Glossary  >  Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

Noun

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) is a cellular communications technology that facilitates multiple frequency channel access and sharing with minimal interference. It achieves this by splitting signals into time slots. Users can transmit in quick succession, each within its allocated time slot, allowing multiple stations to use the same frequency channel but only at a fraction of its capacity.

Unlike some systems that assign the entire system bandwidth for a time interval, TDMA divides the system frequency into sub-bands for multiple access in each sub-band. These are known as carrier frequencies, and mobile systems that use this technique are referred to as multi-carrier systems.

A well-known application of TDMA is the 2G GSM technology.

Example of Time Division Multiple Access in a sentence:

"TDMA is a form of time-division multiplexing but with multiple transmitters and receivers."

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