HONG KONG, Nov. 16, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The CDMA Development Group (CDG) (www.cdg.org) announced today that 100 carriers have deployed CDMA2000(R) technologies in 50 countries across six continents. CDMA2000 has become the technology of choice for cdmaOne(TM), TDMA, analog and Greenfield operators, and is deployed in the 450, 800, 1700, 1900 and 2100 MHz bands. To date, 97 CDMA2000 1X and 16 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO networks have been launched, 34 more are in deployment and 10 trials are being conducted.
"2004 has been a year of rapid expansion and growth for CDMA2000," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "In May, CDMA2000 surpassed 100 million subscribers and since then we have added 27 million new users. Today, we are celebrating yet another milestone, 100 CDMA2000 operators worldwide. The CDMA2000 momentum will continue with 20 more operators scheduled to deploy networks in the coming months and the subscriber base growing at 5 million per month."
Asia was the birthplace of CDMA2000, with the first CDMA2000 1X and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO networks deployed in Korea, and today there are 25 operators in 13 countries, including China, India and Japan offering CDMA2000 services.
With a large base of cdmaOne and TDMA operators, Latin America took the lead in the number of CDMA2000 networks deployed. There are 28 operators in 17 countries, with 27 CDMA2000 1X and five CDMA2000 1xEV-DO commercial networks, and an additional three CDMA2000 1X and six 1xEV-DO networks are being deployed.
Most cdmaOne carriers and a number of TDMA operators in North America have migrated to CDMA2000. There are 22 operators offering CDMA2000 1X services and many of them are rapidly migrating to CDMA2000 1xEV-DO following the lead of Verizon, which has deployed high-speed data in 20 metropolitan areas and airports across the United States and will have nationwide coverage by 2005. Sprint has announced plans to deploy 1xEV-DO in selected cities in 2005 and nationwide in 2006.
CDMA450 has opened many markets for CDMA2000 technologies in Europe, as a large number of NMT-450 operators have already upgraded or are currently upgrading their analog systems to 3G. There are 17 operators in 12 countries in the region with 16 CDMA2000 1X and two 1xEV-DO commercial networks.
There is growing interest in CDMA450, as not only a migration path for NMT-450 operators, but also as a very economical solution for providing voice and high-speed data access in remote areas, offering new opportunities for CDMA2000 in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The rapid deployment of CDMA2000 networks was enabled by inherent benefits of the technology. CDMA2000 allows operators to upgrade their 1G and 2G networks to 3G without the need for new spectrum, and to preserve investments in their existing networks resulting in lower deployment cost. Also, because CDMA2000 requires only a small amount of spectrum, it enables operators to migrate to 3G gradually without service interruption to their existing customers.
For a list of CDMA2000 operators worldwide, go to:http://www.cdg.org/technology/product_pavilion/cdma2000_operators.asp
About CDMA2000
CDMA2000 1X doubles the capacity of cdmaOne networks and offers high-speed data up to 307 kbps. In commercial networks, CDMA2000 1X supports data speeds of 60-100 kbps and supports MMS, web access, location-based services and entertainment services.
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO is optimized for data and delivers average data rates of 300-600 Kilobits per second (Kbps) with peak speeds of 2.4 Megabits per second (Mbps) and supports advanced data applications such as MP3 transfers, video conferencing, TV broadcasts, video and audio downloads. A number of carriers have deployed 1xEV-DO as a means of providing high-speed Internet access to previously underserved areas.
More information on CDMA2000 is available on the CDG Web site at www.cdg.org.
About the CDG
The CDMA Development Group is a trade association formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA technologies. The more than 100 member companies of the CDG include many of the world's largest wireless carriers and equipment manufacturers. The primary activities of the CDG include development of CDMA features and services, public relations, education and seminars, regulatory affairs and international support. Currently, there are more than 500 individuals working within various CDG subcommittees on CDMA-related matters. For more information about the CDG, contact the CDG News Bureau at +1-714-540-1030 or visit the CDG Web site at www.cdg.org.