What Is Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)?

In a world where we're frequently connected and communicating with each other, it's no surprise that the demand for bandwidth is skyrocketing. So, let's say you're a cell phone carrier with 5 million subscribers. That's 5 million people using your network at any time. They all want to use their phone! That's where frequency division multiple access comes in: FDMA allows individual allocation of single or multiple frequency bands to the users. This means that you're not just splitting up your network into pieces—you're splitting up the spectrum into smaller pieces, which means each user gets more bandwidth than they would if they were sharing one big chunk of the spectrum with everyone else. It sounds like an easy solution, but what if some people want more bandwidth than others? This is where it gets tricky—Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) requires coordination between all users so that everyone knows when they should be using their allocated bandwidth and when they should be keeping quiet. There are many ways to make your network faster and more efficient, but you must know what you're doing. If you don't know how to build a network, or if you don't know how to make it the right way, you might as well be trying to build a bridge with toothpicks and gum. You need to understand how different protocols work to get deep into making and maintaining your network. There are many ways to do this—some are better than others! Some options consist of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA), or Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). These protocols are used differently at extraordinary tiers of the theoretical Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. They are like a busy street, where everyone drives their car. FDMA allows multiple users to access the network simultaneously, and each user gets their dedicated frequency. FDD, on the other hand, is like a highway with two lanes: one for cars going in the direction of "down" and one for vehicles going in the direction of "up". While FDD allows two-way communication between devices, it doesn't allow simultaneous use.