04 Oct 04

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has reported that CDMA2000 1xEV-DO is leading in the deployment of 3G broadband networks worldwide, with an established subscriber base exceeding 8.3 million users globally. To date, 11 operators have commercially launched 1xEV-DO networks in nine countries, including recent deployments by Alaska Communications Systems in the United States, BellSouth Guatemala, Eurotel Praha in the Czech Republic and Smartcom in Chile. Several other carriers are expected to launch 1xEV-DO networks this year, including Sprint in the United States, VIVO in Brazil, Pelephone in Israel and Telecsa in Ecuador.

"Across Asia, Latin America, Europe and the U.S., CDMA2000 1xEV-DO networks are providing high-speed data services and broadband access to the Internet," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDMA Development Group. "The number of commercially deployed 1xEV-DO networks worldwide today demonstrates the time-to-market advantages of the technology, while the rapid subscriber adoption speaks volumes to its effectiveness."

Earlier this year, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision A was approved by the 3GPP2 Technical Specification Group -- CDMA2000 (TSG-C). Revision A is optimized for packet data service, and supports peak data rates of 3.1 Mbps on the forward link and up to 1.8 Mbps on the reverse link. The high data rates on the reverse link and low data latency will enable operators to deliver rich multimedia services, such as video telephony, and will enhance the user experience. Release A is an enhanced version of 1xEV-DO Release 0, which delivers up to 2.4 Mbps data speeds and has been commercially deployed since 2002.

Recently, the CDG announced that the number of CDMA2000 subscribers worldwide exceeded 100 million. At the end of June, more than 112 million people across all continents used the technology to make voice calls or to access the Internet and advanced data services. CDMA2000 is used today by 98 operators in 46 countries worldwide, with 36 more launches scheduled by the end of the year. More than 650 CDMA2000 devices have been introduced to the market. There are 63 1xEV-DO devices commercially available today.