time-division multiple access

communications

Also known as: TDMA

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Last updated

July 14, 2026

Quick Summary

Time-division multiple access (TDMA) is a method for sharing a communications channel among multiple users by dividing time into slots and assigning different users to separate time slots. This technique is particularly useful for geographically distributed users who communicate sporadically.12

The challenge with TDMA is that requests for channel access can be random. If more requests occur than available time slots, information must be buffered, which can introduce delays. For example, in the IS54 cellular system, TDMA is used to interleave three digital signals within a single frequency slot that would otherwise carry one analog signal. While buffering causes some delay, it is typically brief and unnoticeable during a call. TDMA can be used in conjunction with frequency-division multiple access (FDMA).12

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mobile telephone
Development of cellular systems
…compression in conjunction with a time-division multiple access (TDMA) method; this also permitted three new voice channels in place of one AMPS channel. Finally, in 1994 there surfaced a third approach, developed originally by Qualcomm, Inc., but also adopted as a standard by the TIA. This third approach used a…
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…compression in conjunction with a time-division multiple access (TDMA) method; this also permitted three new voice channels in place of one AMPS channel. Finally, in 1994 there surfaced a third approach, developed originally by Qualcomm, Inc., but also adopted as a standard by the TIA. This third approach used a…
Read More

telecommunications media
Satellite links
…simultaneous users based on a time-division multiple access (TDMA) protocol. (The principles of TDMA are described in telecommunication: Multiple access.) Each transponder consists of a receiver tuned to a specific channel in the uplink frequency band, a frequency shifter to lower the received microwave signals to a channel in the…
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…simultaneous users based on a time-division multiple access (TDMA) protocol. (The principles of TDMA are described in telecommunication: Multiple access.) Each transponder consists of a receiver tuned to a specific channel in the uplink frequency band, a frequency shifter to lower the received microwave signals to a channel in the…
Read More