Global CDMA Subscribership Reaches more than 431 Million

(Business News & Technology News, 29 Feb 2008)

CDMA subscribership continued its strong growth through the end of 2007, global subscribers grew to more than 431 million, and CDMA2000 grew to more than 417 million, according to the CDMA Development Group (CDG). The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region added the most net subscribers, and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) grew the fastest by percentage.

"CDMA's attributes, including voice quality, speed and lower total cost of ownership, continue to drive its proliferation across the globe," says James Person, COO for the CDG. "Operators who want to meet subscriber demand with compelling and affordable services have recognized the technology's long list of benefits. Especially in Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, where the markets vary from sparsely populated rural villages to densely populated urban centers, CDMA's performance and flexibility meet most operators' network demands."

CDMA2000 subscribership among the 250 networks worldwide grew 16 percent in 2007, including strong sales figures for broadband EV-DO devices and services. The EV-DO subscriber base grew from 55 million to 90.5 million in 2007, achieving a compound annual growth rate of more than 64 percent.

APAC and North America claimed the majority of customers, with 49 percent and 32 percent of the global market, respectively. APAC added 6.2 million in the fourth quarter last year to reach 211 million subscribers, making it the largest net growth region in the world. North America alone has more than 137 million CDMA subscribers. APAC and EMEA saw the greatest year-over-year growth, with 24 percent and 60 percent, respectively. Other highly-concentrated regions for CDMA are India with more than 61 million subscribers, China with 42 million, and Indonesia with 14 million. In addition, more and more operators in emerging countries are reaching the one-million CDMA subscriber mark, including Angola's Movicel, Morocco's WANA, Starcomms of Nigeria, PTCL in Pakistan, Sudatel and Yemen Mobile.

Last year also saw an explosion in the availability of both low- and high-end devices. More than 350 devices were introduced on a commercial basis. Today, more than 82 very low-end (VLE) CDMA2000 handsets (under $50 wholesale) are available globally from 19 suppliers, a trend which is transforming communications in developing markets. EV-DO enabled laptops and high-end devices were also introduced. Plus, more than a dozen WorldMode devices were new to the market.

Perhaps most important to the designation of 2007 as a critical year for CDMA is the number of CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) deployments that took place. At the beginning of the year, only three operators had deployed Rev. A technology. Now, 26 operators worldwide have upgraded to Rev. A and another 31 operators are in the process of upgrading. Operators with working Rev. A networks have witnessed a substantial increase in their data revenue.

CDMA also has found a home in new spectrum allocations. China Unicom made a successful bid to operate 3G in Macau and rolled-out its first CDMA2000 1xEV-DO network there in October. PCCW-HKT Telephone won a 15-year license to deploy and operate CDMA2000 in the 800MHz band in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, several operators in the United States are considering CDMA2000 to offer Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) in the 1.7GHz and 2.1GHz frequency bands.

On the 450MHz and 700MHz fronts, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) reached a landmark decision to use the two bands for 3G and next-generation mobile services. The CDG expects this decision to fuel further deployments of CDMA2000 around the world. CDMA2000 is also moving ahead on the public safety front; leading infrastructure providers are offering Rev. A broadband equipment to support federal, state and local government public safety and first responder organizations.

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