CDMA Development Group Appoints Nigerian as Regional Director of Africa

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has announced the appointment of a Nigerian, Mr. Philip Chukwueke as Director of the industry association’s Africa office. The appointment which takes immediate effect will see him leading various initiatives for the CDMA2000 industry in the region, where CDMA is experiencing rapid growth enabled by 3G voice and mobile broadband services.
Chukwueke is currently the chief executive officer of Communication Towers in Nigeria, a role he has held since mid-2005. He previously held several positions at Qualcomm Inc. in Africa, India and the United States dating back to 1996, which followed U.S.-based roles with Ameritel Communications and Pacific Bell.
A Bachelor of Science degree holder from the University of Southern California (USC) and a Master of Business Administration degree from San Jose State University, Chukwueke who is co-based in Nigeria and San Diego, California, will focus on international roaming agreements in Africa through the CDG’s CDMA Roaming Hub (CRH) initiative.
He will also focus on CDMA2000 device initiatives, including the commercialization of Open Market Handsets (OMH™), which increases the number of CDMA2000 devices that can be sold on the “open market” and used by multiple operators, providing consumers a greater selection of devices and the flexibility to select the operator and mobile data services they desire. OMH devices will be available in Nigeria in mid-2010.
Announcing the appointment, Perry LaForge CDG’s executive director, expressed confidence in the ability of Chukwueke to lead the CDMA industry’s efforts in Africa. “As an industry veteran, he knows the challenges and opportunities of the African market and will be a key driver of our CDMA2000 roaming and device initiatives on the continent,” said.
Paul Edwards, chairman of Starcomms Nigeria Holdings, also expressed delight at the appointment. “We are delighted to have the continued support of the CDG in Africa. We look forward to working closely with Philip to further expand our success and the success of CDMA2000 operators across the continent,” he said.
CDMA Roaming Hubs offer an accelerated, multi-lateral, multi-service roaming implementation framework using centralized third-party service providers, covering all critical aspects of CDMA roaming under one umbrella. Roaming Hubs allow immediate access to many roaming partners through a single multi-lateral roaming agreement. The first regional CDMA Roaming Hubs will be launched in Africa during the second half of 2010.
More than 27 million people are using voice and data services enabled by 60 CDMA2000 1X and EV-DO networks in 37 African countries. Almost 10 million new users were added during 2009 alone, representing a 50 percent annual growth rate, while nearly 4 million of them are using EV-DO wireless broadband services offered by 23 operators.
CDMA2000 is a widely deployed 3G technology, with 308 operators in 116 countries and territories serving 512 million subscribers. Counting 2G cdmaOne™ subscribers, there are over 517 million CDMA users worldwide.
CDMA2000 1xEV-DO is a widely-deployed 3G CDMA (IMT-2000) solution offering mobile broadband to 136 million people across a wide range of devices. CDMA2000 has been chosen by operators in both developed and emerging markets, and is deployable in the 450, 700, 800, 1700, 1900, AWS and 2100 MHz bands. More than 2,320 CDMA2000 devices from over 124 suppliers have been introduced to the market, including more than 550 Rel. 0 and 225 Rev. A devices on 115 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rel. 0 and 79 Rev. A systems.
The CDMA Development Group is a trade association formed to foster the worldwide development, implementation and use of CDMA2000 and other complementary wireless solutions. Its member companies include many of the world’s leading service providers and equipment manufacturers. The primary activities of the CDG include development of advanced features and services, evolution of standards, technical education, advocacy, regulatory affairs, global roaming and device availability. Currently, there are more than 500 individuals working within various CDG industry initiatives.