Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
Encyclopedia
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation
mobile cellular technology for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed by the 3GPP
(3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunications Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for networks based on the competing cdmaOne
technology. UMTS employs wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technology to offer greater spectral efficiency and bandwidth to mobile network operators. UMTS specifies a complete network system, covering the radio access network
(UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
, or UTRAN), the core network
(Mobile Application Part
, or MAP) and the authentication of users via SIM cards (Subscriber Identity Module
).
The technology described in UMTS is sometimes also referred to as Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access (FOMA) or 3GSM.
Unlike EDGE
(IMT Single-Carrier, based on GSM) and CDMA2000
(IMT Multi-Carrier), UMTS requires new base stations and new frequency allocations.
and 14.4 kbit/s for CDMAOne channels.
Since 2006, UMTS networks in many countries have been or are in the process of being upgraded with High Speed Downlink Packet Access
(HSDPA), sometimes known as 3.5G. Currently, HSDPA enables downlink transfer speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s. Work is also progressing on improving the uplink transfer speed with the High-Speed Uplink Packet Access
(HSUPA). Longer term, the 3GPP Long Term Evolution
project plans to move UMTS to 4G speeds of 100 Mbit/s down and 50 Mbit/s up, using a next generation air interface technology based upon orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing.
The first national consumer UMTS networks launched in 2002 with a heavy emphasis on telco-provided mobile applications such as mobile TV and video calling. The high data speeds of UMTS are now most often utilised for Internet access: experience in Japan and elsewhere has shown that user demand for video calls is not high, and telco-provided audio/video content has declined in popularity in favour of high-speed access to the World Wide Web - either directly on a handset or connected to a computer via Wi-Fi
, Bluetooth
, Infrared
or USB.
's Mobile Application Part
(MAP) core, and the GSM family of speech codecs.
s, called UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). All air interface options are part of ITU
's IMT-2000. In the currently most popular variant for cellular mobile telephones, W-CDMA (IMT Direct Spread) is used.
Please note that the terms W-CDMA, TD-CDMA and TD-SCDMA are misleading. While they suggest covering just a channel access method
(namely a variant of CDMA), they are actually the common names for the whole air interface standards.
system uses one or more available 1.25 MHz channels for each direction of communication. W-CDMA systems are widely criticized for their large spectrum usage, which has delayed deployment in countries that acted relatively slowly in allocating new frequencies specifically for 3G services (such as the United States).
The specific frequency bands originally defined by the UMTS standard are 1885–2025 MHz for the mobile-to-base (uplink) and 2110–2200 MHz for the base-to-mobile (downlink). In the US, 1710–1755 MHz and 2110–2155 MHz will be used instead, as the 1900 MHz band was already used. While UMTS2100 is the most widely deployed UMTS band, some countries' UMTS operators use the 850 MHz and/or 1900 MHz bands (independently, meaning uplink and downlink are within the same band), notably in the US by AT&T Mobility, New Zealand by Telecom New Zealand
on the XT Mobile Network
and in Australia by Telstra
on the Next G
network.
W-CDMA is a part of IMT-2000 as IMT Direct Spread.
's air interfaces that use the TD-CDMA
channel access technique are standardized as UTRA-TDD HCR, which uses increments of 5 MHz of spectrum, each slice divided into 10ms frames containing fifteen time slots (1500 per second). The time slots (TS) are allocated in fixed percentage for downlink and uplink. TD-CDMA is used to multiplex streams from or to multiple transceivers. Unlike W-CDMA, it does not need separate frequency bands for up- and downstream, allowing deployment in tight frequency bands.
TD-CDMA is a part of IMT-2000 as IMT CDMA TDD.
channel access method combined with an adaptive synchronous CDMA component on 1.6 MHz slices of spectrum, allowing deployment in even tighter frequency bands than TD-CDMA. However, the main incentive for development of this Chinese-developed standard was avoiding or reducing the license fees that have to be paid to non-Chinese patent owners. Unlike the other air interfaces, TD-SCDMA was not part of UMTS from the beginning but has been added in Release 4 of the specification.
Like TD-CDMA, it is known as IMT CDMA TDD within IMT-2000.
UMTS and GSM/EDGE can share a Core Network (CN), making UTRAN an alternative radio access network to GERAN
(GSM/EDGE RAN), and allowing (mostly) transparent switching between the RANs according to available coverage and service needs. Because of that, UMTS' and GSM/EDGE's radio access networks are sometimes collectively referred to as UTRAN/GERAN.
UMTS networks are often combined with GSM/EDGE, the later of which is also a part of IMT-2000.
The UE (User Equipment) interface of the RAN (Radio Access Network) primarily consists of RRC (Radio Resource Control), RLC (Radio Link Control) and MAC (Media Access Control) protocols. RRC protocol handles connection establishment, measurements, radio bearer services, security and handover decisions. RLC protocol primarily divides into three Modes - Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledge Mode (UM), Acknowledge Mode (AM). The functionality of AM entity resembles TCP operation where as UM operation resembles UDP operation. In TM mode, data will be sent to lower layers without adding any header to SDU
of higher layers. MAC handles the scheduling of data on air interface depending on higher layer (RRC) configured parameters.
The set of properties related to data transmission is called Radio Bearer (RB). This set of properties decides the maximum allowed data in a TTI (Transmission Time Interval). RB includes RLC information and RB mapping. RB mapping decides the mapping between RB<->logical channel<->transport channel. Signaling messages are sent on Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) and data packets (either CS or PS) are sent on data RBs. RRC and NAS
messages go on SRBs.
Security includes two procedures: integrity and ciphering. Integrity validates the resource of messages and also makes sure that no one (third/unknown party) on the radio interface has modified the messages. Ciphering ensures that no one listens to your data on the air interface. Both integrity and ciphering are applied for SRBs whereas only ciphering is applied for data RBs.
The CN can be connected to various backbone
networks like the Internet
, ISDN
. UMTS (and GERAN) include the three lowest layers of OSI model
. The network layer (OSI 3) includes the Radio Resource Management
protocol (RRM) that manages the bearer channels between the mobile terminals and the fixed network, including the handovers.
radio access technology that builds on GSM
. In Europe, the license process occurred at the tail end of the technology bubble, and the auction mechanisms for allocation set up in some countries resulted in some extremely high prices being paid for the original 2100 MHz licenses, notably in the UK and Germany. In Germany
, bidders paid a total €50.8 billion for six licenses, two of which were subsequently abandoned and written off by their purchasers (Mobilcom and the Sonera/Telefonica
consortium). It has been suggested that these huge license fees have the character of a very large tax paid on future income expected many years down the road. In any event, the high prices paid put some European telecom operators close to bankruptcy (most notably KPN
). Over the last few years some operators have written off some or all of the license costs. Between 2007 and 2009 all three Finnish carriers begun to use 900 MHz UMTS in a shared arrangement with its surrounding 2G GSM base stations for rural area coverage, a trend that is expected to expand over Europe in the next 1–3 years.
