NEW DELHI, Aug. 28, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The CDMA Development Group (CDG) (www.cdg.org) today announced that CDMA2000(r) operators in India have added an unprecedented 1.59 million net subscribers for the month of July 2006. This brings the total number of CDMA wireless subscribers to 35.2 million; CDMA2000 accounts for 30 percent of the total wireless subscriber base in the country. Tata Teleservices and Reliance Telecom, India' two largest CDMA2000 operators, have 11 million and 21.1 million subscribers respectively. This accounts for approximately 12% of the world's 275 million CDMA2000 users.
"The CDG is pleased to witness the rapid growth of CDMA2000 subscribers in India. It is a testament to the value that CDMA2000 services offer its users," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "CDMA2000 is proving to be the most economical, flexible, and powerful platform for meeting India's demand for differentiated services with a wide variety of handsets, services and tariffs offered by the operators."
Much of the subscriber growth can be attributed to the CDMA operators' aggressive introduction of affordable and highly functional devices and the attractive service plans that are being offered to consumers and enterprises. In the first half of 2006, leading mobile phone manufacturers introduced more than 20 devices to the market. The most popular of those include the Motorola V3c RAZR; the ZTE C-150 entry-level phone; the Samsung Wideo, India's first widescreen multimedia CDMA phone; the Samsung Hero, with mobile tracker anti-theft features; the Motorola A840, the first WorldMode(tm) (GSM/GPRS @ 900/1800 MHz and CDMA2000 1X @ 800/1900 MHz) phone introduced to the Indian market; and the Axesstel (AMEX: AFT) P830, the first fixed wireless phone with an FM radio receiver.
CDMA2000 offers several advantages, including open standards, interoperability, economies of scale, affordable handsets, removable user identity modules (R-UIM), seamless global roaming, post- and prepaid solutions, and a large selection of rich and versatile value-added services.
In most all markets, operators will eventually have to deploy 3G technology to support increased demand for voice and high-speed data services from consumers and enterprises. These services will require large amounts of bandwidth to ensure sufficient capacity, data throughput, and a satisfactory end-user experience. CDMA has at least a two-to-three year lead over other wireless technologies in delivering these important services.
More information on CDMA2000 handsets is available at www.cdg.org.
About CDMA
CDMA2000 is the most widely deployed 3G technology, with 164 operators in 72 countries, including 41 CDMA2000 1x-EV-DO systems, serving more than 275 million subscribers. Counting 2G cdmaOne(tm) subscribers, there are more than 335 million CDMA users 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. Nearly 1,250 CDMA2000 devices from more than 80 suppliers have been introduced to the market, including more than 280 1xEV-DO devices. More information on CDMA2000 is available on the CDG Web site at www.cdg.org.
About CDG
The CDMA2000 Development Group is a trade association formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA2000 technologies. The more than 130 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 CDMA2000 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 CDMA2000-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 and WorldMode is a registered trademark of the CDMA2000 Development Group. CDMA2000 is a registered trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA-USA). All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.