CDMA CARRIERS GROW AT EXPENSE OF GSM NETWORKS

The code division multiple access (CDMA) network of the No 2 mobile carrier China Unicom continues to register month-on-month growth - at the expense of the GSM networks. Dominant carrier China Mobile (Hong Kong), the listed arm of China Mobile Communications, said it added 2.07 million new users in its 21 provinces last month to reach 117.67 million. The increase was less than the monthly net addition of 2.3 million in the past 12 months. China Unicom, the Hong Kong unit of China United Telecommunications, for the first time saw its monthly net gain of CDMA network users outpace GSM subscribers. China Unicom added 785,000 CDMA users, compared with 774,000 GSM subscribers. December CDMA growth was up from 741,000 in November.