| There are seven CDMA carriers operating in India today
including BSNL, HFCL Infotel, MTNL, Reliance, Shyam Telelink, and
Tata Teleservices. Reliance being the largest operator captured 20
per cent market share in nine months after introducing CDMA2000 services
in May 2003, says an official press release.
"India represents a tremendous opportunity for the wireless
industry, and CDMA2000 is well positioned to become the dominant
technology," said CDG executive director Perry LaForge.
He further added that, "CDMA2000's spectral efficiency allows
operators to offer affordable services to existing markets and expand
coverage to new areas. The high-speed capabilities of CDMA2000 offer
a cost-effective solution for providing data services, including
broadband access to the Internet."
India has surpassed more than 33 million mobile users in a span
of time, which is less than five years. With only seven per cent
tele density, many analysts view India as one of the world's most
lucrative markets with tremendous growth potential. Financial analyst
firm Lehman Brothers recently reported that India's wireless market
is expected to grow to 50 million by 2004 and by August 2006 it's
expected to grow to even 100 million, confirms the release.
CDMA was introduced in India as a limited mobility solution and
reached nearly 1.1 million users by the end of 2002. With the deployment
of CDMA2000 and market liberalization in 2003, the technology's
adoption rate surged and the subscriber base grew by over eight
million for the year, nearly five million in the second half. More
importantly, the introduction of CDMA services has created competition,
lowered tariffs and offered many citizens access to communication
services for the first time.
Reliance introduced pre-paid services in February this year and
Tata is expanding its CDMA network by adding capacity in the existing
markets and expanding to 11 new markets by 2004.
Lehman Brothers expects that CDMA will continue to expand the market
share with 33 per cent of net mobile subscriber additions this year.
The CDMA Development Group is a trade association formed to foster
the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA technologies.
CDMA2000 is the 3rd Generation solution based on IS-95 for wireless
operators who want to take advantage of the new market dynamics
created by mobility and the Internet. CDMA2000 is both an air interface
and a core network solution for delivering the services that customers
are demanding today.
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