COSTA MESA, Calif., Oct. 25, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- At this week's Futurecom conference, the CDMA Development Group (CDG) (www.cdg.org) reported that the Latin American region continues to be CDMA technology's fastest-growing market. There are 42 CDMA operators in 22 countries and nearly one out of four wireless subscribers, or 50 million consumers, uses the technology today. If the subscriber base continues to grow at its current rate of 38% per year, the CDG expects to see over 70 million CDMA users by 2009.
"CDMA2000(R) was the first 3G technology introduced in Latin America and today it serves more than 30% of the CDMA users in the region," said Celedonio von Wuthenau, regional director for Latin America for the CDG. "CDMA2000 has capabilities beyond delivering superior quality voice; it is the leading platform for advanced data services in Latin America and worldwide."
The CDMA2000 evolution path offers competitive advantages to operators in high-speed data capabilities, cost of delivery and time-to-market. Through in-band migration, operators have been able to deploy CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO and introduce enhanced voice services, broadband high-speed data, and advanced multimedia services rapidly and cost-effectively. CDMA2000 1X delivers the highest voice capacity of any commercially available 3G technology with data speeds comparable to WCDMA. It has enabled operators to aggressively drive voice traffic and introduce data services such as picture and video messaging, web-browsing, games and location-based services.
With data speeds of up to 2.4 Mbps in a single channel, 1xEV-DO is the fastest wireless data technology deployed today, and will outperform HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) when that technology is commercially introduced in 2006-2007. CDMA2000 1xEV-DO has allowed operators to drive data ARPU through rich multimedia services, including TV broadcasts, audio downloads and 3D gaming, and to offer broadband Internet access, in some cases competing with landline broadband providers. The next generation of the CDMA2000 standard, 1xEV-DO Rev A, builds on the Rev 0 capabilities and offers VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) and significantly higher data rates (3.1 Mbps in the forward link and up to 1.8 Mbps in the reverse link in a single channel) allowing operators to further differentiate their services offerings, while reducing the cost of delivery.
To date, 30 operators have migrated to CDMA2000 in Latin America: of those 29 use CDMA2000 1X, and seven have deployed CDMA2000 1xEV-DO. Four more 1X and eight 1xEV-DO networks are currently being deployed.
About CDMA
CDMA technology's global reach includes 193 operators in 70 countries. CDMA2000 is by far the most widely deployed 3G technology, with 127 CDMA2000 commercial networks in 58 countries, including 22 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO systems. There are 186 million 3G CDMA2000 subscribers worldwide. CDMA2000 has become the technology of choice for cdmaOne, TDMA, analog and Greenfield operators, and is deployed in the 450, 800, 1700, 1900 and 2100 MHz bands. More than 860 CDMA2000 devices are available on the market. 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.
Note to editors: cdmaOne is a trademark of the CDG. CDMA2000 is a registered trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA-USA).