A recent study by EMC Market Data indicates that the US handset market attained 141.4 million cellular phone subscribers as of December 2002, surpassing 50% penetration. The report observes that CDMA technology currently dominates the US market, and is likely to continue to do so through 2007, despite the challenge from GSM, the dominant mobile phone standard in Europe and several other markets.

According to EMC research manager Mike Woolfrey, “while the US has often been perceived as being behind other mature markets — it is the second largest domestic market in the world — only China has more cellular users”.

Source: EMC World Cellular Database

The EMC study notes that CDMA technology currently leads the US market, with a 43% market share, and that GSM currently accounts for just 11% of the market, up from from 6% in 1999. However, EMC projects that by 2007 GSM will have grown to 33% of the US market, whereas CDMA will remain flat, expanding its share by a single percentage point from 2002.

More info about EMC's World Cellular Review 2003 research report is available here.

The above graph is copyright © 2003, EMC, and is reproduced by LinuxDevices.com with permission.

 
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