UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

UMTS is a voice and high-speed data technology that is part of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) IMT-2000 family of third-generation (3G) wireless standards.  Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) is the radio technology used in UMTS.  As a result, the terms “UMTS” and “WCDMA” are often used interchangeably.

UMTS is based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology and supports packetized voice and data at user achievable peak data rates of 350 Kbps when the user is walking or driving.  UMTS is designed to support bandwidth-intensive applications such as streaming multimedia, large file transfers and videoconferencing. UMTS also is designed to support delay-sensitive applications such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and real-time, multiplayer gaming. UMTS’ other key benefits include high spectral efficiency for voice and data, support for simultaneous voice and data, low infrastructure costs, global roaming and a broad selection of handsets and other user devices.

Industry groups that endorse UMTS include the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses ( ARIB) in Japan, European Telecommunications Standards Institute ( ETSI), Global mobile Suppliers Association ( GSA), GSM Association, the ITU, the Third Generation Partnership Project ( 3GPP), 3G Americas and the UMTS Forum.

UMTS builds on GSM, which is the world’s most widely used wireless technology. GSM has more than 85% of the global wireless market and the 2.1 billion to more than 2.6 billion worldwide, as of 3Q 2007, according to the GSM Association. UMTS is available from over 175 operators in more than 60 countries, as of October 2007. Nearly 300 operators worldwide have committed to deploying UMTS. This combination of commitments and commercial deployments means that like other members of the GSM family of technologies, UMTS enjoys a global cost structure, equipment selection and user adoption unmatched by any other 3G technology.

WCDMA has been in commercial service in Japan since 2001 and is now available on every continent of the world. On July 20, 2004, AT&T Wireless (U.S.) became the first operator to launch commercial UMTS service in the Western hemisphere. There are currently more than 100 million UMTS subscriptions worldwide. This rapid adoption shows that consumers and enterprises recognize UMTS’ benefits, which include broad device selection, global roaming, true broadband speeds and clear voice calls.

UMTS works in a variety of spectrum bands, including the existing 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands and the new 1700/2100 MHz spectrum bands being auctioned in the U.S. and other countries in the Western Hemisphere. Some UMTS user devices sold in the Americas, such as PC card modems, will support multiple spectrum bands thereby providing additional roaming options.  Over the years, the GSM community has worked to expand the UMTS standard so that it is capable for use in additional bands.  Currently, the UMTS standard is available worldwide for use in 850, 900, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, and 2600 MHz bands.  Additionally, it is expected the standard will be expanded for uses in the 450 MHz and 700 MHz bands.  Currently, there is UMTS TDD equipment available for the 450 MHz spectrum band.  A wide selection of bands benefits operators because it provides more flexibility. For example, signals travel farther at lower frequencies, so a UMTS network at 850 or 900 MHz is a good fit for covering sparsely populated rural areas.

Many UMTS operators – such as Cingular Wireless in the United States – have begun upgrading their networks by deploying High Speed Downlink Packet Access ( HSDPA). It increases download speeds, decreases latency, and significantly improves capacity of UMTS networks. HSDPA is part of the 3G evolution for the GSM family of technologies.

For more details about HSPA and other stages of the UMTS evolution, see the September 2007 white paper "EDGE, HSPA, LTE: The Mobile Broadband Advantage" and the July 2007 white paper "UMTS Evolution from 3GPP Release 7 to Release 8: HSPA and SAE/LTE"

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