While the battle between GSM and CDMA enthusiasts continue, an international cosortium is telling them to make love, not war. The CDMA Development Group (CDG) is actively encouraging the development and adoption of WorldMode interstandard services, which would allow users to seamlessly switch between CDMA and GSM networks. In effect, the equipped handsets would become true world phones, being able to roam on virtually any network in Asia, North and Latin America, or Europe. A handful of CDMA2000 operators already offer this service.

There are currently eleven such WorldMode phones available, but CDG is trying to lower the price on the technology, and is working on initiatives for more budget-friendly handsets in developing markets. The phones already on the market come from five different manufacturers: Samsung, Motorola, LG, Yulong Telecom, and Amoi. All of these handsets must contain both GSM and CDMA subscriber identity information modules (SIM and R-UIM, respectively).

In the future, these WorldMode phones will feature the latest in high-speed data and voice technologies, including 1X, 1xEV-DO, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA and HSDPA.