COSTA MESA, Calif., Aug. 4, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The CDMA Development Group (CDG) (www.cdg.org) announced today that there are more than 240 CDMA2000(r)-enabled devices for the 800 and 1900 MHz frequencies available for use in Latin America. They are manufactured by 40 leading handset vendors including AnyDATA, Audiovox, Curitel, Gemplus, GTRAN, Kyocera, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sierra Wireless and Sanyo.
CDMA2000 handsets, PC cards and PDAs offer advanced functionality, such as color displays, cameras, streaming video, voice recognition and GPS technology. They provide access to music videos, Internet broadcasts and animation downloaded at speeds up to 144 Kbps on CDMA2000 1X networks, and up to 2.4 Mbps on CDMA2000 1xEV-DO. CDMA2000 handsets are backwards compatible with cdmaOne(tm) and analog technologies, an important benefit for many operators in the region who still have significant analog coverage.
The economies of scale and opportunity to leverage common design and components between generations of CDMA products have led to the continuing decline of CDMA2000 handset prices. Today, low-cost 3G CDMA2000 devices are priced competitively with many 2G phones. "CDMA2000 is rapidly expanding in Latin America: there are 21 live networks and five more will be commercial by the end of the year," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "One of the key factors that contributed to this success is the availability of handsets. CDMA2000 offers the broadest selection of devices with the most advanced functionality compared with any competing technology in the region."
Latin America is one of the fastest growing markets for CDMA. More than 28 million subscribers-or nearly one in four wireless users in the region-use CDMA services, and the base is growing at 30 percent per year. There are 35 2G and 3G CDMA operators in 19 countries including key markets such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela.
The CDG is hosting the 2003 Annual CDMA Latin America Regional Conference in Rio de Janeiro, August 13-14. For the second year, this conference will focus on the benefits of CDMA2000 in providing innovative, revenue-generating services and applications. Wireless operators Brasil Telecom, Korea Telecom Freetel, SK Telecom, SmartCom, Sprint, Telefonica del Peru, Verizon Wireless, Vesper and Vivo will share their knowledge and experiences in deploying CDMA2000 with an audience of regional carriers, equipment vendors, content providers, application developers, media and analysts at the one and a half day event. Operators and press may attend at no charge. For more information on the CDMA Latin America Regional Conference, please visit the event Web site located at http://www.networkeventos.com.br/cdma_conference.
The CDMA Development Group is a trade association formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA technologies. The 110 member companies of the CDG include many of the world's largest wireless operators 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 Valerie Christopherson of the CDG News Bureau at +1-714-540-1030, ext. 14, e-mail vchristopherson@bockpr.com, 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).