The 2100 MHz band (downlink around 2100 MHz and uplink around 1900 MHz) allocated for UMTS in Europe and most of Asia is already used in North America. The 1900 MHz range is used for 2G
(PCS
) services, and 2100 MHz range is used for satellite communications. Regulators have, however, freed up some of the 2100 MHz range for 3G services, together with a different range around 1700 MHz for the uplink. UMTS operators in North America who want to implement a European-Asian style 2100/1900 MHz system will have to share spectrum with existing 2G services in the 1900 MHz band.
AT&T Wireless launched UMTS services in the United States by the end of 2004 strictly using the existing 1900 MHz spectrum allocated for 2G PCS services. Cingular acquired AT&T Wireless in 2004 and has since then launched UMTS in select US cities. Cingular renamed itself AT&T
and is rolling out some cities with a UMTS network at 850 MHz to enhance its existing UMTS network at 1900 MHz and now offers subscribers a number of dual-band UMTS 850/1900 phones.
T-Mobile
's rollout of UMTS in the US will focus on the 2100/1700 MHz band.
In Canada, UMTS coverage is being provided on the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands on the Rogers and Bell-Telus networks. Bell and Telus share the network. Recently, new providers Wind Mobile
, Mobilicity
and Videotron
have begun operations in the 2100/1700 MHz band.
In 2008, Australian telco Telstra
replaced its existing CDMA network with a national 3G network, branded as NextG, operating in the 850 MHz band. Telstra currently provides UMTS service on this network, and also on the 2100 MHz UMTS network, through a co-ownership of the owning and administrating company 3GIS. This company is also co-owned by Hutchison 3G Australia, and this is the primary network used by their customers. Optus
is currently rolling out a 3G network operating on the 2100 MHz band in cities and most large towns, and the 900 MHz band in regional areas. Vodafone
is also building a 3G network using the 900 MHz band.
In India BSNL has started its 3G services since October 2009 beginning with the larger cities and then expanding over to smaller cities. The 850 MHz and 900 MHz bands provide greater coverage compared to equivalent 1700/1900/2100 MHz networks, and are best suited to regional areas where greater distances separate subscriber and base station.
Carriers in South America are now also rolling out 850 MHz networks.
Most UMTS licensees consider ubiquitous, transparent global roaming
an important issue. To enable a high degree of interoperability, UMTS phones usually support several different frequencies in addition to their GSM fallback. Different countries support different UMTS frequency bands
– Europe initially used 2100 MHz while the most carriers in the USA use 850 MHz and
1900 MHz. T-mobile has launched a network in the US operating at 1700 MHz (uplink) /2100 MHz (downlink), and these bands are also being adopted elsewhere in the Americas. A UMTS phone and network must support a common frequency to work together. Because of the frequencies used, early models of UMTS phones designated for the United States will likely not be operable elsewhere and vice versa. There are now 11 different frequency combinations used around the world—including frequencies formerly used solely for 2G services.
UMTS phones can use a Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM (based on GSM's SIM
) and also work (including UMTS services) with GSM SIM cards. This is a global standard of identification, and enables a network to identify and authenticate the (U)SIM in the phone. Roaming agreements between networks allow for calls to a customer to be redirected to them while roaming and determine the services (and prices) available to the user. In addition to user subscriber information and authentication information, the (U)SIM provides storage space for phone book contact. Handsets can store their data on their own memory or on the (U)SIM card (which is usually more limited in its phone book contact information). A (U)SIM can be moved to another UMTS or GSM phone, and the phone will take on the user details of the (U)SIM, meaning it is the (U)SIM (not the phone) which determines the phone number of the phone and the billing for calls made from the phone.
Japan was the first country to adopt 3G technologies, and since they had not used GSM previously they had no need to build GSM compatibility into their handsets and their 3G handsets were smaller than those available elsewhere. In 2002, NTT DoCoMo
's FOMA
3G network was the first commercial UMTS network—using a pre-release specification, it was initially incompatible with the UMTS standard at the radio level but used standard USIM cards, meaning USIM card based roaming was possible (transferring the USIM card into a UMTS or GSM phone when travelling). Both NTT DoCoMo and SoftBank Mobile (which launched 3G in December 2002) now use standard UMTS.
All of the major 2G phone manufacturers (that are still in business) are now manufacturers of 3G phones. The early 3G handsets and modems were specific to the frequencies required in their country, which meant they could only roam to other countries on the same 3G frequency (though they can fall back to the older GSM standard). Canada and USA have a common share of frequencies, as do most European countries. The article UMTS frequency bands
is an overview of UMTS network frequencies around the world.
Using a cellular router
, PCMCIA or USB card, customers are able to access 3G broadband services, regardless of their choice of computer (such as a tablet PC
or a PDA
). Some software installs itself from the modem, so that in some cases absolutely no knowledge of technology is required to get online
in moments. Using a phone that supports 3G and Bluetooth 2.0, multiple Bluetooth-capable laptops can be connected to the Internet. Some smartphones can also act as a mobile WLAN access point.
There are very few 3G phones or modems available supporting all 3G frequencies (UMTS850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz). Nokia has recently released a range of phones that have Pentaband
3G coverage, including the N8
and E7
. Many other phones are offering more than one band which still enables extensive roaming. For example, Apple's iPhone 4
contains a quadband chipset operating on 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, allowing usage in the majority of countries where UMTS-FDD is deployed.
(IMT-MC), which is developed by the 3GPP2. Unlike UMTS, CDMA2000 is an evolutionary upgrade to an existing 2G standard, cdmaOne, and is able to operate within the same frequency allocations. This and CDMA2000's narrower bandwidth requirements make it easier to deploy in existing spectra. In some, but not all, cases, existing GSM operators only have enough spectrum to implement either UMTS or GSM, not both. For example, in the US D, E, and F PCS spectrum blocks, the amount of spectrum available is 5 MHz in each direction. A standard UMTS system would saturate that spectrum. Where CDMA2000 is deployed, it usually co-exists with UMTS. In many markets however, the co-existence issue is of little relevance, as legislative hurdles exist to co-deploying two standards in the same licensed slice of spectrum.
