Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

[khemara_qc]

CDMA Passes 200 Million Subscribers Point

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14785.php

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) says that the number of CDMA2000 subscribers surpassed 200 million worldwide in September, only 18 months since the industry celebrated the 100-million milestone in June 2004. The 1xEV-DO subscriber base expanded to 18 million users. CDMA2000 is also driving the overall growth of CDMA technologies, which reached 286 million users, a 26% increase over the past 12 months. Close to 70% of CDMA subscribers use 3G technologies today.

CDMA2000 controls 85% of the 3G market and adds 15 million new users per quarter - three times as many as WCDMA. CDMA2000 is available in 61 countries across six continents. More than 21 million (>10%) of CDMA2000 subscribers reside outside Asia and North America, and this number is growing rapidly, especially in Latin America. In Asia, with 92 million users, CDMA2000 commands 12% market share; in North America, CDMA2000 has 77 million subscribers, or 35% of the market share, and in Latin America, with 15 million users, the technology has captured 7% market share.

CDMA2000 1xEV-DO added 2.2 million subscribers in the past three months and 8 million in the past year. This is the biggest quarterly growth to date, and is the result of the broader deployments worldwide and accelerating demand for advanced wireless services.

The combined number of cdmaOne and CDMA2000 subscribers increased by 15.5 million in 3Q 2005 to reach 285.7 million. This represents 60 million new adds for the year and a 26% annual growth rate. With 125 million users, Asia Pacific remains the largest region for the CDMA technologies, and that base is expanding at 30% per year. In North America, CDMA has 102.6 million subscribers and now accounts for 48% of the wireless market. Caribbean and Latin America continues to be the fastest-growing region for CDMA with 53.4 million users and a 37% annual growth rate, and controls 25% of the total market.

By the end of 2005, the CDMA subscriber base will exceed 300 million users and CDMA2000 will reach 220 million, including 20 million 1xEV-DO users.