CDG: CDMA Used by More than 100M Subscribers in India
June 13, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
More than 100 million people in India subscribe to code division multiple access (CDMA), making it the world's second-largest CDMA market, according to the CDMA Development Group (CDG).
Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices are among the top five CDMA operators globally, ranking second and fourth respectively, said CDG experts.
The growth of CDMA users in India is attributed to devices such as entry-level handsets and smartphones and the introduction of CDMA2000 voice and data services into urban and rural areas.
Since CDMA mobile services were introduced in December 2002, the cellular landscape in India changed, experts said. Efforts led by CDMA operators, device manufacturers, technology enablers and the CDG introduced entry-level handsets to the market while tariffs dropped by more than 40%.
In March 2009, CDMA operators Reliance and Tata both launched high-speed mobile broadband services, delivering average download speeds of 600-1400 kbps with bursts up to 3.1 Mbps and average upload speeds of 500-800 kbps with bursts up to 1.8 Mbps, according to CDG.
Reliance's Netconnect Broadband Plus wireless broadband service is offered nationwide in 35 cities, 20,000 towns and 450,000 villages, covering 80% of the potential laptop and desktop broadband users in India, said CDG experts.
Concurrently, Tata Indicom is offering its Photon Plus services in markets including Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai, accessible via universal serial bus (USB) modems, as well as routers.
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, broadband penetration in the country was at 5.5 million users at the end of 2008 and PC connectivity continues to be a limitation in achieving faster growth.
Source: CDMA Development Group (CDG).