The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has reported that 10 CDMA2000 networks were deployed and more than 10 million new CDMA2000 users were added in the third quarter 2003.

At the end of September, there were 71 commercial CDMA2000 networks in 36 countries on 6 continents serving more than 64.5 million subscribers.

In Asia, CDMA2000 clearly leads the wireless market with 40 million users. There are 27 CDMA2000 commercial networks in 19 countries throughout the region, including four CDMA2000 1xEV-DO advanced high-speed data networks.

More than 60% of Asian CDMA subscribers use 3G technologies and CDMA2000 penetration will only increase; KDDI in Japan predicts that 90% of its subscribers will use CDMA2000 by March 2004 (two years into KDDI's 3G service offering).

"Asia is the most competitive market for wireless services in the world and CDMA2000 operators are clearly ahead," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG.

 "One example is Japan, where the top three operators have launched 3G networks and KDDI, with its "au" services, is growing faster and generating greater revenue than its competitors."

CDMA2000 is also rapidly expanding in China and India, the largest markets for wireless. China Unicom expanded its CDMA2000 1X coverage to major markets and in India,

CDMA2000 is growing by 1.5 million users per month, capturing the largest share of new subscribers for any technology, including GSM, which has been available in India for more than seven years.

Tremendous demand for these advanced services is driving growth and incremental revenue for operators. KDDI reached 10 million CDMA2000 users in September, just 18 months after the launch of its 3G services, and beat NTT DoCoMo in net subscriber growth in the first half of 2003. Strong sales of its 3G "au" services and higher-than-expected ARPU have boosted KDDI's net profit estimate by 34% for 2003.

SK Telecom in Korea reported that revenue from data services surged 75% percent year-on-year in 3Q 2003 and now contributes to 15% of total SKT revenue.