GSM1x was introduced last year when many GSM carriers, especially European carriers, were struggling with the technical and financial challenges of building 3G wireless Web networks. Although some carriers--most notably U.K.-based BT and U.S. companies AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile--have managed to launch hybrid GSM/GPRS networks, there still seems to be a market for the GSM1x melding of GSM and CDMA. However, many other GSM carriers have either abandoned network construction plans or announced delays.

The major sticking point to the adoption GSM1x has more to do with the dominance of GSM than it does with the technology involved, said Gartner Dataquest analyst Brian Prohm, About 75 percent of the world's telephone networks use GSM, while only about 20 percent use CDMA, Those carriers that adopted GSM1x would be isolated from lucrative studio iphone case roaming contracts with other GSM carriers, Prohm said, A source said it's likely the wireless carrier involved in the test is based in Asia and a customer of Korean telephone equipment maker Hyundai Syscomm, which announced in June the development of GSM1x products, Jha, however, did not identify the carrier..

The wireless developer says it's set to launch the first trial of equipment that lets cell phone carriers committed to GSM networks switch over to Qualcomm's rival CDMA-based technology. Sanjay Jha, a Qualcomm senior vice president, Reader ResourcesRead CNET White Papers said the trial will test the operation of the technology, known as GSM1x, and not whether there is a market for it. The tests will involve a few hundred customers and begins early next year. GSM1x was created as a way for GSM carriers to add Qualcomm's 1x cell phone technology to their networks. Short for CDMA20001xrtt, 1x is built on the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standard and promises to double voice calling capacity and create a wireless Web with download speeds of 40kbps to 60kbps (kilobits per second).

CNET también está disponible en español, studio iphone case Don't show this again, Panama is one of dozens of countries that ban VoIP services, As of April 2002, other countries included Cuba, Egypt, Israel, South Africa, Kenya, Mexico and Argentina, according to an article in the Boston University School of Law Review, Cable & Wireless has fought VoIP providers in the past, winning a 1998 lawsuit against VoIP provider Net2Phone that banned Internet phone service in the Cayman Islands, Cable & Wireless spokesman Peter Eustace said the recent Panama decision reflects the opinion of local phone regulators, "The decision by Panama telephone regulators is aimed at the unlawful offering of voice telephony services in Panama from unlicensed operators," he said, adding that the company offers VoIP services to corporations in countries where it is allowed..

Cable & Wireless Panama, which is 49 percent owned by the Panamanian government, is the U.K.-based telecom company's second-largest regional subsidiary. The unit booked revenue of $471 million (296 million pounds) in 2001, down 2 percent from the previous year, according to the company's 2002 annual report. The company has been expanding its IP business, having acquired the assets of bankrupt Exodus Communications in February 2002. The company is also pushing Internet and data services through its Cable & Wireless Global subsidiary in the United States, Europe and Japan.