Another competitor to UMTS is EDGE
(IMT-SC), which is an evolutionary upgrade to the 2G GSM system, leveraging existing GSM spectrums. It is also much easier, quicker, and considerably cheaper for wireless carriers to "bolt-on" EDGE functionality by upgrading their existing GSM transmission hardware to support EDGE rather than having to install almost all brand-new equipment to deliver UMTS. However, being developed by 3GPP
just as UMTS, EDGE is not a true competitor. Instead, it is used as a temporary solution preceding UMTS roll-out or as a complement for rural areas. This is facilitated by the fact that GSM/EDGE and UMTS specification are jointly developed and rely on the same core network
, allowing dual-mode operation including vertical handovers.
China's TD-SCDMA
standard is often seen as a competitor, too. TD-SCDMA has been added to UMTS' Release 4 as UTRA-TDD 1.28 Mcps Low Chip Rate (UTRA-TDD LCR). Unlike TD-CDMA
(UTRA-TDD 3.84 Mcps High Chip Rate, UTRA-TDD HCR) which complements W-CDMA
(UTRA-FDD), it is suitable for both micro and macro cells. However, the lack of vendors' support is preventing it from being a real competitor.
While DECT is technically capable of competing with UMTS and other cellular networks in densely populated, urban areas, it has only been deployed for domestic cordless phones and private in-house networks.
All of these competitors have been accepted by ITU as part of the IMT-2000 family of 3G standards, along with UMTS-FDD.
On the Internet access side, competing systems include WiMAX
and Flash-OFDM.
From Global Service for Mobile (GSM) communication radio network, the following elements cannot be reused
They can remain in the network and be used in dual network operation where 2G and 3G networks co-exist while network migration and new 3G terminals become available for use in the network.
The UMTS network introduces new network elements that function as specified by 3GPP
:
The functionality of MSC and SGSN changes when going to UMTS. In a GSM system the MSC handles all the circuit switched operations like connecting A- and B-subscriber through the network. SGSN handles all the packet switched operations and transfers all the data in the network. In UMTS the Media gateway (MGW) take care of all data transfer in both circuit and packet switched networks. MSC and SGSN control MGW operations. The nodes are renamed to MSC-server and GSN-server.
The early days of UMTS saw rollout hitches in many countries. Overweight handsets with poor battery life were first to arrive on a market highly sensitive to weight and form factor. The Motorola A830, a debut handset on Hutchison's 3 network, weighed more than 200 grams and even featured a detachable camera to reduce handset weight. Another significant issue involved call reliability, related to problems with handover from UMTS to GSM. Customers found their connections being dropped as handovers were possible only in one direction (UMTS → GSM), with the handset only changing back to UMTS after hanging up. In most networks around the world this is no longer an issue.
Compared to GSM, UMTS networks initially required a higher base station density. For fully-fledged UMTS incorporating video on demand
features, one base station
needed to be set up every 1–1.5 km (0.62–0.93 mi). This was the case when only the 2100 MHz band was being used, however with the growing use of lower-frequency bands (such as 850 and 900 MHz) this is no longer so. This has led to increasing rollout of the lower-band networks by operators since 2006.
Even with current technologies and low-band UMTS, telephony and data over UMTS is still more power intensive than on comparable GSM networks. Apple Inc. cited UMTS power consumption as the reason that the first generation iPhone
only supported EDGE
. Their release of the iPhone 3G quotes talk time on UMTS as half that available when the handset is set to use GSM. Other manufacturers indicate different battery lifetime for UMTS mode compared to GSM mode as well. As battery and network technology improves, this issue is diminishing.
Other, non-UMTS, 3G
and 4G
standards:
UMTS is an evolution of the GSM mobile phone standard.
Other information
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
mobile cellular technology for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed by the 3GPP
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
(3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the International Telecommunications Union IMT-2000 standard set and compares with the CDMA2000 standard set for networks based on the competing cdmaOne
IS-95
Interim Standard 95 is the first CDMA-based digital cellular standard by Qualcomm. The brand name for IS-95 is cdmaOne. IS-95 is also known as TIA-EIA-95....
technology. UMTS employs wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) radio access technology to offer greater spectral efficiency and bandwidth to mobile network operators. UMTS specifies a complete network system, covering the radio access network
Radio access network
A radio access network is part of a mobile Telecommunication system. It implements a radio access technology. Conceptually, it resides between a device such as a Mobile phone, a computer, or any remotely controlled machine and provides connection with its core network...
(UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
Utran
Utran is a census town in Surat district in the Indian state of Gujarat.-Geography:Utran is located at . It has an average elevation of 12 metres .-Demographics:...
, or UTRAN), the core network
Core network
A core network, or network core, is the central part of a telecommunication network that provides various services to customers who are connected by the access network. One of the main functions is to route telephone calls across the PSTN....
(Mobile Application Part
Mobile Application Part
The Mobile Application Part is an SS7 protocol which provides an application layer for the various nodes in GSM and UMTS mobile core networks and GPRS core networks to communicate with each other in order to provide services to mobile phone users...
, or MAP) and the authentication of users via SIM cards (Subscriber Identity Module
Subscriber Identity Module
A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
).
The technology described in UMTS is sometimes also referred to as Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access (FOMA) or 3GSM.
Unlike EDGE
Edge
- Aviation :* Leading edge, a line connecting the forward-most points of a wing's profile* Trailing edge, the rear edge of the wing* Zivko Edge 540, an aerobatic aircraft- Mathematics, science and technology :...
(IMT Single-Carrier, based on GSM) and CDMA2000
CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
(IMT Multi-Carrier), UMTS requires new base stations and new frequency allocations.
Features
UMTS supports maximum theoretical data transfer rates of 45 Mbit/s when HSPA+ is implemented in the network. Users in deployed networks can expect a transfer rate of up to 384 kbit/s for R99 handsets, and 7.2 Mbit/s for HSDPA handsets in the downlink connection. These speeds are significantly faster than the 9.6 kbit/s of a single GSM error-corrected circuit switched data channel, multiple 9.6 kbit/s channels in HSCSDHigh-Speed Circuit-Switched Data
High-speed circuit-switched data , is an enhancement to Circuit Switched Data , the original data transmission mechanism of the GSM mobile phone system, four times faster than GSM, with data rates up to 38.4 kbit/s....
and 14.4 kbit/s for CDMAOne channels.
Since 2006, UMTS networks in many countries have been or are in the process of being upgraded with High Speed Downlink Packet Access
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access
High-Speed Downlink Packet Access is an enhanced 3G mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access family, also dubbed 3.5G, 3G+ or turbo 3G, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity...
