Orlando, Fla., Sept. 23, 1998 -- Demonstrating unprecedented growth by more than tripling its worldwide subscriber count since last year, the CDMA Development Group (CDG) today announced that cdmaOne™ subscribers will reach 16 million globally at the end of the third quarter. With 4.5 million subscribers in North America, the region now comprises twenty-eight percent of the worldwide total, up from twenty percent at this point last year. The CDG projects worldwide subscribers to surpass 19 million by the end of 1998.

Today's announcement was made by Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDG, at the Personal Communications Showcase, PCS '98, in the Orange County Convention Center, September 23-25, 1998.

"The cdmaOne worldwide subscriber count continues to grow at a staggering pace -- we've tripled our subscriber base over the past year. In North America alone, we've experienced a six fold growth rate with total subscribers in the region today exceeding last year's worldwide count," said LaForge. "At the Third Annual CDMA World Congress just a few months ago, we predicted 15 million worldwide cdmaOne subscribers by this time, so we've even exceeded our own predictions."
LaForge continued, "By region, Asia continues to be the most dominant, topping 11 million cdmaOne subscribers, with Korea playing a predominant role over the past year. Due to DDI's cdmaOne launch this July, we're now adding approximately two thousand subscribers per day in Japan, and with IDO going live in the Spring of 1999, Japan will play an increasing role in subscriber growth. Throughout the remainder of the year, we will continue to see progress in key markets, particularly in Latin America, where new systems are launching throughout the region. In addition, future growth is predicated in other major regions for both mobile and fixed networks in Australia, India and China."

"Global operators continue to voice their commitment to deploying cdmaOne due to the technology's inherent ability to provide 3G-like services today including high speed data, email and fax capabilities," concluded LaForge.