CDMA Deployment in Developing Countries: What Went Wrong in Nigeria?

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) is a spread spectrum technology that divides a finite radio frequency spectrum to allow multiple users access at the same time using codes to accomplish multiplexing instead of time or frequency division. It is a direct competitor to the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) which is the most widely deployed wireless cellular technology. However, despite being a robust network platform that can offer services enhanced voice quality, broader coverage and stronger security than the legacy GSM networks, it still has not achieved global penetration. The technology has experienced a steady diminished in developed nations and did not survive in most of developing countries, where it has already failed. This paper examines the issues and challenges that affected the penetration of CDMA technology in developing nations, with emphasis on Nigeria. Finding from this study revealed that failure of CDMA networks in Nigeria are traced to un-favourable policies, poor operating environment, limited reach and coverage, roaming and roaming charges, stiff and aggressive competition. Other challenges include technological issues, paucity of funds, poor corporate governance among others. Furthermore, the paper provides some recommendations that could have mitigated these issues and to avoid the reoccurrence.