The CDMA Development Group (CDG) (www.cdg.org) today announced that CDMA2000(r) is rapidly expanding across Russia, with up to 23 cdmaOne(tm) and 32 CDMA2000 operators serving more than 1 million subscribers across the Federation and growing at an accelerated rate of 37% per year.
Working closely with the Russian Federation, JSC Sviazinform and South Urals Cellular Telephone Company launched the first cdmaOneWLL network in Chelyabinsk in September of 1997. Since then, up to 23 cdmaOne operators have launched 2G communication services across the republic using the 800 MHz cellular band. In December 2002, Delta Telecom became the first, out of 57 NMT-450 analog operators, to offer CDMA2000 digital communication services using the 450 MHz frequency band, known as CDMA450, based on the IMT-MC-450 standard. Building on Delta Telecom’s commercial success, Sky Link was founded in July 2003 by several players in the Russian telecommunications market to create a federal mobile communications network using CDMA450 technology. Today, there are 32 CDMA450 operators offering the latest in next-generation wireless communications.
”CDMA has a long history in Russia,” said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. “Providing excellent voice quality, network capacity, high-speed broadband connectivity, a large selection of handsets, and an evolutionary roadmap that preserve previous investments are the hallmarks of operating a CDMA2000 network. The regional operators in Russia are finding their choice to operate a CDMA2000 network to be a simple, competitive and wise decision.”
The region is dense with CDMA2000 success stories. Sky Link recently reported their average revenue per user (ARPU) at a staggering $55, helping to increase the company’s consolidated revenue by 15% over the year ending in March 2006. Most of the Russian CDMA regional operators are adding more 1X channel cards to provide increased voice capacity and extending their coverage to reach more citizens throughout Russia. All of the CDMA450 service providers operating under the Sky Link brand name are upgrading their existing networks with CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology, which supports peak data rates up to 2.4 Mbps, to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband data. For example, Sky Link recently announced plans to extend CDMA450 coverage into the Kaluga region, offer EV-DO wireless broadband services under the brand name SkyTurbo in the Krasnodar region, and a mobile TV service in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
One of Russia’s largest telecommunication holding companies, Sistem-Telecom, which controls MTS, the largest GSM operator in Russia, is investing in CDMA450. Sky Link, which has a majority ownership by JFSC Sistema, has a license to offer mobile services in 65 of Russia’s 88 regions where 104 million people, or 72% of Russia’s total population, reside.
It is becoming increasingly clear to operators around the world that the lower 450 MHz frequency band presents a tremendous opportunity to economically deliver telephony and advanced data services to residents and businesses in densely populated urban areas, as well as in sparsely populated rural areas. CDMA450 supports advanced services such as push-to-talk (PTT), virtual private network (VPN) broadband access, picture messaging, video messaging, richly rendered 3D games, position location services, telemedicine and distance learning.
Source- http://www.pcb007.com
