GSM LEADS GROWTH AMONG WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES.

3G Americas reports that GSM has continued its tremendous growth rate in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean with an annual gain of 124%, more than doubling the number of GSM customers in the region from September 2003 to September 2004. GSM added over a quarter of a billion customers worldwide since last September, five times more than CDMA which added the second largest number of new wireless customers, with GSM ending the third quarter with 1.18 billion global customers. GSM now accounts for 74% of the global wireless digital market.

In the third quarter 2004, GSM gained more customers than any other wireless technology in the Western Hemisphere by adding 13 million customers. The region has been averaging 12 million new GSM subscribers per quarter this year. GSM is now deployed or planned in every country in the Western Hemisphere with 167 operators throughout North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, GSM grew by more than 191%, nearly tripling its customer base from a year ago to more than 44 million subscribers. Erasmo Rojas, Director of Latin America & the Caribbean for 3G Americas stated, "3G Americas is confident that GSM will continue to excel in its growth throughout Latin America. We expect GSM to surpass the number of TDMA customers to become the number one wireless digital technology in Latin America in 2005."

Chris Pearson, president of 3G Americas added, "GSM has become the clear choice for operators and their customers for both voice and next generation wireless data services. EDGE has proven to be a terrific high-speed wireless data technology providing 100-130 kbps as a foundation for multiple applications and services." Pearson added, "EDGE will continue its momentum in the Americas and the world as more operators and their enterprise and consumer customers appreciate its many benefits."

EDGE, which is a leading 3G technology choice in the Americas and has been chosen for 3G service by more than 100 operators in over 75 countries worldwide, has been launched on 40 networks. In the Western Hemisphere, this includes nationwide service in the U.S., Canada, five Caribbean countries, and by seven operators in top Latin American markets such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela.

UMTS/WCDMA is also showing solid growth. At the end of Q3 2004, the number of UMTS customers worldwide reached 10.7 million up from 1.7 million customers at the end of Q3 2003. The adoption of UMTS will continue as numerous operators around the globe ready their networks to provide customers with this leading 3G service; more than 50 UMTS networks have been launched to date. According to EMC, there are more than 100 commitments to UMTS technology in various stages including commercial, pre-commercial, planned, in deployment or licensed.

Data is based on figures from EMC World Cellular Database. For charts on GSM growth, as well as EDGE and UMTS deployment lists, visit 3G Americas' website at: http://www.3gamericas.org/English/statistics/index.cfm.

About 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology

The mission of 3G Americas is to promote and facilitate the seamless deployment of GSM, GPRS, EDGE, and UMTS (WCDMA) throughout the Americas for the benefit of consumers. The organization fully supports the Third Generation technology migration strategy GSM/GPRS/EDGE and UMTS adopted by many operators in the Americas that is expected to account for up to 85% of next-generation customers worldwide. 3G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, WA with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas, TX.

For more information, visit http://www.3gamericas.org.

About EMC

EMC is a world-leading provider of specialist market intelligence for the wireless industry with a reputable track record founded on researching and publishing accurate data and statistics.

EMC's Market Data is stored in the EMC World Cellular Database: http://www.emc-database.com.

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Publication:	Tele-Service News
Date:	Jan 1, 2005
Words:	645
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