COSTA MESA, Calif.-The CDMA Development Group announced that Japanese cellular service providers DDI Corp. and IDO Corp. will use cdmaOne as the brand name for their joint Code Division Multiple Access cellular phone service.
The two companies, which are members of the CDG, plan to roll out nationwide service in April in Japan.
DDI initially plans to deploy its new cdmaOne network in and around the cities of Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto. The IDO network will operate in the Tokyo and Nagoya metropolitan areas and the province of Nagano, where the 1998 Winter Olympic Games will be held. Roaming capabilities will be available immediately among Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka.
CdmaOne, is a global technology brand for a family of products and services including cellular, personal communications services and wireless local loop applications.
Japan has experienced rapid increases in demand for mobile communications because of the industry’s deregulation and its cost advantages compared with wireline systems.
By October, the number of cellular subscribers in Japan was approximately 26 million and increasing at a rate of about 850,000 users per month. At this rate, the existing cellular spectrum is expected to reach its capacity limits in the Tokyo and Osaka metropolitan areas before 2000.
