COSTA MESA, Calif., March 3, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The CDMA Development Group (CDG) today announced that Philip Chukwueke has been appointed as Director of the industry association's Africa office. In this role, he will lead various initiatives for the CDMA2000® industry in the region, where CDMA is experiencing rapid growth enabled by 3G voice and mobile broadband services.
"The CDG is pleased to welcome Philip to lead our efforts in Africa," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "As an industry veteran, he knows the challenges and opportunities of the African market and will be a key driver of our CDMA2000 roaming and device initiatives on the continent."
Mr. Chukwueke currently serves as chief executive officer of Communication Towers Ltd. in Nigeria, a role he has held since mid-2005. He previously held several positions at Qualcomm Inc. in Africa, India and the United States dating back to 1996, which followed U.S.-based roles with Ameritel Communications and Pacific Bell. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and a Master of Business Administration degree from San Jose State University.
Co-based in Nigeria and San Diego, CA, Mr. Chukwueke will focus on international roaming agreements in Africa through the CDG's CDMA Roaming Hub (CRH) initiative. CDMA Roaming Hubs offer an accelerated, multi-lateral, multi-service roaming implementation framework using centralized third-party service providers, covering all critical aspects of CDMA roaming under one umbrella. Roaming Hubs allow immediate access to many roaming partners through a single multi-lateral roaming agreement. The first regional CDMA Roaming Hubs will be launched in Africa during the second half of 2010.
He will also focus on CDMA2000 device initiatives, including the commercialization of Open Market Handsets (OMH™). OMH increases the number of CDMA2000 devices that can be sold on the "open market" and used by multiple operators, providing consumers a greater selection of devices and the flexibility to select the operator and mobile data services they desire. OMH devices will be available in Nigeria in mid-2010.
"We are delighted to have the continued support of the CDG in Africa," said Paul Edwards, chairman of Starcomms Nigeria Holdings. "We look forward to working closely with Philip to further expand our success and the success of CDMA2000 operators across the continent."
More than 27 million people are using voice and data services enabled by 60 CDMA20001X and EV-DO networks in 37 African countries. Almost 10 million new users were added during 2009 alone, representing a 50 percent annual growth rate, while nearly 4 million of them are using EV-DO wireless broadband services offered by 23 operators.
For more information about the CDG and CDMA2000, visit www.cdg.org.
About CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a widely deployed 3G technology, with 308 operators in 116 countries and territories serving 512 million subscribers. Counting 2G cdmaOne™ subscribers, there are over 517 million CDMA users worldwide. CDMA2000 1xEV-DO is a widely-deployed 3G CDMA (IMT-2000) solution offering mobile broadband to 136 million people across a wide range of devices. CDMA2000 has been chosen by operators in both developed and emerging markets, and is deployable in the 450, 700, 800, 1700, 1900, AWS and 2100 MHz bands. More than 2,320 CDMA2000 devices from over 124 suppliers have been introduced to the market, including more than 550 Rel. 0 and 225 Rev. A devices on 115 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rel. 0 and 79 Rev. A systems. More information on CDMA2000 is available on the CDG Web site at www.cdg.org.
About CDG
The CDMA Development Group is a trade association formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA2000 and other complementary wireless solutions. Its member companies include many of the world's leading service providers and equipment manufacturers. The primary activities of the CDG include development of advanced features and services, evolution of standards, technical education, advocacy, regulatory affairs, global roaming and device availability. Currently, there are more than 500 individuals working within various CDG industry initiatives.
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