The granting of United Access License by Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) in 2006 after the expiration of exclusivity right given to Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) operators was what Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators needed to stamp their feat in the telecommunications industry.
Before then, they were operating under limited mobile access license which restricted them from operating mobile service in unified manner. They as a result concentrated in offering fixed wireless and mobile service within the states they secured license to operate. More so, if any operator wishes to operate in another state outside its primary state of operation such operator could be required to apply for a license to operate in such location. This made it expensive to operate even as they were not required to offer roaming service like GSM operators.
As a result of these, CDMA operators were mere local operators who concentrated their service in Lagos and Abuja commercially viable cities. They were struggling for subscribers with GSM operators that offered more effective service basically, because a GSM subscriber can take his or her phone outside Lagos and it works in as much as such network has coverage in the location. But mobile service rendered by CDMA could not offer this service, thereby giving them advantage over CDMA service.
Prior to the introduction of the unified licensing regime which allows individual service provider to offer multiple services such as mobile telephony, fixed telephony, internet broadband and long distance services, there were over ten operators in this space. They included Starcomms, Reltel now ZoomMobile, Intercellular, Multi-Links, Independent Telephony Network (ITN), Cellcom, Bourdex, Rainbownet, Prestel MTS First, among others.
Under the current dispensation, CDMA operators that want to play in the big league are required to operate nationally, though there is choice of playing local but most see it as not being economically viable to play local which has led to some of them going for national unified access license is the prerequisite.
Playing at this level means having foot print in almost every town in the country to be able to garner enough subscriber base which is the basis for profitability. To do this, they require strong financial base which most of this operators does not have.
This situation changed the landscape of operation in CDMA space as they had to change their operational module to be part of the moving train in the industry and has ignited a contest for supremacy among operators that have what it takes to play as a national operator. This saw Starcomms selling some of its equity to Actis to raise money to expand its network, since then it has secured foreign loans in this regard making it to claim the biggest in the space.
The company has already invested some US$600 million since it launched its network in 2002.
It has as well set itself a target of reaching 5million subscribers by the end of this year. The company is the only telecom company quoted on the Nigerian stock Exchange (NSE) and has raised around US$60 million.
The stock market float increased funding for the company, while also allowing two investors, Actis and ECP to reduce their holdings. This as well as proactive management approach may have been responsible for the sustainable growth the company has recorded in this period of dwindling average revenue per user (ARPU) and harsh economic situation in the country. Today, Starcomms is the only operator in this space that has recorded steady growth after the period of global economic downturn. 
More so, other operators have made effort to be relevant and attract the much needed subscribers for the survival of their network operation. This may have informed Reltel now Zoom Mobile a major player in the CDMA space to embark on restructuring and repositioning. Before it changed its name to reflect the desire of its new investors from within the country, the company was the only privately owned telecommunications company that was playing in the big wings.
Zoom Mobile raised N25.9 million (US$223 million) from investors through private placement. The company said that the rebranding was to reposition the company as a national mobile services provider, taking full advantage of its Universal Access Service license.
The operator currently covers over 72 cities and 450 villages and has a capacity for five million subscribers. Zoom Mobile has scale down its efforts to ensure that it lure more subscribers to its network and is concentrating like most other operators in this space on retaining its existing customers as well venturing massively to the provision data services which their network is better suited for compared to their GSM counter-parts.
Multi-Links Telkom, set aside $ 1 billion (about N127 billion) to fund an aggressive five-year expansion programme. This would enable it cover about 80 percent of the country, thereby raising the bar of competition in the wireless/ fixed line segment of the telecoms sector where seven other operators are also battling for market share and leadership. The story of Multi-Links Telkom is not different from others in the space; recently its parent company Telkom South Africa had expressed its intension to sale Multi-Links based on the fact that its operational losses are dragging it backwards. Although, it has rescinded on this intension and has put in place strategies aimed at reducing its operational losses. Among those strategies is focus on data service where the company wants to leverage on its optic fibre network that spans from Lagos to Abuja. It has rolled out products in this regard. The company has put in place a new management team whose mandate is to seek ways of changing the fortune of the company to profitability.
Visafone, the youngest by name in this CDMA sector of the telecommunications industry emerged from nowhere and recorded an impressive performance by becoming the fourth biggest operator in the telecommunications industry and number one position among CDMA operators last year.
The company which is brainchild of Jim Ovia, a banker and industrialist has witnessed the investor bringing his managerial competence which he uses in making Zenith bank one of the best in the post-consolidation era to bear in Visafone.
Though, the name is new but the network has been operational in some cities for over a decade. This was as a result of the company’s acquisition of Bourdex Telecom that secured operational license to deliver services to some eastern parts of the country. It also bought over Cellcom and Independent Telephone Network, all which were merger into one network, Visafone.
No sooner the company rolled out service than about 13 banks gave their support with a syndicated facility of $200m in support of the new mobile phone company.
The emergence of Visafone has also brought new zest to the CDMA market space, especially with its introduction of open market selling strategy. This strategy which was first used by Starcomms in 2007 to drive its market penetration has now been deployed effectively by Visafone to the admiration of the purchasing customers.
Visafone has also been hit by the unfavourable operating environment which has forced it to looking for the best way to survive. The company has embarked promotions to retain and increase its subscriber base as well as scale down its expansion projects all as part of effort to survive the harsh economic situation and dwindling ARPU.
Prestel, another unified access license operator, which has its footprint strong in Niger Delta region has not done much to show that it wants to play in the big circle. The company is spare in the sorry situation that CDMA operators are face. It has sort for investors that will bring money to expand and compete in the industry, but it has not been successful in this regard.
Another underdog in this race that was first in the CDMA space is Intercellular. Since the company secured unified license, it looks as if things started working against the company. It has made several attempts at securing technical partner which didn’t work out until few years back when Sudanese operator Sudatel bought into the company but is yet to operate the network raising doubt on the ability of the Arab operator to muster the required financial muscle to play in the big players’ circle.
MTS first wireless, Rainbownet among others are not left out even as these brands are fading out of the market.
Mr. Wakili Shehu a telecommunications consultant said that CDMA technology also provides the capacity for quicker transmission of data and Internet, unlike the GSM which has limited capacity. But he warned that the use of the CDMA technology in the country was also fraught with challenges, such as limited coverage of cities and towns, unlike the GSM. He urged them to explore their advantage in the provision of data service as a survival strategy to getting out of their present predicaments.
Other options available to operators in this space is reduction of operational cost through outsourcing of none core network service as well as complete embracing of co-location or managed services in the base stations.
As operators in the CDMA space are faced with realities of development of telecommunications service delivery in the country where much emphasizes is laid on provision value added services, they should also consider consolidation as an option for survival. Consolidation allows mergers and acquisition in the sector similar to what was witnessed in the banking sector.
Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of Alton, during the association’s visit to Dr. Eugen Juwah, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  requested the Commission to develop an incentive-driven bailout plan for some of its members with difficulties in payment of their regulatory dues for the sustenance of the industry growth and protection of ailing networks. This is a clear indication that some operators are finding it difficult to survive which is a sign of distress in the sector. CDMA technology does not have technological challenges as it were, but business model and finance. For instance, in USA and India are some of the countries where CDMA operators are dominant operators.
It has done on some operators that with their business model it is difficult to attract investors especially outside the country, so such operators should consider changing this business model if they don’t want extension of their brand.