COSTA MESA, Calif., June 15, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The CDMA Development Group (CDG) (www.cdg.org) today announced that more than 325 wireless industry members attended the 2004 CDMA Latin America Regional Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The theme of the conference was the commercial success and future opportunities for CDMA2000(r) in the Caribbean and Latin America. Topics included evolving to broadband data, providing universal access and developing and delivering innovative advanced services.
"CDMA2000 is the leading 3G technology in Latin America and an excellent platform for data and affordable voice services now and in the future," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. "One of the emerging opportunities in Latin America and many parts of the world is CDMA2000 at the 450 MHz frequency because it facilitates universal access, allowing governments and operators to provide voice and data services to millions of people living in remote areas who previously had no access to communications."
The conference began with keynotes from Antonio Carlos Valente da Silva, vice president of ANATEL, and executives from the senior sponsors of the conference, Ericsson, Lucent Technologies, Nokia, Nortel Networks, and QUALCOMM. Mr. Valente da Silva shared positive results from the CDMA450 trial that ANATEL is conducting, which has the ultimate goal of providing voice and broadband services to schools, libraries and health institutions, as well as rural and remote areas. The sponsors' keynotes focused on the market opportunities and benefits of CDMA2000 for delivering high-speed data, evolving to an all-IP core network and the convergence of various communication services and technologies.
Leading off the second day of the conference were keynote addresses from B. B. Anand, president, regulatory affairs, Reliance Infocomm (India) and Gustavo Guzman, CEO, Iusacell (Mexico), who presented their companies' deployment experiences with CDMA2000, services offered and planned, and customer feedback.
Other operators presenting during the conference were Sprint (U.S.), Telefonica del Peru, Tmais (Brazil), Verizon Wireless (U.S.), Vesper-Embratel (Brazil), and VIVO. VIVO, the largest carrier in Latin America with more than 24 million subscribers, also endorsed the event and announced at the conference that it will launch CDMA2000 1xEV-DO in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Presenters spoke on the advantages of CDMA2000 in delivering both voice and broadband data, developments in handsets and devices, strategies for building a successful suite of services and applications, and the latest advances in CDMA2000 1xEV-DO and 1xEV-DV technologies. In addition to plenary sessions, the conference featured a number of interactive workshops, a half-day forum on regional roaming challenges and opportunities, and an operators meeting on roaming.
Latin America and the Caribbean have more than 33 million CDMA users in 20 countries. The region boasts the largest number of CDMA2000 networks commercially deployed, with 26 CDMA2000 1X and two CDMA2000 1xEV-DO networks in 16 countries.
CDMA2000 leads in 3G deployments worldwide, with more than 85 million users and 81 operators in 40 countries across six continents. CDMA2000 has 97 percent market share for 3G services. Over 42 percent of the global CDMA subscriber base uses CDMA2000 networks.
About the CDG
The CDMA Development Group is a trade association formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA technologies. The more than 100 member companies of the CDG include many of the world's largest wireless carriers and equipment manufacturers. The primary activities of the CDG include development of CDMA features and services, public relations, education and seminars, regulatory affairs and international support. Currently, there are more than 500 individuals working within various CDG subcommittees on CDMA-related matters. For more information about the CDG, contact the CDG News Bureau at +1-714-540-1030 or visit the CDG Web site at www.cdg.org.
Note to editors: cdmaOne is a trademark of the CDG. CDMA2000 is a registered trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA-USA).