India is now world’s second biggest market after the USA in terms of subscriber base for CDMS based mobile services. The CDMA Development Group (CDG) announced that India has now over 100 million subscribers on the CDMA platform.

RCom and TTSL are now ranked among the world’s top 5 CDMA operators.

According to the CDG, India witnessed a rapid uptake in adoption of CDMA based services since its launch in 2002 in the country. Entry level handsets and reduced tariffs were attributed to the success of this adoption.

The CDG is betting big on CDMA based mobile broadband driving future uptake of broadband in the country.

 “The CDG is encouraged by the continued CDMA subscriber growth in India, and we are proud to have worked with operators and manufacturers to bring wireless voice and data services to over 100 million Indians,” said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG. “Efforts to bring a wide range of devices into the market have resulted in a tremendously rapid growth of voice telephony in the country.  As we look to the next 100 million subscribers, CDMA mobile broadband is already satisfying the demand for affordable high-speed wireless data services, while CDG initiatives will further increase the selection of CDMA voice and data devices.”

Dr. Mukund Rajan, Managing Director, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited, said, “There were a number of doomsday prophets who questioned the logic behind the introduction of CDMA in India.  Today, 100 million satisfied CDMA subscribers, on networks across India that boast the best voice quality and excellent data throughput, vindicate our decision to launch CDMA services in India. The dramatic growth of CDMA in India, in the short span of 6 years, has led the surge in wireless subscriber additions in India and the huge jump in teledensity across the country. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited (TTML), with over 7 million CDMA subscribers and 14 percent market share in the Mumbai-Maharashtra geography that contributes the most to India’s GDP, is proud to have played its role in establishing CDMA as a compelling choice for customers.”