There Are Now 150 3G Terminal Models

When W-CDMA 3G first launched, it had a few hiccups. Some said 3G had arrived in 2003, while yet others said it would be years before 3G realistically arrived. In January 2004, as DoCoMo was emerging from their troubled FOMA launch, we said "W-CDMA is just coming into its own this year, and won't hit stride globally until 05-06". Well, admittedly it was a short-term prediction, but it seems to have been correct. Today, Telecoms.com is carrying the news that there are now over 150 different models of 3G terminal devices including phones and PCMCIA data cards. That is a 40% rise in the SKU count since January 1 this year! The data, from the GSMA, claims 25 vendors are selling 3G products, there are 67 networks in 31 countries, and 21.4 M subs as of March, 2005. Whatever you believe about the battle for mobile data (BWA vs. 3G), that battle is irrelevant to 3G's success. W-CDMA is now in the virtuous cycle of declining costs, increasing device choice and interoperability, and it pays it's own bills by delivering higher voice spectral efficiency. 3G is hitting its stride.

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