COSTA MESA, Calif., April 3, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The CDMA Development Group (CDG) today announced that CDMA2000(r) subscribership has seen rapid growth in Vietnam, increasing by more than 230 percent in 2007. The availability of affordable handsets and the proliferation of dynamic new services enabled by EV-DO have made Vietnam's two major CDMA operators, S-Telecom (S-Fone) and EVN Telecom (E-Com/E-Phone/E-Mobile), leaders in the region's competitive wireless telecommunications market.
From the end of 2006 to the end of 2007, CDMA subscribers grew from 1.9 million to 6.3 million. This impressive growth rate is expected to continue at its current pace, increasing to 10.5 million users by the end of 2008 and 15.5 million users by the end of 2009(1). On the whole, the greater Asia-Pacific region is host to 49% of the world's CDMA2000 deployments.
"The CDG is pleased by the remarkable growth of CDMA in Vietnam, showcasing the range of service capability CDMA2000 enables which allows emerging-market CDMA operators to thrive," said Dr. Chungming An, the CDG's vice president of Southeast Asia and Greater China. "In addition, the evolution path to EV-DO Revisions A and B gives operators the ability to scale their network capacity incrementally based on market demand, an exceptional long-term competitive advantage that will ensure the continued steady growth of CDMA2000 in the region."
S-Fone, Vietnam's first CDMA network, has witnessed notable success due to its investment from SK Telecom. With mobile and WLL services available in all 64 of Vietnam's provinces, S-Fone's CDMA2000 network currently serves 3.7 million subscribers, making it Vietnam's largest CDMA operator. Having launched its high-speed EV-DO broadband network in five major cities, the operator is well on its way to expanding multi-megabit-per-second broadband access to Vietnam's untapped marketplace, where only 3 million out of the 85 million residents have broadband access to the Internet. In addition to providing Internet access to hospitals and schools, S-Phone will be providing world-class broadband connectivity to Vietnam's highly coveted enterprise customers and its growing number of small- and medium-sized businesses.
In 2005 EVN Telecom launched its CDMA2000 1X network in the 450MHz band and is now serving more than 2.7 million subscribers, making it the largest CDMA450 network outside of China. EVN is focused on promoting its post-paid WLL service to the more than 78 million households in nationwide that don't have access to a traditional fixed-line telephone service. Like S-Fone, the operator is also upgrading its CDMA450 network to EV-DO to provide the citizens and businesses of Vietnam with advanced broadband data services.
Optimistic about the prospects in 2008, Dr. An noted, "CDMA2000 Mobile Broadband services can boost economic growth and create more jobs in Vietnam by narrowing the digital divide between those who have access to high-speed Internet services and those who do not."
For more information please visit www.cdg.org.
About CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is the most widely deployed 3G technology, with 255 operators in 99 countries, including 91 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO systems, serving more than 418 million subscribers. Counting 2G cdmaOne(tm) subscribers, there are more than 431 million CDMA users worldwide. CDMA2000 has become the technology of choice for developed and emerging market operators, and is deployable in the 450, 700, 800, 1700, 1900, AWS and 2100 MHz bands. More than 1,950 CDMA2000 devices from over 110 suppliers have been introduced to the market, including more than 500 1xEV-DO Rel. 0 and 48 Rev. A devices. 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 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.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the expected subscriber growth rate of CDMA in Vietnam, and other expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "expect," "prospects," and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in technology and general market conditions. In light of the many risks and uncertainties you should understand that we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release will be realized.
Note to editors
cdmaOne is a registered trademark of the CDMA Development Group. CDMA2000 is a registered trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA-USA). All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
(1) Source: Jim Hoang Ngoc Diep, Vietnam Country Manager, Qualcomm, Inc., January 2008