(HSDPA), sometimes known as 3.5G. Currently, HSDPA enables downlink transfer speeds of up to 21 Mbit/s. Work is also progressing on improving the uplink transfer speed with the High-Speed Uplink Packet Access
High-Speed Uplink Packet Access
High-Speed Uplink Packet Access is a 3G mobile telephony protocol in the HSPA family with up-link speeds up to 5.76 Mbit/s. The name HSUPA was created by Nokia...
(HSUPA). Longer term, the 3GPP Long Term Evolution
3GPP Long Term Evolution
3GPP Long Term Evolution, usually referred to as LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques...
project plans to move UMTS to 4G speeds of 100 Mbit/s down and 50 Mbit/s up, using a next generation air interface technology based upon orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing.
The first national consumer UMTS networks launched in 2002 with a heavy emphasis on telco-provided mobile applications such as mobile TV and video calling. The high data speeds of UMTS are now most often utilised for Internet access: experience in Japan and elsewhere has shown that user demand for video calls is not high, and telco-provided audio/video content has declined in popularity in favour of high-speed access to the World Wide Web - either directly on a handset or connected to a computer via Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
, Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...
, Infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
or USB.
Technology
UMTS combines three different air interfaces, GSMGlobal System for Mobile Communications
GSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...
's Mobile Application Part
Mobile Application Part
The Mobile Application Part is an SS7 protocol which provides an application layer for the various nodes in GSM and UMTS mobile core networks and GPRS core networks to communicate with each other in order to provide services to mobile phone users...
(MAP) core, and the GSM family of speech codecs.
Air interfaces
UMTS provides several different terrestrial air interfaceAir interface
In mobile or wireless communication, the air interface is the radio-based communication link between the mobile station and the active base station...
s, called UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). All air interface options are part of ITU
Itu
Itu is an old and historic municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2009 was 157,384 and the area is 641.68 km². The elevation is 583 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language, meaning big waterfall. Itu is linked with the highway numbered the SP-75 and are flowed...
's IMT-2000. In the currently most popular variant for cellular mobile telephones, W-CDMA (IMT Direct Spread) is used.
Please note that the terms W-CDMA, TD-CDMA and TD-SCDMA are misleading. While they suggest covering just a channel access method
Channel access method
In telecommunications and computer networks, a channel access method or multiple access method allows several terminals connected to the same multi-point transmission medium to transmit over it and to share its capacity...
(namely a variant of CDMA), they are actually the common names for the whole air interface standards.
W-CDMA (UTRA-FDD)
W-CDMA uses the DS-CDMA channel access method with a pair of 5 MHz wide channels. In contrast, the competing CDMA2000CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
system uses one or more available 1.25 MHz channels for each direction of communication. W-CDMA systems are widely criticized for their large spectrum usage, which has delayed deployment in countries that acted relatively slowly in allocating new frequencies specifically for 3G services (such as the United States).
The specific frequency bands originally defined by the UMTS standard are 1885–2025 MHz for the mobile-to-base (uplink) and 2110–2200 MHz for the base-to-mobile (downlink). In the US, 1710–1755 MHz and 2110–2155 MHz will be used instead, as the 1900 MHz band was already used. While UMTS2100 is the most widely deployed UMTS band, some countries' UMTS operators use the 850 MHz and/or 1900 MHz bands (independently, meaning uplink and downlink are within the same band), notably in the US by AT&T Mobility, New Zealand by Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand
Telecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...
on the XT Mobile Network
XT Mobile Network
Mobile Network Code: 503 05NZ non-geographic prefix: 027The XT Mobile Network is a UMTS mobile network run by Telecom New Zealand. It operates nationwide in the 850 MHz frequency, with 2100 MHz infill in major urban areas....
and in Australia by Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
on the Next G
Next G
Next G is a third generation mobile telecommunication network operated by Telstra in Australia.-Background:After a review, Telstra announced a plan to upgrade its ageing networks and systems; which includes a new 3G network to replace the then current CDMA mobile network.-Construction:The network...
network.
W-CDMA is a part of IMT-2000 as IMT Direct Spread.
UTRA-TDD HCR
UMTS-TDDUMTS-TDD
UMTS-TDD, an acronym for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - time-division duplexing , is a 3GPP standardized version of UMTS networks that use UTRA-TDD. UTRA-TDD is a UTRA that uses time-division duplexing for duplexing. While a full implementation of UMTS, it is mainly used to provide...
's air interfaces that use the TD-CDMA
TD-CDMA
TD-CDMA, an acronym for Time-division - CDMA, is a channel access method based on using spread spectrum across multiple time slots. It is shown that a mixture of TDMA and CDMA provides better quality of service for multimedia communications in terms of data throughput and voice/video...
channel access technique are standardized as UTRA-TDD HCR, which uses increments of 5 MHz of spectrum, each slice divided into 10ms frames containing fifteen time slots (1500 per second). The time slots (TS) are allocated in fixed percentage for downlink and uplink. TD-CDMA is used to multiplex streams from or to multiple transceivers. Unlike W-CDMA, it does not need separate frequency bands for up- and downstream, allowing deployment in tight frequency bands.
TD-CDMA is a part of IMT-2000 as IMT CDMA TDD.
TD-SCDMA (UTRA-TDD 1.28 Mcps low chip rate)
TD-SCDMA uses the TDMATime division multiple access
Time division multiple access is a channel access method for shared medium networks. It allows several users to share the same frequency channel by dividing the signal into different time slots. The users transmit in rapid succession, one after the other, each using its own time slot. This...
channel access method combined with an adaptive synchronous CDMA component on 1.6 MHz slices of spectrum, allowing deployment in even tighter frequency bands than TD-CDMA. However, the main incentive for development of this Chinese-developed standard was avoiding or reducing the license fees that have to be paid to non-Chinese patent owners. Unlike the other air interfaces, TD-SCDMA was not part of UMTS from the beginning but has been added in Release 4 of the specification.
Like TD-CDMA, it is known as IMT CDMA TDD within IMT-2000.
Radio access network
UMTS also specifies the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), which is composed of multiple base stations, possibly using different terrestrial air interface standards and frequency bands.UMTS and GSM/EDGE can share a Core Network (CN), making UTRAN an alternative radio access network to GERAN
GERAN
GERAN is an abbreviation for GSM EDGE Radio Access Network. The standards for GERAN are maintained by the 3GPP...
(GSM/EDGE RAN), and allowing (mostly) transparent switching between the RANs according to available coverage and service needs. Because of that, UMTS' and GSM/EDGE's radio access networks are sometimes collectively referred to as UTRAN/GERAN.
UMTS networks are often combined with GSM/EDGE, the later of which is also a part of IMT-2000.
