The CDMA camp is on a roll with a litany of recent successes, guaranteeing its place at a global wireless table still dominated by GSM technology, according to the CDMA Development Group.
The expected network upgrades to CDMA2000 1x EV-DO Revision A in Asia and North America later this year, the fact that nearly 100 percent of CDMA phones sold last year were 3G-capable and the issuance of new specifications for low-cost CDMA handsets all contribute to growing the CDMA side of the industry, according to Perry LaForge, the CDG’s executive director. Even the rapid uptake in Europe of W-CDMA enabled handsets, the technology path for the rival GSM technology, is good news, as CDMA players such as Qualcomm Inc. have patents for that technology, LaForge said.
On the handset side, the CDG’s Global Handset Requirements for CDMA has set specifications for handsets that will enable vendors to bring low-cost handsets swiftly and cheaply to the world’s emerging markets where entry-level phones have reached the sub-$40 price point, LaForge said. Enabling CDMA vendors to deliver affordable phones to emerging markets places them at the heart of global competition, where giants such as Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. are battling for market share and, not incidentally, fueling phenomenal growth rates in handset sales.
A GHRC team of handset vendors and network operators defined common requirements across multiple networks to streamline manufacturing and distribution processes. The team has developed requirements for all tiers of handsets to meet the spectrum of market needs, but the process is expected to generate the most handset shipment volumes in the entry-level and modest mid-tier levels, LaForge said.
Whether the GHRC work has had a quantifiable effect yet is uncertain, but China-based Analysys International reported last week that CDMA handset sales in China rebounded in the first quarter-after declining for four consecutive quarters-partly due to low-cost handsets offered there. Analysys International reported that CDMA sales volume reached 1.35 million units in the first quarter, while GSM handset sales reached nearly 21 million units.
