[Courtesy of SK Telecom] SK Telecom is marking the 30th anniversary of the world’s first commercialization of CDMA technology. On April 12, 1996, Samsung Electronics launched the CDMA handset SCH-100 alongside the rollout of commercial mobile service, making it the first nation to bring digital mobile communications to market. CDMA, or Code Division Multiple Access, is a 2G mobile technology that allows multiple users to communicate simultaneously on a single frequency band without interference by assigning unique codes to each user. Within nine months of launch, a nationwide network was established, rapidly turning mobile telecommunications into a mass-market infrastructure.
[Courtesy of SK Telecom] The country’s mobile telecommunications history stretches back to 1984, when car phones were first introduced, drawing more than 2,000 subscribers within a month of launch. The 1988 Olympics marked the debut of the first portable mobile phone service, ushering in the analog mobile era. By the 1990s, surging subscriber numbers exposed the limits of analog systems, pushing the industry toward digital technology. While most of the global market had moved toward TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) as the 2G standard, CDMA remained commercially unproven. Though CDMA theoretically offered higher call capacity, its implementation demanded sophisticated signal processing and advanced digital engineering. Betting on its long-term potential, the government designated CDMA as the national standard and launched a public-private development initiative involving major carriers, research institutions, and manufacturers including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. The effort ultimately produced the world’s first commercial CDMA network.
[Courtesy of SK Telecom] As CDMA development advanced, the telecommunications industry underwent a major structural shift. In 1994, SK Group acquired Korea Mobile Telecommunications through a public bidding process, forming what is now SK Telecom. The introduction of competition in the sector accelerated CDMA commercialization. In 2024, the IEEE awarded CDMA commercialization its prestigious Milestone recognition — an honor reserved for innovations that have significantly advanced humanity in electricity, electronics, and communications, placing it alongside achievements such as the invention of the transistor and the development of the internet. The economic impact was substantial. According to a 2002 industry report, the CDMA mobile telecommunications sector grew at an average annual rate of 37.2% from 1996 to 2001, accumulating a production value of approximately $31.5 billion. The technology generated an estimated $93.75 billion in production-induced economic activity and created 1.42 million jobs, while pushing component localization rates to roughly 70%.
[Courtesy of SK Telecom] The nationwide network built on CDMA laid the groundwork for sweeping ICT industry growth. Mobile subscribers surpassed 10 million in 1998 and outpaced landline users by 1999. That expansion drove demand for digital devices and key component sectors including semiconductors, while also providing the infrastructure backbone behind the global rise of Korean content in games, music, and entertainment. The information and communications industry’s contribution to GDP climbed from 2.2% in 1996 to 13.1% in 2025 — growing in absolute terms from $13.35 billion to $228 billion. IT sector exports, including semiconductors and devices, rose from $41.2 billion in 1996 to $264.3 billion in 2025, a 6.4-fold increase, consistently representing more than 30% of total exports over that period.
[Courtesy of SK Telecom] Thirty years after CDMA established a nationwide communications backbone, the industry stands at another inflection point — building what many are calling an AI infrastructure highway to move data and intelligence across interconnected industries. Modern communications networks have evolved into platforms linking data, AI, and diverse sectors, with ultra-high-speed, low-latency connectivity, data centers, and AI models emerging as key competitive factors for next-generation industries. Economists draw a direct parallel between the CDMA era and today’s AI buildout, arguing that investment in AI infrastructure could shape industrial competitiveness for the next three decades in the same way mobile technology defined the past thirty years. SK Telecom’s Vice President of Network Strategy Lee Jong-hoon framed the shift this way: “In the AI era, networks are transitioning from mere data conduits to intelligent infrastructure capable of learning and processing information,” adding that the change will affect productivity and innovation across manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and finance.