The UE (User Equipment) interface of the RAN (Radio Access Network) primarily consists of RRC (Radio Resource Control), RLC (Radio Link Control) and MAC (Media Access Control) protocols. RRC protocol handles connection establishment, measurements, radio bearer services, security and handover decisions. RLC protocol primarily divides into three Modes - Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledge Mode (UM), Acknowledge Mode (AM). The functionality of AM entity resembles TCP operation where as UM operation resembles UDP operation. In TM mode, data will be sent to lower layers without adding any header to SDU
Service Data Unit
In Open Systems Interconnection terminology, a service data unit is a unit of data that has been passed down from an OSI layer to a lower layer and that has not yet been encapsulated into a protocol data unit by the lower layer...
of higher layers. MAC handles the scheduling of data on air interface depending on higher layer (RRC) configured parameters.
The set of properties related to data transmission is called Radio Bearer (RB). This set of properties decides the maximum allowed data in a TTI (Transmission Time Interval). RB includes RLC information and RB mapping. RB mapping decides the mapping between RB<->logical channel<->transport channel. Signaling messages are sent on Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) and data packets (either CS or PS) are sent on data RBs. RRC and NAS
Non Access Stratum
Non-access stratum is a functional layer in the UMTS wireless telecom protocol stack between a core network and user equipment.The layer supports signalling and traffic between those two elements. +- – - – - -+ +- – - – - – -+...
messages go on SRBs.
Security includes two procedures: integrity and ciphering. Integrity validates the resource of messages and also makes sure that no one (third/unknown party) on the radio interface has modified the messages. Ciphering ensures that no one listens to your data on the air interface. Both integrity and ciphering are applied for SRBs whereas only ciphering is applied for data RBs.
Core network
With Mobile Application Part, UMTS uses the same core network standard as GSM/EDGE. This allows a simple migration for existing GSM operators. However, the migration path to UMTS is still costly: while much of the core infrastructure is shared with GSM, the cost of obtaining new spectrum licenses and overlaying UMTS at existing towers is high.The CN can be connected to various backbone
Backbone
Backbone may refer to:* Vertebral column, of a vertebrate organism* Backbone chain, in polymer chemistry, the framework of the molecule* Backbone Entertainment, a video game development company* Backbone network, the top level of a hierarchical network...
networks like the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network
Integrated Services Digital Network is a set of communications standards for simultaneous digital transmission of voice, video, data, and other network services over the traditional circuits of the public switched telephone network...
. UMTS (and GERAN) include the three lowest layers of OSI model
OSI model
The Open Systems Interconnection model is a product of the Open Systems Interconnection effort at the International Organization for Standardization. It is a prescription of characterizing and standardizing the functions of a communications system in terms of abstraction layers. Similar...
. The network layer (OSI 3) includes the Radio Resource Management
Radio resource management
Radio resource management is the system level control of co-channel interference and other radio transmission characteristics in wireless communication systems, for example cellular networks, wireless networks and broadcasting systems...
protocol (RRM) that manages the bearer channels between the mobile terminals and the fixed network, including the handovers.
Spectrum allocation
Over 130 licenses have already been awarded to operators worldwide (as of December 2004), specifying W-CDMAW-CDMA
W-CDMA , UMTS-FDD, UTRA-FDD, or IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile telecommunications networks. It is the basis of Japan's NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service and the most-commonly used member of the UMTS family and sometimes used as a synonym for UMTS...
radio access technology that builds on GSM
Global System for Mobile Communications
GSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...
. In Europe, the license process occurred at the tail end of the technology bubble, and the auction mechanisms for allocation set up in some countries resulted in some extremely high prices being paid for the original 2100 MHz licenses, notably in the UK and Germany. In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, bidders paid a total €50.8 billion for six licenses, two of which were subsequently abandoned and written off by their purchasers (Mobilcom and the Sonera/Telefonica
Telefónica
Telefónica, S.A. is a Spanish broadband and telecommunications provider in Europe and Latin America. Operating globally, it is the third largest provider in the world...
consortium). It has been suggested that these huge license fees have the character of a very large tax paid on future income expected many years down the road. In any event, the high prices paid put some European telecom operators close to bankruptcy (most notably KPN
KPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
). Over the last few years some operators have written off some or all of the license costs. Between 2007 and 2009 all three Finnish carriers begun to use 900 MHz UMTS in a shared arrangement with its surrounding 2G GSM base stations for rural area coverage, a trend that is expected to expand over Europe in the next 1–3 years.
The 2100 MHz band (downlink around 2100 MHz and uplink around 1900 MHz) allocated for UMTS in Europe and most of Asia is already used in North America. The 1900 MHz range is used for 2G
2G
2G is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja in 1991...
(PCS
Personal Communications Service
At the most basic level Personal Communications Service or PCS describes a set of wireless communications capabilities that allows some combination of terminal mobility, personal mobility, and service profile management...
) services, and 2100 MHz range is used for satellite communications. Regulators have, however, freed up some of the 2100 MHz range for 3G services, together with a different range around 1700 MHz for the uplink. UMTS operators in North America who want to implement a European-Asian style 2100/1900 MHz system will have to share spectrum with existing 2G services in the 1900 MHz band.
AT&T Wireless launched UMTS services in the United States by the end of 2004 strictly using the existing 1900 MHz spectrum allocated for 2G PCS services. Cingular acquired AT&T Wireless in 2004 and has since then launched UMTS in select US cities. Cingular renamed itself AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
and is rolling out some cities with a UMTS network at 850 MHz to enhance its existing UMTS network at 1900 MHz and now offers subscribers a number of dual-band UMTS 850/1900 phones.
T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
's rollout of UMTS in the US will focus on the 2100/1700 MHz band.
In Canada, UMTS coverage is being provided on the 850 MHz and 1900 MHz bands on the Rogers and Bell-Telus networks. Bell and Telus share the network. Recently, new providers Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile
Wind Mobile is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider operated by Globalive Communications Corporation. The company initially launched mobile data and voice services in Toronto on December 16, 2009 and two days later in Calgary...
, Mobilicity
Mobilicity
Mobilicity is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "mobility" and "simplicity".-History:...
and Videotron
Vidéotron
Vidéotron GP is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Currently, the company primarily serves Quebec, as well as the francophone...
have begun operations in the 2100/1700 MHz band.
In 2008, Australian telco Telstra
Telstra
Telstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
replaced its existing CDMA network with a national 3G network, branded as NextG, operating in the 850 MHz band. Telstra currently provides UMTS service on this network, and also on the 2100 MHz UMTS network, through a co-ownership of the owning and administrating company 3GIS. This company is also co-owned by Hutchison 3G Australia, and this is the primary network used by their customers. Optus
Optus
SingTel Optus Pty Limited is the second largest telecommunications company in Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications...
is currently rolling out a 3G network operating on the 2100 MHz band in cities and most large towns, and the 900 MHz band in regional areas. Vodafone
Vodafone Australia
Vodafone Australia is a mobile telephone company, a subsidiary of Vodafone Hutchison Australia. Vodafone Australia was formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodafone Plc ....
is also building a 3G network using the 900 MHz band.
