The trade group representing Cingular Wireless, China Mobile, Orange, and other network operators that rely on the dominant GSM technology is considering opening membership to businesses that use competing systems.
The move would formalize the GSM Association¡¯s de facto position as the global mobile trade body, and it displays the group¡¯s confidence that rival technology CDMA is no longer a serious contender.
In particular, said Bill Gajda, the GSMA¡¯s commercial director, the group is considering opening its doors to operators of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), TD-SCDMA, and WiMAX networks. At the same time, the organization is hoping to attract non-operator members, including providers of related services such as content, mobile payment systems, and capital, Mr. Gajda said.
CDMA, developed by San Diego-based Qualcomm, never managed to achieve the same level of market penetration as GSM. According to London-based market data company The Mobile World, there are some 356 million CDMA users worldwide, with 130 million of them in North America. In contrast, billions of mobile-phone users--some 85 percent of the world¡¯s 2.84 billion cell users--are now on GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) or 3GSM networks, according to The Mobile World.
CDMA is gradually being dropped by all but a few U.S. operators, said John Tysoe, principal analyst at The Mobile World. Just about every Latin American CDMA network has now moved to GSM, he said. The latest, Vivo in Brazil, started the transition after it saw its market share drop from more than 50 percent to about 30 percent in just a few years. CDMA businesses Reliance, in India, and Unicom, in China, have also started offering GSM.
In related moves two weeks ago, the GSMA rebranded two major trade shows. Its 3GSM World Congress, the mobile phone industry¡¯s largest trade show, which takes place in Barcelona in February, is now called the Mobile World Congress. Its sister event in Asia, set to take place this November in Macau, is now the Mobile Asia Congress.