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CDMA2000 industry celebrates successes
October 19, 2004
More than 1,100 wireless leaders from over 37 countries attended the ninth annual CDMA Americas Congress in Miami, organized by the CDMA Development Group (CDG) in September. Operators, equipment vendors, content providers, application developers and analysts shared CDMA2000 success stories and discussed market opportunities, business strategies and evolution to next-generation networks and services. The prevailing theme of the conference was emerging opportunities for data services. With the introduction of CDMA2000 1X and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, data is the fastest-growing business for many carriers, and some forecast that it will contribute 50% of revenues in five years.
In his opening address, Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG, highlighted that CDMA is the driving force in the wireless industry: CDMA is the fastest-growing technology worldwide, CDMA2000 is leading 3G with 94 operators and more than 124 million users in 47 countries, and 3G CDMA technologies will dominate the wireless market by 2009. During keynote addresses, operators from around the world detailed how they are capitalizing on the advantages of CDMA2000 to deliver both voice and data services, leading to greater subscriber acquisition, lower churn and increased revenues.
Dick Lynch, senior vice president and chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless, detailed the carrier's recent CDMA2000 1xEV-DO expansion to 14 markets in the U.S., noting that the service will be national in 2005. The 1xEV-DO service, branded BroadbandAccess, is targeting the enterprise market, but will expand into the consumer market next year, with the introduction of 1xEV-DO handsets in the next few months. Lynch stressed that the 1xEV-DO deployment is an extension of Verizon's network strategy, and the operator will be evaluating 1xEV-DO Rev. A, which offers voice over IP, to offer new services and improve network performance and efficiencies.
Byung Moo Kim, Ph. D, president, SK Telecom International, outlined how targeted branding and marketing have allowed the operator to differentiate and maximize revenue potential for CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO services. Bharat B. Anand, president, regulatory affairs for Reliance Infocomm, the wireless operator in India, presented how the operator has capitalized on the high-speed data capabilities of CDMA2000 1X to introduce a wide range of innovative services, from video streaming, mobile banking and wireless point-of-sale solutions, to enterprise solutions.
"From the testimonials and demonstrations given during the 2004 Americas Congress, it is clear that wireless operators using CDMA2000 technology enjoy flexibility, increased network efficiency, and new revenue opportunities," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "CDMA2000 carriers have a clear evolution path to the all-IP network of the future, and as networks and services converge, they will be able to deliver a richer customer experience and pursue new market opportunities and revenue streams."
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