In India BSNL has started its 3G services since October 2009 beginning with the larger cities and then expanding over to smaller cities. The 850 MHz and 900 MHz bands provide greater coverage compared to equivalent 1700/1900/2100 MHz networks, and are best suited to regional areas where greater distances separate subscriber and base station.
Carriers in South America are now also rolling out 850 MHz networks.
Interoperability and global roaming
UMTS phones (and data cards) are highly portable—they have been designed to roam easily onto other UMTS networks (if the providers have roaming agreements in place). In addition, almost all UMTS phones are UMTS/GSM dual-mode devices, so if a UMTS phone travels outside of UMTS coverage during a call the call may be transparently handed off to available GSM coverage. Roaming charges are usually significantly higher than regular usage charges.Most UMTS licensees consider ubiquitous, transparent global roaming
Roaming
In wireless telecommunications, roaming is a general term referring to the extension of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. Roaming ensures that the wireless device is kept connected to the network, without losing the...
an important issue. To enable a high degree of interoperability, UMTS phones usually support several different frequencies in addition to their GSM fallback. Different countries support different UMTS frequency bands
UMTS frequency bands
The UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.They were allocated by delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference held in Málaga-Torremolinos, Spain between February 3, 1992 and March 3, 1992...
– Europe initially used 2100 MHz while the most carriers in the USA use 850 MHz and
1900 MHz. T-mobile has launched a network in the US operating at 1700 MHz (uplink) /2100 MHz (downlink), and these bands are also being adopted elsewhere in the Americas. A UMTS phone and network must support a common frequency to work together. Because of the frequencies used, early models of UMTS phones designated for the United States will likely not be operable elsewhere and vice versa. There are now 11 different frequency combinations used around the world—including frequencies formerly used solely for 2G services.
UMTS phones can use a Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM (based on GSM's SIM
Subscriber Identity Module
A subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
) and also work (including UMTS services) with GSM SIM cards. This is a global standard of identification, and enables a network to identify and authenticate the (U)SIM in the phone. Roaming agreements between networks allow for calls to a customer to be redirected to them while roaming and determine the services (and prices) available to the user. In addition to user subscriber information and authentication information, the (U)SIM provides storage space for phone book contact. Handsets can store their data on their own memory or on the (U)SIM card (which is usually more limited in its phone book contact information). A (U)SIM can be moved to another UMTS or GSM phone, and the phone will take on the user details of the (U)SIM, meaning it is the (U)SIM (not the phone) which determines the phone number of the phone and the billing for calls made from the phone.
Japan was the first country to adopt 3G technologies, and since they had not used GSM previously they had no need to build GSM compatibility into their handsets and their 3G handsets were smaller than those available elsewhere. In 2002, NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo
is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
's FOMA
Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access
Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access is the brand name of the W-CDMA-based 3G telecommunications services being offered by the Japanese telecommunications service provider NTT DoCoMo...
3G network was the first commercial UMTS network—using a pre-release specification, it was initially incompatible with the UMTS standard at the radio level but used standard USIM cards, meaning USIM card based roaming was possible (transferring the USIM card into a UMTS or GSM phone when travelling). Both NTT DoCoMo and SoftBank Mobile (which launched 3G in December 2002) now use standard UMTS.
Handsets and modems
UMTS frequency bands
The UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.They were allocated by delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference held in Málaga-Torremolinos, Spain between February 3, 1992 and March 3, 1992...
is an overview of UMTS network frequencies around the world.
Using a cellular router
Cellular router
Cellular routers are routers that provide shared Internet access by incorporating a cellular data modem and providing traditional interfaces like Ethernet and WiFi....
, PCMCIA or USB card, customers are able to access 3G broadband services, regardless of their choice of computer (such as a tablet PC
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
or a PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
). Some software installs itself from the modem, so that in some cases absolutely no knowledge of technology is required to get online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
in moments. Using a phone that supports 3G and Bluetooth 2.0, multiple Bluetooth-capable laptops can be connected to the Internet. Some smartphones can also act as a mobile WLAN access point.
There are very few 3G phones or modems available supporting all 3G frequencies (UMTS850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz). Nokia has recently released a range of phones that have Pentaband
Multi-band
In telecommunications, the terms multi-band, dual-band, tri-band, quad-band and penta-band refer to a device supporting multiple radio frequency bands used for communication...
3G coverage, including the N8
Nokia N8
The Nokia N8 is a Symbian^3 smartphone of the Nokia Nseries and Nokia's flagship device of 2010. It was released on 23 September 2010 at the Nokia Online Store before being released in markets around the world on 1 October 2010. The N8 features a 12 megapixel camera, a pentaband 3.5G radio and...
and E7
Nokia E7-00
The Nokia E7-00, also known as Nokia E7, is a business-oriented QWERTY smartphone by Nokia from the Nokia Eseries It was announced at Nokia world in September 2010 together with the Nokia C6-01 and Nokia C7 and started shipping in February 2011...
. Many other phones are offering more than one band which still enables extensive roaming. For example, Apple's iPhone 4
IPhone 4
The iPhone 4 is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fourth generation iPhone, and successor to the iPhone 3GS. It is particularly marketed for video calling , consumption of media such as books and periodicals, movies, music, and games, and for general web and e-mail...
contains a quadband chipset operating on 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, allowing usage in the majority of countries where UMTS-FDD is deployed.
Other competing standards
The main competitor to UMTS is CDMA2000CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
(IMT-MC), which is developed by the 3GPP2. Unlike UMTS, CDMA2000 is an evolutionary upgrade to an existing 2G standard, cdmaOne, and is able to operate within the same frequency allocations. This and CDMA2000's narrower bandwidth requirements make it easier to deploy in existing spectra. In some, but not all, cases, existing GSM operators only have enough spectrum to implement either UMTS or GSM, not both. For example, in the US D, E, and F PCS spectrum blocks, the amount of spectrum available is 5 MHz in each direction. A standard UMTS system would saturate that spectrum. Where CDMA2000 is deployed, it usually co-exists with UMTS. In many markets however, the co-existence issue is of little relevance, as legislative hurdles exist to co-deploying two standards in the same licensed slice of spectrum.
