Efforts to take millions of users of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) cellular networks over to Internet-ready mobile-phone systems are accelerating as proponents of two rival wireless technologies claim new converts.
Over the past few months, a group supporting the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital cellular standard has announced that eight TDMA operators in the Americas and Asia have migrated to the CDMA2000 platform as a way to build third-generation (3G) wireless services.
Meanwhile, the Global System for Mobile (GSM) standard camp says leading TDMA operators in both North and South America are deploying its infrastructure specifications for 3G.
EMC, a wireless market research firm, estimates that TDMA subscribers worldwide exceeded 100 million as of July this year. The Americas account for 96 per cent of all TDMA users.
In Hong Kong, PCCW runs a TDMA network it obtained when it bought the business of rival Pacific Link several years ago.
Operations of the mainland's existing TDMA networks have been in the hands of the military for years.
TDMA is a cellular standard that supports both analog and digital communications over the 850 megahertz and 1.9 gigahertz radio spectrums. TDMA is also used for digital cordless-phone systems used in both residential and corporate environments.