SK Telecom, Samsung Electronics, etc. receive award from US standards organization for first commercialization of CDMA - Korean media

In 1996, SK Telecom (SKT) was awarded the Korea Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and the Korea Telecommunications Association (SAM) for being the first in the world to achieve large-scale commercialization of the mobile communication technology CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access).
The company announced that, together with Seung Electronics and LG Electronics, it has received the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Milestone, which recognizes innovative achievements in electrical and electronics-related technologies.
In the 1990s, SKT, ETRI, Samsung Electronics, and LG Electronics commercialized the CDMA system, which could handle more than 10 times the call volume of analog systems, in order to meet the growing demand for mobile communications.
At the time, the world was in a technological race over TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) technology, but the Korean government and companies were trying to commercialize the potential of CDMA technology.
Based on the CDMA technology that was introduced, SKT established a mobile communications technology development business management team. Since then, with the cooperation of terminal manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, the first commercialization of the CDMA method has been achieved.
"The technological innovation brought about by the CDMA system has made it possible for a large-scale project, a paradigm shift from analog to digital communications, to be carried out by private companies," said IEEE President Kathleen Kramer.
"This is the fruition of the strong will of the Korean government in deciding to work with companies," he said. The Korean government has made it clear that it will continue to provide support for the development of mobile communications technology.