Talk:United States/@comment-24.4.12.176-20150517200454/@comment-24682153-20150517225615

OK. I try it once again.

Of the about 200 territories and countries in the world currently ALL are using GSM-based systems and about a dozen (mostly additionally) CDMA. Both systems are not compatible (except for some LTE). Most CDMA SIMs can not be changed, only in the latest generation of smartphones CDMA uses a sort of SIM module which is changeable at all.

But the GSM operators listed here can all be used, if

• you have an unlocked GSM device

• your device works on the frequency offered.

This clearly doesn't apply to CDMA. You can't use it in Europe or Africa at all. Well, you personally have a dual-device which is very rare. But you can use only the GSM part in Europe. You can't put in a Vodafone SIM from whereever in the Sprint slot.

Still there are very few countries out of the US, where the CDMA providers are mentioned like in Canada, Japan, China to show you where you can swap CDMA providers. The prime intention of this Wiki is to show the choices you have for visitors of each country. Coming to the U.S. it is very unlikely that you carry a CDMA device, but a GSM. To feature providers which are technically incompatible by 95% of countries and about 99% of the devices sold in the world, is simply too confusing.

So for clarity it has been decided to skip all CDMA providers. Only some rental offers of wifi hotspots may use this system, which does not make any difference for the user as he is hooked up by Wifi.

The markets of the US and the rest of the world have so many frequency incompartibilities like no other country because of frequency mismatches. Adding Verizon or Sprint which can't be used by 99% of the visitors to the US will make this chapter completely incomprehensible.