| Property | CDMA | OFDMA |
| 1. Channel bandwidth | Full system bandwidth | Variable system bandwidth to accommodate users with different data rates, 1.25, 2.50, 5.00, 10.00, 15.00 and 20.00 MHz, actual transmission bandwidth is a bit lower than this |
| 2. Frequency-selective scheduling | Not possible | A key advantage of OFDMA, although it requires accurate real-time feedback of channel conditions from receiver to transmitter |
| 3. Symbol period | Very short—inverse of the system bandwidth | Very long—defined by subcarrier spacing and independent of system bandwidth |
| 4. Equalization | Complicated time domain equalization | Simple frequency domain equalization |
| 5. Resistance to mulitpath | Rake receiver can combine various multipath components | Highly resistant to multipath due to insertion of cyclic prefix (CP) |
| 6. Suitability for MIMO | MIMO is not suited to a wideband frequency selective channel | MIMO is suited to the independent narrowband flat fading channels that the subcarriers provide |
| 7. Resistance to narrowband interference | Resistant to narrow band interference | Some subcarriers to be affected by narrowband interference |
| 8. Separation of users | Scrambling and orthogonal spreading codes | Frequency and time although scrambling and spreading can be added as well |
Reference: Agilent 3GPP Long Term Evolution System Overview, Product Development and Test Challenges Application Note.
Author: Yasir Ahmed (aka John)
More than 20 years of experience in various organizations in Pakistan, the USA, and Europe. Worked as a Research Assistant within the Mobile and Portable Radio Group (MPRG) of Virginia Tech and was one of the first researchers to propose Space Time Block Codes for eight transmit antennas. The collaboration with MPRG continued even after graduating with an MSEE degree and has resulted in 12 research publications and a book on Wireless Communications. Worked for Qualcomm USA as an Engineer with the key role of performance and conformance testing of UMTS modems. Qualcomm is the inventor of CDMA technology and owns patents critical to the 4G and 5G standards.