meanwhile, utilizes a 3G wireless data network but is moving to the 3G EV-DO standard, whereas Cingular maintains a GSM network for voice service and GPRS and EDGE for data."
Not entirely accurate.
Better to turn this into a chart:
Carrier / Voice / Data
Cingular / GSM / GPRS & EDGE
Cingular-legacy / TDMA / none
Nextel-legacy / iDEN w/ opt. GSM / iDEN
Sprint / CDMA / EV-DO, Rev. A
T-Mobile / GSM / GPRS
Verizon / CDMA / EV-DO (Rev. A rollout in progress)
It's also important to note for travelers that
frequencies complicate compatibility. CDMA is used outside of North America, but those nations use different frequencies which North American cellphones can't use. Only GSM phones can be used in both North America and the rest of the world, but many GSM 'world-band' phones only have 1800MHz capability for overseas use, and lack the 900MHz often needed when travelling.