Another competitor to UMTS is EDGE
Edge
- Aviation :* Leading edge, a line connecting the forward-most points of a wing's profile* Trailing edge, the rear edge of the wing* Zivko Edge 540, an aerobatic aircraft- Mathematics, science and technology :...
(IMT-SC), which is an evolutionary upgrade to the 2G GSM system, leveraging existing GSM spectrums. It is also much easier, quicker, and considerably cheaper for wireless carriers to "bolt-on" EDGE functionality by upgrading their existing GSM transmission hardware to support EDGE rather than having to install almost all brand-new equipment to deliver UMTS. However, being developed by 3GPP
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
just as UMTS, EDGE is not a true competitor. Instead, it is used as a temporary solution preceding UMTS roll-out or as a complement for rural areas. This is facilitated by the fact that GSM/EDGE and UMTS specification are jointly developed and rely on the same core network
Core network
A core network, or network core, is the central part of a telecommunication network that provides various services to customers who are connected by the access network. One of the main functions is to route telephone calls across the PSTN....
, allowing dual-mode operation including vertical handovers.
China's TD-SCDMA
TD-SCDMA
Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access or UTRA/UMTS-TDD 1.28 Mcps Low Chip Rate , is an air interface found in UMTS mobile telecommunications networks in China as an alternative to W-CDMA. Together with TD-CDMA, it is also known as UMTS-TDD or IMT 2000 Time-Division .The term...
standard is often seen as a competitor, too. TD-SCDMA has been added to UMTS' Release 4 as UTRA-TDD 1.28 Mcps Low Chip Rate (UTRA-TDD LCR). Unlike TD-CDMA
TD-CDMA
TD-CDMA, an acronym for Time-division - CDMA, is a channel access method based on using spread spectrum across multiple time slots. It is shown that a mixture of TDMA and CDMA provides better quality of service for multimedia communications in terms of data throughput and voice/video...
(UTRA-TDD 3.84 Mcps High Chip Rate, UTRA-TDD HCR) which complements W-CDMA
W-CDMA
W-CDMA , UMTS-FDD, UTRA-FDD, or IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile telecommunications networks. It is the basis of Japan's NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service and the most-commonly used member of the UMTS family and sometimes used as a synonym for UMTS...
(UTRA-FDD), it is suitable for both micro and macro cells. However, the lack of vendors' support is preventing it from being a real competitor.
While DECT is technically capable of competing with UMTS and other cellular networks in densely populated, urban areas, it has only been deployed for domestic cordless phones and private in-house networks.
All of these competitors have been accepted by ITU as part of the IMT-2000 family of 3G standards, along with UMTS-FDD.
On the Internet access side, competing systems include WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
and Flash-OFDM.
Migrating from GPRS to UMTS
From GPRS network, the following network elements can be reused:- Home Location Register (HLR)
- Visitor Location Register (VLR)
- Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
- Mobile Switching Center (MSC) (vendor dependent)
- Authentication Center (AUC)
- Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) (vendor dependent)
- Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN)
From Global Service for Mobile (GSM) communication radio network, the following elements cannot be reused
- Base station controller (BSC)
- Base transceiver station (BTS)
They can remain in the network and be used in dual network operation where 2G and 3G networks co-exist while network migration and new 3G terminals become available for use in the network.
The UMTS network introduces new network elements that function as specified by 3GPP
3GPP
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
:
- Node B (base transceiver station)
- Radio Network ControllerRadio Network ControllerThe Radio Network Controller is a governing element in the UMTS radio access network and is responsible for controlling the Node Bs that are connected to it. The RNC carries out radio resource management, some of the mobility management functions and is the point where encryption is done before...
(RNC) - Media Gateway (MGW)
The functionality of MSC and SGSN changes when going to UMTS. In a GSM system the MSC handles all the circuit switched operations like connecting A- and B-subscriber through the network. SGSN handles all the packet switched operations and transfers all the data in the network. In UMTS the Media gateway (MGW) take care of all data transfer in both circuit and packet switched networks. MSC and SGSN control MGW operations. The nodes are renamed to MSC-server and GSN-server.
Problems and issues
Some countries, including the United States, have allocated spectrum differently from the ITU recommendations, so that the standard bands most commonly used for UMTS (UMTS-2100) have not been available. In those countries, alternative bands are used, preventing the interoperability of existing UMTS-2100 equipment, and requiring the design and manufacture of different equipment for the use in these markets. As is the case with GSM900 today, standard UMTS 2100 MHz equipment will not work in those markets. However, it appears as though UMTS is not suffering as much from handset band compatibility issues as GSM did, as many UMTS handsets are multi-band in both UMTS and GSM modes. Quad-band GSM (850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz bands) and tri-band UMTS (850, 1900, and 2100 MHz bands) handsets are becoming more commonplace.The early days of UMTS saw rollout hitches in many countries. Overweight handsets with poor battery life were first to arrive on a market highly sensitive to weight and form factor. The Motorola A830, a debut handset on Hutchison's 3 network, weighed more than 200 grams and even featured a detachable camera to reduce handset weight. Another significant issue involved call reliability, related to problems with handover from UMTS to GSM. Customers found their connections being dropped as handovers were possible only in one direction (UMTS → GSM), with the handset only changing back to UMTS after hanging up. In most networks around the world this is no longer an issue.
Compared to GSM, UMTS networks initially required a higher base station density. For fully-fledged UMTS incorporating video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
features, one base station
Base station
The term base station can be used in the context of land surveying and wireless communications.- Land surveying :In the context of external land surveying, a base station is a GPS receiver at an accurately-known fixed location which is used to derive correction information for nearby portable GPS...
needed to be set up every 1–1.5 km (0.62–0.93 mi). This was the case when only the 2100 MHz band was being used, however with the growing use of lower-frequency bands (such as 850 and 900 MHz) this is no longer so. This has led to increasing rollout of the lower-band networks by operators since 2006.
Even with current technologies and low-band UMTS, telephony and data over UMTS is still more power intensive than on comparable GSM networks. Apple Inc. cited UMTS power consumption as the reason that the first generation iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
only supported EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution is a digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates as a backward-compatible extension of GSM...
. Their release of the iPhone 3G quotes talk time on UMTS as half that available when the handset is set to use GSM. Other manufacturers indicate different battery lifetime for UMTS mode compared to GSM mode as well. As battery and network technology improves, this issue is diminishing.
Releases
The evolution of UMTS progresses according to planned releases. Each release is designed to introduce new features and improve upon existing ones.Release '99
- Bearer services
- 64 kbit/s circuit switch
- 384 kbit/s packet switched
- Location services
- Call services: compatible with Global System for Mobile CommunicationsGlobal System for Mobile CommunicationsGSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...
