ravi_patent 28 Report post Posted July 27, 2009 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/Business/India-Business/Prices-of-handsets-set-to-come-down/articleshow/4823344.cms Prices of mobile handsets are set to dip and consumers spoiled for choice with US-based CDMA Development Group (CDG) picking India for the launch of a global CDMA Open Market Handsets (OMH) initiative that is projected to add 100 million subscribers in two years. CDMA handsets have traditionally not been available over-the-counter but come bundled with the service. The CDG hopes to change this with its historic expansion of the CDMA ecosystem this year through the OMH launch, expected within October this year. “The CDMA open market handsets will target the mid-to-high income segment offering rich features like Internet browsing, e-mail access, downloading clips, music and video streaming at competitive price points. GSM handsets in the similar price range offer merely voice and SMS,� says Perry LaForge, executive director, CDG. As the world's fastest growing telecom market and also the second largest CDMA market globally after US, India is a natural choice for this global launch. In May 2009 India's CDMA market crossed the 100-million subscriber mark against 315 million for GSM, pushing Reliance and Tata to second and fourth largest CDMA operators globally. India continues to add 2.5 million CDMA subscribers every month (highest in the world). According to LaForge, the CDMA opportunity in India looks even more promising with the entry of new brands, expansion of existing players Tata and Reliance and addition of new operators like Sistema Shyam, Virgin Mobile and BSNL. “India is a promising market both for upgrades for the existing CDMA subscriber base as well as for new subscriber acquisitions. The CDMA-OMH launch will give consumers both choice and flexibility,� he says. The CDG claims that CDMA mobile service in India has grown much faster than GSM. CDMA was launched in 2003 and hit the 100 million subscriber mark in six years in May 2009 with just two operators. GSM, which was launched in 1995, took seven years to hit the 100 million subscriber number, says LaForge. When probed about Tata and Reliance now encouraging customer migration to their new GSM networks, which will hurt growth, LaForge disagreed. “Reliance and Tata continue to be extremely supportive of CDMA. In late May both companies publicly stated that they are only offering GSM because they don't have access to additional spectrum for CDMA." According to the CDG, CDMA has played a central role in making mobile communication affordable and accessible to all in India. Within a year of CDMA's introduction, tariffs dropped 42% and teledensity increased by 1.7%, says LaForge. “The OMH initiative is expected to revamp the CDMA handset distribution network altogether. Its success could further influence CDMA strategies in other countries,� says Nakul Duggal, senior director, Engineering Services Group, Qualcomm, US. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KumaarShah 143 Report post Posted July 27, 2009 Will it affect our RCOM in any manner???? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MOBILE FAN 42 Report post Posted July 27, 2009 Yes, if they are able to do what they are saying, ppl will rush to CDMA even from GSM. I think that one of the biggest bottleneck in the CDMA growth is the handset. You need to pay royalty to Qualacom for each handset sold and that makes it really costly. Most of the people feel that they dont get the same things in the CDMA handset which they are getting in the GSM handset for the same amount. If the things will reverse the trend too will reverse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greatest 55 Report post Posted July 27, 2009 ^^^ dont u think if whatever u said, would happen, then GSM people might wait for mnp to apply in Indian shores and shift to CDMA??... it will surely be a reverse thing... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MOBILE FAN 42 Report post Posted July 27, 2009 Yes, like Reliance applied for GSM, they too will apply for CDMA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
me_saket 73 Report post Posted July 27, 2009 reverse is possible Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
savramesh 37 Report post Posted July 27, 2009 Its late, but happy to see it happening atleast now. Reliance and Tata will surely try to make things reverse. MTS is growing, Bsnl is also having cdma wing and some MVNOs to come.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FEVIN-RAJ 61 Report post Posted July 28, 2009 varity of handset choice will add a benifit Rcom .. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
me_saket 73 Report post Posted July 28, 2009 I think biggest advantage to newest and latest operator, First -MTS second BSNL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swapnil05in 2 Report post Posted July 28, 2009 I think biggest advantage to newest and latest operator, First -MTS second BSNL GR8 NEWS AT LEAT CDG IS THINKING FOR CDMA SUBSCRIBERS & ALSO THE OPERATORS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SUDYEcaZ 67 Report post Posted July 28, 2009 Its late, but happy to see it happening atleast now. Reliance and Tata will surely try to make things reverse. MTS is growing, Bsnl is also having cdma wing and some MVNOs to come.. Which MVNO is coming? When? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
me_saket 73 Report post Posted July 28, 2009 Its late, but happy to see it happening atleast now. Reliance and Tata will surely try to make things reverse. MTS is growing, Bsnl is also having cdma wing and some MVNOs to come.. Which MVNO is coming? When? expected mvno are at&t, france telecom, BT etc first agreement happend to be BSNL cdma Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ravi_patent 28 Report post Posted August 5, 2009 http://www.ciol.com/News/News-Reports/CDMA-operators-to-initiate-Open-Market-Handsets/4809123164/0/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
me_saket 73 Report post Posted August 13, 2009 The CDMA opportunity in India source NEW DELHI, INDIA: Comparing the CDMA and GSM technology, Vsevolod Rozanov, President and CEO, Sistema Shyam Teleservices says, "Now that GSM and CDMA have leveled up on the open handsets parameters, the consumer driven market will shift its focus on comparing its service quality and other features. CDMA is a far superior and faster technology as compared to GSM, which consumers have already started experiencing". According to Perry LaForge of CDG, "The CDMA opportunity in India looks even more promising with the entry of new brands, expansion of existing players and addition of new operators like Sistema Shyam Teleservices, Virgin Mobile and BSNL." He added further, "India is an ideal market both for upgrades for the existing CDMA subscribers base as well as for new subscribers acquisition. The CDMA-OMH will give consumers both choice and flexibility." One of the major reason for GSM dominating the India market has been that so far, on CDMA, every time the subscribers wanted to change or upgrade their handset, they had to change their number. And in the Indian market, where mobile number has almost become second identity, there was a lot of resistance to this. Commenting on this move of CDG, SC Khanna, Secretary General, Auspi, says, "The OMH initiative is a welcome move. Since Indian CDMA market is one the biggest market in the world, this initiative will move faster and also increase the competition in CDMA handsets market." According to Rozanov of Sistema Shyam Teleservices, "We are confident that CDG's move to launch its open market handsets initiative will receive a very positive response from the consumers. The timing has been perfect as the number of subscribers are growing on a daily basis." Although the market today is dominated by GSM, the tele-density in the country still remains at just 33%. Two-third of the market still remains untapped. So, there is lot of opportunity still existing for the CDMA operators to grab these untapped area and strengthen its footprint. But GSM players are enjoying market share and more aggressive in India. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aviator 3 Report post Posted August 13, 2009 Just one passing thought.............. Isn't cost of handset directly proportional to subscriber base. I think GSM handsets are cheaper because the user base is high. Can anyone shed some light on the GSM:CDMA subscriber base Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pasumark 51 Report post Posted August 13, 2009 Comparing the CDMA and GSM technology, Vsevolod Rozanov, President and CEO, Sistema Shyam Teleservices says, "Now that GSM and CDMA have leveled up on the open handsets parameters, Where on Earth have CDMA levelled with GSM with regard to handsets? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
