Vendors demonstrate CDMA/GSM roaming

Last week, Qualcomm (www.qualcomm.com), SchlumbergerSema (www.slb.com) and Samsung (www.samsung.com) announced the successful demonstration of a removable user identity module (R-UIM) that supports roaming and smart-card applications between CDMA and GSM networks. The card would enable CDMA subscribers going into GSM markets to swap their CDMA handsets for GSM handsets, pop the removable cards into the GSM phones and use the subscriber information programmed into the cards to access existing CDMA accounts.

During the demonstration at the 3G World Congress in Hong Kong, Qualcomm’s Mobile Station Modem with an R-UIM interface was combined with SchlumbergerSema’s Simera Airflex card and a Samsung handset.

According to SchlumbergerSema, the card gives subscribers a way to transfer personal information to different handsets, as well as a way to roam in countries that use different radio frequencies.

Enabling CDMA subscribers to roam on GSM networks is the short-term advantage of the R-UIM cards, said Jack Jania, SchlumbergerSema North America field marketing director of the mobile communications group. In the long term, such cards probably will be used to provide security features, such as encryption, for m-commerce applications.

In addition, R-UIMs are expected to affect handset manufacturers in a couple of ways.

“One of the advantages that a SIM card would bring to any operator is that it allows a subscriber the ability to change his handset pretty easily, without having to purchase a handset that’s already been configured by an operator,” Jania said. “In the GSM world that dynamic has allowed handset prices to come down for the consumer.”

In a recent research note, Yankee Group (www.yankeegroup.coml) analyst Francesca Mabarak predicted handset manufacturers would receive competitive pressure to design new devices supporting SIM cards. Inevitably, some of the manufacturers will want to compete for contracts with carriers that support the CDMA R-UIM standard.