BOSTON—2002 will probably offer up the same struggles the wireless industry saw in 2001, according to a recent Yankee Group study.
The Yankee Group highlighted next-generation networks, including the deployment of CDMA2000 and wideband CDMA in Asia as well as deployment of GPRS in Europe and North America, as the most significant technological events of 2001. The group predicts that although more such networks will be launched in 2002, CDMA and GPRS technologies will struggle for dominance. “If the CDMA operators can succeed in providing exciting new applications and data services, they will place their GPRS-oriented competitors on the defensive,” said David Berndt, director of the research group’s wireless/mobile technologies division. “CDMA operators can leverage CDMA2000’s one-year lead time with its Korean launch in 2000.”
The report also predicted further consolidation in the handset industry, either through exits or partnerships.
