COSTA MESA, Calif., June 2, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The CDMA Development Group (CDG) today announced that the CDMA industry continued its strong growth through the first quarter of 2008, increasing its customer base by almost 17% over the past year to 451 million CDMA subscribers worldwide, with CDMA2000(r) and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO reaching 438 million and 97 million, respectively. The Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions claimed the highest year-over-year percentage subscriber growth for CDMA2000, while the Americas and EMEA experienced the highest percentage of subscriber growth for CDMA2000 1xEV-DO. The CDG attributes the worldwide increase in subscriber numbers to the technology's high performance and economic competiveness, supported by lower deployment costs, reduced handset costs and an increasing demand for mobile broadband services.
"CDMA's continued global expansion is due to the technology's core strengths, such as high-quality voice, faster broadband speeds and evolutionary in-band migration," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "An increasing number of subscribers are taking advantage of the value-added services offered by mobile broadband EV-DO networks, while the service providers are benefiting from the improved user experience, reduced customer churn, and overall higher ARPU. CDMA2000 has emerged as the technology of choice for emerging markets where telephony and Internet penetration are still low, which will guarantee continued growth of the technology for years to come."
In APAC, the total CDMA subscribership (cdmaOne(tm) and CDMA2000) rose to 231 million, which accounts for 51% of total worldwide CDMA subscribers and marks a 30% increase from March 2007 to March 2008. North America's 140 million subscribers claim the second highest percentage of global CDMA subscribers at approximately 31%, with CALA's 62.8 million representing approximately 14%. In EMEA, CDMA subscribership reached 17.7 million.
Over 97% of CDMA subscribers around the world are now taking advantage of 3G CDMA2000 services. CDMA2000 grew by 38% in APAC over the past year, bringing the total number of CDMA2000 subscribers in the region to 223 million, accounting for almost 51% of the world's users. North America is the second largest region for CDMA2000 with nearly 138 million, or 31% of the global users. In EMEA, the CDMA2000 subscriber base reached 16.5 million.
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO subscribership increased to 97 million users globally, with 52 million subscribers in North America and 39 million subscribers in APAC continuing to comprise the majority of the world's EV-DO users at 54% and 40%, respectively. Uptake is surging in North America and EMEA where increased demand for mobile broadband raised subscribership by 74%and 123%, respectively. The CDG attributes this growth to outstanding broadband performance and, for emerging markets, 3G CDMA's suitability across varied terrain to serve as an alternative to wireline Internet access.
To date, 38 EV-DO Revision A (Rev. A) networks are in commercial operation around the world, with another 35 networks in deployment. With peak data rates of 3.1 Mbps in the forward link and 1.8 Mbps in the reverse link, Rev. A growth continues to be strong in North America and APAC, while becoming the broadband technology of choice in developing markets such as Africa and the Caribbean. Additionally, Rev. A has found a foothold in the 450 MHz band in Europe, Russia and Latin America, bringing mobile broadband to rural and urban areas at a very low cost of deployment.
More information on CDMA is available at www.cdg.org.
About CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is the most widely deployed 3G technology, with 258 operators in 99 countries serving more than 438 million subscribers. Counting 2G cdmaOne(tm) subscribers, there are more than 451 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 1,980 CDMA2000 devices from over 110 suppliers have been introduced to the market, including more than 515 Rel. 0 and 56 Rev. A devices on 137 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO 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 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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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.