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CDMA vs GSM

Added by S F over 9 years ago

I want to begin by saying that I really appreciate the Replicant project very much. I am a big fan of privacy, freedom, and also health. I am excited about the Replicant project and hope to see the Replicant project grow and thrive. I am not a software or hardware person who can help contribute to the project which saddens me some. What I lack in technical skills and education I try making it up by spreading the word to others about privacy, freedom, and health so others can make their own informed decisions. At this time I am conflicted and like to share my concerns in hope to receive a response that can guide me in the right direction.

1st concern: Prior to learning about Replicant, I chose to be with Sprint which is on a CDMA network based upon a health decision but unaware of privacy issues. I am a non-mainstream health practitioner who believes that the Electro Magnetic Frequencies (EMF) produced by electronics do have an effect upon people's health to one degree or another based upon if the individual is sensitive or allergic to EMF or not. Based upon scientific research, GSM signals produces 28 times more radiation than CDMA signals. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/18/finally-experts-admit-cellphones-are-a-carcinogen.aspx

I realized that after reading your forum, that the devices Replicant supports are for GSM devices and none for CDMA devices. With that realization, I have these questions:

1. would you consider adding or supporting at least one CDMA device if possible?

2. If not, can you refer me to another project that cares about freedom and privacy in regards to cell phone hardware and software that supports CDMA devices that has the same quality care towards free and privacy as Replicant project?

Thank you for all the great work that you do and appreciate any response to guide me to a Replicant-like solution for a CDMA device.


Replies (3)

RE: CDMA vs GSM - Added by Paul Kocialkowski over 9 years ago

1. Of course, we have nothing in particular against CDMA devices. I totally understand the point if they emit less electro-magnetic radiations than GSM. The problem with CDMA is mostly that I am based in Europe where CDMA is not used at all, so I simply have no way to work on adding support for it. We would need a developer based in the US to be able to add such support, if technically possible.

2. There is no other mobile operating system that puts the emphasis on software freedom and privacy/security as Replicant does, but you can take a look at OmniROM and CyanogenMod, which certainly support CDMA devices but also include proprietary software and often privacy anti-features too. Of course, we do not recommend using those systems.

I understand the dilemma you are facing, many people are in the same situation regarding the Fairphone (which isn't a very good candidate for freedom and privacy/security). Things are not quite coming together despite the fact that we certainly agree on all those different principles. I don't really have a choice but to keep working on improving software freedom while others work on other areas that need improvement. Since we are all dependent on third parties we cannot control, it seems very hard to get everything right all at once, unfortunately.

RE: CDMA vs GSM - Added by S F over 9 years ago

Thank you for responding back. I appreciate the explanation. I do have another question about CDMA and Replicant. I was reading another post in the About the Replicant Project Forum, http://redmine.replicant.us/boards/33/topics/2073, which discussed CDMA as well. In that post, you wrote that

"Actually we could support the CDMA versions of Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus too."

Does that mean

1. I can get either the CDMA version of Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus and installed the Replicant file for the GSM version of Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus and it will work?

2. Or does it mean that you will consider building a Replicant file for the CDMA version of Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus?

3. Also, does that mean if a GSM version device already supported by Replicant has a CDMA version device (imply having same hardware?) that it could be supported by Replicant?

I am hoping you answer with number #1 but unsure what your written statement in quotes really means. Please clarify. Then perhaps (crossing fingers) I do have some choices to be part of the Replicant Project sooner than later. I am feeling kind of left out of a great Replicant project due to this CDMA vs GSM thing. :(

RE: CDMA vs GSM - Added by Paul Kocialkowski over 9 years ago

That is, if someone adds support for it. Given the current state of things, installig images on a CDMA version of an already-supported device such as the Nexus S or the Galaxy Nexus will not work. These devices are never the same and binary compatibility should not be assumed, even if the plastic case and the hardware look similar.
At best, we could build images for these devices with no modem support, that is, with no telephony nor mobile data.
There is no magic solution but to work on adding support for these devices. That is, at best, writing support for the missing CDMA-specific parts of the Samsung IPC protocol on Samsung-RIL and libsamsung-ipc.

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