Dual handsets solve CDMA puzzle

22 Oct 2003 11:24

Two Korean firms have launched mobile phones that operate on both 3G network standards

Two Korean firms have unveiled dual-band phones that can be used on incompatible high-speed cellular data networks.

The breakthrough overcomes the international roaming roadblock facing third-generation (3G) cellular users. Existing 3G phones operate only on one type of network.

Samsung Electronics has unveiled its as-yet unnamed dual-band phone compatible with both CDMA2000 1xEV-DO and rival standard WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), now also called 3GSM, according to Nikkei News Asia.

Another Korean giant, LG Electronics, showed off the KW2000, a dual-mode handset that has both CDMA2000 1x and W-CDMA modes. Both phones were showcased at tradeshow ITU World Telecom 2003 held in Geneva earlier this month, according to the report.

CDMA2000 1x networks allow data transmission speeds of up to 153kbps while CDMA2000 1XEV-DO provides data speeds of up to 2.4Mbps. Both can be found in Japan, Korea and China.

WCDMA, on the other hand, dominates in Europe and other parts of Asia, and is seen by many to be the dominant global flavour of 3G in the coming years. All three standards are being tested by South Korean mobile service providers.

US-based chip maker Qualcomm made the chipset used in the LG handset, and the Korean maker expects its dual-mode phones to appear in the middle of 2004.

Like dual- or tri-mode voice handsets, the Samsung and LG phones switch data networks automatically.

As it stands today, the CDMA2000 standard has caught on much faster than 3GSM. Globally, there are about 20 existing live WCDMA and CDMA2000 networks competing for subscribers, according to analyst firm Allied Business Intelligence.

For now, the adoption rate will remain higher among CDMA users for EV-DO networks. For example, operator SK Telecom in Korea has nearly 1.5 million EV-DO subscribers while Japan's NTT DoCoMo has only one third of that number on its 3GSM network, said the report.

However, due to the overwhelming number of GSM users, WCDMA subscribers will outnumber those for CDMA2000, said the report.

"This trend will reverse, as technical hurdles are crossed and operators turn the switch on WCDMA networks in Europe," ABI analyst Kenil Vora said.

Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000091,39117287,00.htm