CDMA
CDMA

CDMA

CDMA Tops 200 Million Users

The CDMA Development Group announced that CDMA added nearly 13.5 million subscribers in 1Q 2004, reaching 202 million users worldwide. In one year, from March 2003 to 2004, the CDMA subscriber base grew by a record 43 million users, or 31 percent, representing the highest growth for any leading cellular technology, and significantly higher than the 21percent gain for the whole industry. CDMA2000® further strengthened its leadership in 3G by adding 13 million users in the quarter to total 86.2 million, including 6.6 million CDMA2000 1xEV-DO users.

3G, DoCoMo, FOMA Milestones in Japan

April is emerging to be a milestone month in Japan’s 3G rollout. According to the most recent Telecom Carriers Association figures. Milestone One: Japan added a million new 3G subscribers in April. Milestone Two: April’s surge also simultaneously brought the total number of 3G users here to over 17.7 million. So what you say? Well, this also meant that for the first time Japan’s 3G user base passed 20% of Japan’s 82 million mobile subscriber base, or 21.6% to be precise, as of April 30! Milestone Three: DoCoMo added an incredible 530,500 FOMA subscribers. Not only was this up 483% on the same month a year ago, it was the FIRST TIME ever that DoCoMo beat KDDI au in net 3G adds!!

Vodafone K.K. Testing Flash-OFDM

Vodafone’s answer to 3.5G and NTT DoCoMo’s HSDPA will be trailed here later this year. Vodafone will be conducting fast low-latency access with seamless handoff Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (Flash OFDM) trials in the second half of the year in Tokyo that will test the ability to run 3Mbps wireless data networks.

Gaining 3G Handset Market Share

In the burgeoning global WCDMA handset market, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are gaining market share. Hutchison Telecom is reportedly in talks with LG to purchase WCDMA handsets worth 1 billion dollars, or several million units. Last year, Hutchison Telecom procured 3G phones from Motorola and Sony-Ericsson. The carrier, however, experienced a delay in supply of handsets for several months due to fatal defects in software of 3 million units of 3G handsets received from NEC of Japan and Motorola.

Qualcomm's Strong 3G Growth

Reporting net income up nearly 400% year-over-year, Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm said “Our financial results reflect the strong acceptance and rapid global growth of 3G CDMA”. Early 3G CDMA entrants continue to perform well, KDDI, the first CDMA operator in Japan, announced its sixth consecutive month as the leading Japanese operator in net subscriber additions, and now has approximately 14 million subscribers on its 3G network.

Huawei 3G – Made in China

According to Huawei spokesman Fu Jun, Huawei has already begun producing handsets for use with mobile systems that use the CDMA-1X standard backed by US-based Qualcomm Corp. Fu said Huawei is also developing handsets for W-CDMA, which is the European standard Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa Ltd is using in its 3G service now on offer in Britain and Italy. He added new 3G handsets are being designed in various partnerships with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co’s Panasonic, NEC Corp and Infineon Technologies AG. The company made headlines in December when it signed agreements with Emirates Telecommunications Corp and Hong Kong’s Sunday on the deployment of W-CDMA networks for the two telecom operators.