If you've ever wondered why your cell phone fails to work in other countries, it's because cells operate on different codes. Since not all manufacturers can play nice and use the same code, different countries have developed their own in hopes of marketing them worldwide.
The most popular codes belong to Global Systems for Mobile Communications and, America's pride and joy, Code Division Multiple Access, for which Qualcomm makes 90 percent of the chips.
It seems that liberating Iraq has opened up a sizable opportunity for whichever code corners the market on their cell phones. Since GSM is based in Europe and CDMA in America, it makes sense that the Iraqi market will go to Qualcomm. But not all codes are created equal.
GSM is far more user friendly, acting as open-source technology for several cell phone manufacturers. Plus it is the code used in 72 percent of the world's cell phones.
CDMA, however, though claiming technological superiority, is used by only 13 percent. But Rep. Darrell Issa (R- Calif.) has been adamant about making sure CDMA reigns in Iraq.
Ignoring the fact that Qualcomm headquarters are in San Diego, and its growth would help his state's economy, we are supposed to believe that this has nothing to do with money and everything to do with national pride.
If GSM gets the market, our favorite wartime chums, France and Germany, will benefit. It wouldn't be right to allow them to reap the profits from this war when the Coalition took all of the risks and suffered all of the losses.
However, perhaps what should come to mind is what's best for Iraq. After all, the reason Qualcomm has done poorly is that people don't dig on the out-of-date cell phones.
The technology is consistently outdated when the "new and improved" features hit the market. Despite the people of Japan and Korea supporting these constant changes, the American people have not bought into it.
Besides, cell phone technology already exists in Iraq, and the code that they and the surrounding countries use is - you guessed it - GSM. Surely setting up CDMA technology will be costly, but I guess our pride is worth it. There is one other small matter to consider.
Issa is in office for the same reason that all of our current politicians are: they had the money to run. Let's face it: if somebody halfway decent ran tomorrow, he or she wouldn't get ten votes without the dough needed for campaigning.
That's where Qualcomm comes in; they are one of Issa's top campaign contributors. It doesn't take a lawyer to see this as an obvious motive.
Another thing about Issa's report seems fishy, too. Despite GSM supposedly being less secure, since it does not use its own frequency but shares one, CDMA can be fixed with a Global Positioning System installed in any cell phone using their code.
Issa says this is for tracking down kidnapped dignitaries and stuff like that, but we've all seen "Enemy of the State": This is to keep tabs on people. Now, even if some Iraqi militant goes into hiding, when he calls to check Moviefone our military can track him.
There is a silver lining to this, though, since tomorrow's cell phones promise hybrid chips able to use either code. This will prove beneficial for all cell-phone users. In the meantime, Issa's motivations in pushing CDMA on Iraq are neither patriotic nor moral. It's all about the Benjamins - I mean Husseins, baby.
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Darren Todd is an English literature senior. Reach him at lawrence.todd@asu.edu.
