CHICAGO-The CDPD Forum’s third-quarter report card states Cellular Digital Packet Data service is now available in 99 markets nationwide.
The Chicago-based forum will not say how many users are on the networks. The service has been deployed across the country, from Santa Rosa, Calif., to Worcester, Mass., by both A- and B-side cellular operators.
Third-quarter deployments in Orlando, Fla., and Honolulu increased the total number of markets in which CDPD is offered to 115. The forum said CDPD now covers more than 60 percent of all metropolitan statistical areas and almost 50 percent of the U.S. population.
Third-quarter coverage charts indicate service is being beefed up gradually in certain markets. For instance, in the second quarter of 1996, only 47.8 percent, or 54 markets of 113 total markets, were considered to have full coverage. Full coverage means the coverage area is almost equal to cellular voice coverage. During the third quarter, full coverage increased to 53.9 percent, or 62 of 115 total markets.
Sites that became fully covered during the third quarter were Denver-Boulder, Colo., Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa., Atlantic City, N.J., New Brunswick-Perth-Amboy-Sayreville, N.J., and Frederick, Md.
