Subject: [NEXTEL-1] GSM overtakes CDMA in Q1, surges 81% globally

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 08:39:49 -0400

GSM overtakes CDMA in Q1, surges 81% globally
KALYAN PARBAT

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2003 01:11:48 AM ]

KOLKATA: Nobody may be willing to bet who TDSAT will crown king, GSM or CDMA, but
on the global stage, GSM has checkmated CDMA. Latest numbers from UK-based EMC,
the world’s leading provider of specialised market intelligence on wireless
communications, confirms a whopping 81% of new mobile subscribers worldwide opted
for GSM in the first quarter of ‘03.

By contrast, global appetite for CDMA appears to have dwindled, accounting for a
mere 13% of incremental global mobility subscriptions. Global CDMA subscriptions
have plunged 17% from 30% last year.

Of the 51m mobile connections sold worldwide in the first quarter of ‘03, an
impressive 41m chose GSM cellular, notes EMC. The GSM gospel appears to be peaking
in China, Asia-Pacific and Europe. During the January-March quarter, 13.5m
subscribers went cellular in China, with China Mobile at the vanguard of the GSM
rush.

Likewise, over 6m went cellular across the Asia-Pacific, with India netting over
3m subscribers. Amid the regulatory uncertainty, 90% of the mobile subscribers in
India have put their money on GSM. In an internal report, EMC observes, “GSM
accounted for 86% of the total mobility growth across the Asia-Pacific. The top 10
wireless communications operators use GSM technology.”

The global GSM subscriber base is at nearly 900m and projected to exceed the 1bn
mark by ‘04, according to EMC. By comparison, the worldwide CDMA subscribers is at
a modest 156m. The massive global deployment of GSM technology across 70 countries
is likely to result in continued industry support for bulk of all R&D activity in
the digital wireless communications realm.

While CDMA retains its traditional grip across the US, Japan and south Korean
mobile markets, GSM is catching up in north America, the cradle of CDMA wireless
communications. So much so, a chunky 28% of new mobile connections sold in the US
were GSM, a sharp rise from 17% in ‘02.

Telecom circles cite several reasons behind the surge in global GSM offtake. To
start with, a much higher availability and penetration of cellular handsets as
opposed to CDMA phones, which don’t circulate in comparable numbers. And GSM,
unlike CDMA (a patented technology) also operates on an open-air interface,
ensuring service providers are not tied down to any particular equipment supplier.
For instance, a Nokia switch works just as well with Motorola radio equipment.
Global user preferences also confirm that CDMA has not proved a compelling
wireless technology substitute in most countries not plagued by an artificial
scarcity of spectrum.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=112991

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