The wireless industry should not hold its breath for the coming of CDMA2000 EV-DV technology. Both Qualcomm Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. said they are focusing their immediate attention elsewhere.
“Due to the lack of CDMA industry demand for the 1x EV-DV technology solution and the increased operator interest in an accelerated 1x EV-DOrA commercialization schedule, Qualcomm has decided to prioritize its support towards 1x EV-DOrA chipset development,” wrote Qualcomm in a response to RCR Wireless News’ questions.
EV-DOrA stands for EV-DO Revision A, which is the next generation of EV-DO technology.
Consequently, the CDMA proprietor said it has “withdrawn the MSM6700 from the MSM roadmap until further notice.”
However, the company did not entirely shut the door on further work on DV technology.
“We will continue to monitor market requirements and review the demand and need for supporting an MSM6700 commercialization effort,” Qualcomm said.
Wireless industry analyst Andrew Seybold sees this as a triumph for Voice over Internet Protocol and High Speed Downlink Packet Access technologies.
TI seems to imply the same in its written response to RCR Wireless News’ questions.
“Marketplace conditions have led TI to evaluate its solution to address the 1x EV-DV Release C market,” wrote Patty Arellano, spokeswoman for TI. “For competitive reasons, we cannot comment on plans, except to say we are focusing on areas in which we can differentiate.”
She commented further that “TI sees a much larger opportunity in the rapidly expanding UMTS market, so that’s where our focus is,” adding the chipmaker “intends to continue to lead in UMTS and to be highly competitive in the evolving HSDPA market.”
