The CDMA Development Group (CDG) (www.cdg.org) announced that CDMA2000 has quickly become the technology of choice as African operators pair unparalleled customer growth potential with CDMA's crystal clear voice communications, broadband performance and ease of deployment.
Currently, there are 33 CDMA2000 operators in commercial operation in Africa's most populace countries, representing a subscriber base of around 5.4 million people.
Another 18 operators are expected to launch CDMA2000 services within the next six months. The CDMA subscriber base is expected to grow substantially within the next five years within its addressable market of over 600 million people.
According to the ITU's World Telecommunications Indicators, only ten in
every 100 people have access to a telephone and two in every 100 people
in Africa have access to the Internet.
CDMA2000 is satisfying the growing demand from both market segments, especially as it supports broadband data services via fixed wireless terminals, PC cards and modems. The technology, which is accessible in large coverage areas, has become vital to supporting communications for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), international agencies, and government institutions. In addition, consumer-driven operators such as Movicel Telecomunicacoes in Angola, Starcomms in Nigeria, and Kasapa Telecom in Ghana are witnessing massive uptake of CDMA2000 services.
'The CDG is pleased to witness CDMA2000's rapid expansion across
Africa,' said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. 'The
technology's voice clarity and broadband power makes it ideal for
emerging economies that want to set up durable wireless communications
infrastructure in a short period of time. Deploying CDMA in the lower
450 MHz and 800 MHz frequency bands is significantly less expensive and
more secure than deploying fixed telecommunications infrastructure. We
expect this growth to continue in Africa and beyond.'