Introduction of UMTS

Standing for "Universal Mobile Telecommunications System", UMTS represents an evolution in terms of capacity, data speeds and new service capabilities from second generation mobile networks.Today, more than 60 3G/UMTS networks using WCDMA technology are operating commercially in 25 countries, supported by a choice of over 100 terminal designs from Asian, European and US manufacturers. Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo launched the world's first commercial WCDMA network in 2001.A key member of the global family of third generation (3G) mobile technologies identified by the ITU, 3G/UMTS offers mobile operators significant capacity and broadband capabilities to support greater numbers of voice and data customers - especially in urban centres - plus higher data rates at lower incremental cost than 2G. Making use of radio spectrum in bands identified by the ITU for Third Generation IMT-2000 mobile services and subsequently licensed to operators, 3G/UMTS employs a 5 MHz channel carrier width to deliver significantly higher data rates and increased capacity compared with second generation networks. This 5 MHz channel carrier provides optimum use of radio resources, especially for operators who have been granted large, contiguous blocks of spectrum - typically ranging from 2x10 MHz up to 2x20 MHz - to reduce the cost of deploying 3G networks. Crucially, 3G/UMTS has been specified as an integrated solution for mobile voice and data with wide area coverage. Universally standardised via the Third Generation Partnership Project (www.3gpp.org) and using globally harmonised spectrum in paired and unpaired bands, 3G/UMTS in its initial phase offers theoretical bit rates of up to 384 kbps in high mobility situations, rising as high as 2 Mbps in stationary/nomadic user environments. Symmetry between uplink and downlink data rates when using paired (FDD) spectrum also means that 3G/UMTS is ideally suited for applications such as real-time video telephony - in contrast with other technologies such as ADSL where there is a pronounced asymmetry between uplink and downlink throughput rates.Specified and implemented as an end-to-end mobile system, 3G/UMTS also features the additional benefits of automatic international roaming plus integral security and billing functions, allowing operators to migrate from 2G to 3G while retaining many of their existing back-office systems. Offering increased capacity and speed at lower incremental cost compared with second generation mobile systems, 3G/UMTS gives operators the flexibility to introduce new multimedia services to business users and consumers while providing an enhanced user experience. This in turn provides the opportunity for operators to build on the brand-based relationships they already enjoy with their customers - and drive new revenue opportunities by encouraging additional traffic, stimulating new usage patterns and strengthening customer loyalty.Ongoing technical work within 3GPP will see further increases in throughput speeds of the WCDMA Radio Access Network (RAN). High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technologies are already standardised and are undergoing network trials with operators in the Far East and North America. Promising theoretical downlink speeds as high as 14.4 Mbps (and respectively 5.8 Mbps uplink), these technologies will play an instrumental role in positioning 3G/UMTS as a key enabler for true 'mobile broadband'. Offering data transmission speeds of the same order of magnitude as today's Ethernet-based networks that are a ubiquitous feature of the fixed-line environment, 3G/UMTS will offer enterprise customers and consumers all the benefits of broadband connectivity whilst on the move.
3G - Mobile Evolution
Third Generation mobile in the shape of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) with WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) as radio access technology is already a reality.With the first European networks already live and an increasing number of commercial launches anticipated during 2003, UMTS/WCDMA offers business users and consumers an evolution of their current mobile experience to add video and other exciting new services.Approaching 120 licenses have already been awarded to operators worldwide, specifying WCDMA radio access technology that builds on GSM to provide a clear evolutionary path for more than 80% of the world's wireless market.In terms of initial capital expenditure as well as ongoing operational costs, WCDMA technology offers new and existing operators alike a more economical platform to cope with projected growth in demand for voice and data services.For customers already enjoying voice and data services via 2G and 2.5G, UMTS/WCDMA delivers even more of what they like doing already... faster, more efficiently and with new possibilities. For many of the 1.2 billion customers of second generation networks, UMTS is Third Generation mobile.What are the implications of this continued growth in mobile subscriptions, the changing mix of voice and data revenues and the proliferation of new mobile terminal devices?To address some of these questions, this section provides an overview of the market, technology, regulatory and service issues faced by network operators and manufacturers as well as the developers of mobile applications as they prepare their own 3G customer offerings.In particular, it considers the benefits to industry and end users of a roadmap to and evolution of UMTS/WCDMA as part of the ITU/IMT-2000 standard.