CDMA2000 Base Surpasses 185 Million Users in Q2 2005

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) is reporting that the number of 3G CDMA2000 subscribers grew by 17 million in Q2 2005 to reach 185.6 million worldwide. In the first six months of 2005, CDMA2000 added more than 39 million new users and 73 million since June 2004.

In addition, the CDG announced that CDMA is growing at a rate of 27% annually and garnered 13.6 million new users in the last quarter and close to 58 million in the past year, bringing the worldwide CDMA subscriber base to more than 270 million people. Close to 68% of all CDMA users now access CDMA2000 3G services.

In North America, the CDMA subscriber base surpassed the 100 million subscriber mark; 47% of all wireless users in the region use CDMA technologies and 69% of them (nearly 80 million people) access CDMA2000. In addition, there is increased uptake of CDMA2000 1xEV-DO broadband services as coverage of EV-DO expands and as more handsets and services become available. Five North American operators have already deployed EV-DO, including Verizon Wireless, and recently, Sprint.

Asia-Pacific added 6.7 million CDMA users in the second quarter, bringing that region's total subscriber base to 116.2 million. Asia-Pacific remains the largest region for CDMA technologies, representing 43% of the total CDMA subscriber base worldwide. The region also leads in CDMA2000 penetration: 79% of CDMA subscribers, or 92 million people, use CDMA2000 3G systems, and more than 8% (15.6 million) of them subscribe to CDMA2000 1xEV-DO advanced broadband services.

Latin America added 14.4 million CDMA users over the last year, which brings the total number to 49.2 million. This represents 41% annual growth rate and maintains a 24.6% market share in the region. Close to 15 million, or 24.5%, of all CDMA subscribers in Latin America now access CDMA2000 3G technologies.

CDMA2000 operators across all regions have reported significant growth in data revenue. Japan's KDDI ended the quarter with 4.32 million 1xEV-DO users, or 22% of their base. 1xEV-DO subscribers generate 41% more revenue than other subscribers, and data contributes more than 34% of their ARPU. As a result, data revenue has risen to contribute 25.7% to an average ARPU.

Verizon Wireless reported a 50% year-over-year increase to more than 19.1 million data users; data now contributes 7% of the operator's total revenue, compared to 4.2% one year ago. In June, Sprint had 8.1 million data users (30% of its total base), including 7 million (26%) on PCS Vision. Data now contributes more than 10% of total revenue for the operator.