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July 20 2004

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) says that CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO at 450 MHz, also known as CDMA450, is becoming an increasingly popular technology solution. Governments, regulators and service providers in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are deploying or testing CDMA450 to provide basic telephony services and access to the Internet in underserved areas.

Most recently, Anatel, the National Agency of Telecommunications in Brazil, announced successful results from its trial of CDMA450 in Brasilia and surrounding cities. More than 3,000 rural residents had access to voice and high-speed data for the first time. The trial was a part of Anatel's "Digital Inclusion and Universal Internet Access" project to discover technologies that will bridge Brazil's "digital divide."

"Providing universal telephony and Internet access is one of the key priorities for governments, especially in developing regions, and CDMA450 can help meet these goals," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "The technology's advantages in coverage, capacity, data capabilities and flexibility enable service providers to offer voice and broadband services rapidly and cost-efficiently. The CDMA industry is very excited about this opportunity and we will continue to work with the policymakers and service providers to help bring communication services to all."

CDMA450 is based on the CDMA2000 IMT-2000 family of standards and is "down-banded" to the 400-500 MHz frequency range. Advantages of the technology derive from the spectral efficiency and high-speed data capabilities of CDMA2000 and the expanded coverage afforded by a lower frequency band. Currently, CDMA2000 1X and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO are commercially available for the 450 MHz band, and CDMA2000 1xEV-DV is being developed. Leading infrastructure vendors now offer CDMA450 solutions and there are at least ten device providers.

CDMA450 systems have been commercially deployed for over two years; today there are ten commercial systems, seven systems are being deployed and nine trials are taking place across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. A number of countries, including Ethiopia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Tibet and Vietnam have already launched or are deploying CDMA2000 systems at 450 MHz to advance their universal service goals. In addition to Brazil, trials are taking place in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Peru.