3G users pass 100 million mark

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has trumpeted the number of end users with CDMA2000 handsets topping 100 million by the end of June - way ahead of 3G users within the rival GSM camp.

Perry LaForge, CDG executive director, said that hitting the symbolic mark and then passing it - the latest stat is for 112 million users - is "a ringing endorsement of the ITU's 3G vision" and something to celebrate.

However, the race to roll out 3G networks is not without controversy, not least over what constitutes 3G.

While the GSM community's version of 3G - known as UMTS or by the standard W-CDMA - is rolling out steadily this year across dozens of markets, its user numbers are well below the 100 million mark.

But while the upgrade path for operators in Europe has been GSM to GPRS to EDGE (in some cases) and then to W-CDMA, some of those same operators and a handful of equipment makers will say CDMA2000 isn't the equivalent of W-CDMA and so the 3G comparison isn't correct.

Instead, some view a version of CDMA2000 called EV-DO as pure 3G, with its broadband-like speeds. In the US, for example, Verizon Wireless this year announced a rollout of the technology, using Lucent as its equipment provider.

Others view a further, faster CDMA2000 extension optimised for applications such as video, which is only at the testing and trial stage, called EV-DV as the ultimate 3G in that upgrade path.

In Europe, while Hutchison-backed 3 has led the 3G push for some time, most operators are launching some kind of 3G offering this year, typically starting with data cards, with a view to 3G handsets towards the end of this year.

And there are a few exceptions now in Europe, outside GSM. This week Czech carrier Eurotel joined a small band of operators in countries including Romania and Russia rolling out CDMA2000 EV-DO using the 450MHz radio band. It used Nortel Networks for its infrastructure.