GSM Makes Gains in Americas

GSM continued to grow in the Americas during 2005, approaching a 43 percent market share by years end. The technology added 81 million customers in the region and 392 million globally during the year, 3G Americas reported on Friday.

In comparison, CDMA added only 30 million customers in the Western Hemisphere during the same period. The number of global additions annually last year actually surpassed the total number of customers of any other technology, the organization said.

In the United States and Canada, 24 million new customers were added during the year versus only 15 million for CDMA. The new additions mean that GSM now serves 1.67 billion customers, or about a quarter of the world's population.

"We expect that GSM will continue its robust growth, particularly due to its capability to serve both high and low economic segments respectively due to its proven technology capabilities and successful applications and its economies of scale to enable phones at manufacturer costs less than US$40," said Eva Benguigui, Latin America Analyst, Informa Telecoms & Media.

3G Americas pointed to several milestones the technology reached during the year, including becoming the number one technology in the region, the first to be deployed in every country and territory, as well as the first widespread commercial deployment of UMTS/HSDPA through Cingular Wireless.

In the U.S., two major carriers use GSM -- Cingular, the largest carrier, and T-Mobile, the fourth largest.