(GSM), based on Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) - Voice quality features - Tandem Free OperationTandem Free OperationTandem Free Operation is a part of 3GPP standard specification, which has been included from R99 of the standards specifications onwards.- Overview :In traditional GSM networks, a call between two Mobile Stations involve a dual encoding/decoding process...
Release 4
- Edge radio
- Multimedia messaging
- MExE (Mobile Execution Environment)
- Improved location services
- IP Multimedia Services (IMS)
Release 5
- IP Multimedia SubsystemIP Multimedia SubsystemThe IP Multimedia Subsystem or IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem is an architectural framework for delivering Internet Protocol multimedia services. It was originally designed by the wireless standards body 3rd Generation Partnership Project , as a part of the vision for evolving mobile...
(IMS) - IPv6IPv6Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
, IP transport in UTRANUtranUtran is a census town in Surat district in the Indian state of Gujarat.-Geography:Utran is located at . It has an average elevation of 12 metres .-Demographics:... - Improvements in GERAN, MExE, etc.
- HSDPA
Release 6
- WLANWireless LANA wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...
integration - Multimedia broadcast and multicast
- Improvements in IMS
- HSUPAHigh-Speed Uplink Packet AccessHigh-Speed Uplink Packet Access is a 3G mobile telephony protocol in the HSPA family with up-link speeds up to 5.76 Mbit/s. The name HSUPA was created by Nokia...
- Fractional DPCH
Release 7
- Enhanced L2
- 64 QAM, MIMO
- Voice over HSPA
- CPC - continuous packet connectivity
- FRLC - Flexible RLC
See also
- List of Deployed UMTS networks
- 3G3G3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
- 3GPP3GPPThe 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
: the body that manages the UMTS standard. - 3GPP Long Term Evolution3GPP Long Term Evolution3GPP Long Term Evolution, usually referred to as LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques...
, the 3GPP3GPPThe 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations, known as the Organizational Partners...
project to evolve UMTS towards 4G4GIn telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
capabilities. - LSTILSTILSTI is a global collaboration between vendors and operators. The initiative’s main objective is the verification and promotion of 3GPP Long Term Evolution in order to ensure the global introduction of the technology as quickly as possible.The mobile phone ecosystem and industry is looking to:*...
- GANGeneric Access NetworkGeneric Access Network or GAN is a telecommunication system that extends mobile voice, data and IP Multimedia Subsystem/Session Initiation Protocol applications over IP networks...
/UMA: A standard for running GSM and UMTS over wireless LANs. - Opportunity Driven Multiple AccessOpportunity Driven Multiple AccessOpportunity-Driven Multiple Access is a UMTS communications relaying protocol standard first introduced by the European Telecommunication Standards Institute in 1996. ODMA has been adopted by the 3rd-Generation Partnership Project, 3GPP to improve the efficiency of UMTS networks using the TDD mode...
, ODMAODMAThe Open Document Management API is an API that simplifies the communication of desktop applications with document management systems . ODMA standardizes the access to the DMS, which makes getting to these files as easy as if the files were in the actual local file system.ODMA was an effort to...
: a UMTS TDDTDD- Technology :* Technical design document, a low-level type of design document* Telecommunications device for the deaf, a device for text communication along a telephone line* Test-driven development, a type of software development methodology...
mode communications relayingWireless ad-hoc networkA wireless ad-hoc network is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a preexisting infrastructure, such as routers in wired networks or access points in managed wireless networks...
protocol - HSDPA, HSUPA: updates to the W-CDMA air interface.
- PDCPPDCPPDCP is an abbreviation for Packet Data Convergence Protocol. It is one of the layers of the Radio Traffic Stack in UMTS and performs IP header compression and decompression, transfer of user data and maintenance of sequence numbers for Radio Bearers which are configured for lossless serving radio...
- Subscriber Identity ModuleSubscriber Identity ModuleA subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module is an integrated circuit that securely stores the International Mobile Subscriber Identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate subscriber on mobile telephony devices .A SIM is held on a removable SIM card, which...
- UMTS-TDDUMTS-TDDUMTS-TDD, an acronym for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - time-division duplexing , is a 3GPP standardized version of UMTS networks that use UTRA-TDD. UTRA-TDD is a UTRA that uses time-division duplexing for duplexing. While a full implementation of UMTS, it is mainly used to provide...
: a variant of UMTS largely used to provide wireless Internet service. - UMTS frequency bandsUMTS frequency bandsThe UMTS frequency bands are radio frequencies used by third generation wireless Universal Mobile Telecommunications System networks.They were allocated by delegates to the World Administrative Radio Conference held in Málaga-Torremolinos, Spain between February 3, 1992 and March 3, 1992...
- W-CDMAW-CDMAW-CDMA , UMTS-FDD, UTRA-FDD, or IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread is an air interface standard found in 3G mobile telecommunications networks. It is the basis of Japan's NTT DoCoMo's FOMA service and the most-commonly used member of the UMTS family and sometimes used as a synonym for UMTS...
: the primary air interface standard used by UMTS. - W-CDMA 2100
- TD-SCDMATD-SCDMATime Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access or UTRA/UMTS-TDD 1.28 Mcps Low Chip Rate , is an air interface found in UMTS mobile telecommunications networks in China as an alternative to W-CDMA. Together with TD-CDMA, it is also known as UMTS-TDD or IMT 2000 Time-Division .The term...
Other, non-UMTS, 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
and 4G
4G
In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
standards:
- CDMA2000CDMA2000CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
: evolved from the cmdaOne (also known as IS-95, or "CDMA")IS-95Interim Standard 95 is the first CDMA-based digital cellular standard by Qualcomm. The brand name for IS-95 is cdmaOne. IS-95 is also known as TIA-EIA-95....
standard, managed by the 3GPP2 - FOMAFomaFoma may refer to:* FOMA , a Japanese mobile telecommunications service* Sergei Fomenko, nicknamed "Foma", Ukrainian musician...
- WiMAXWiMAXWiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
: a newly emerging wide area wireless technology.
UMTS is an evolution of the GSM mobile phone standard.
- GSMGlobal System for Mobile CommunicationsGSM , is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute to describe technologies for second generation digital cellular networks...
- GPRS
- EDGEEnhanced Data Rates for GSM EvolutionEnhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution is a digital mobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates as a backward-compatible extension of GSM...
- ETSIEuropean Telecommunications Standards InstituteThe European Telecommunications Standards Institute is an independent, non-profit, standardization organization in the telecommunications industry in Europe, with worldwide projection...
Other information
- Mobile modem
- Spectral efficiency comparison table
- Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)Code division multiple accessCode division multiple access is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. It should not be confused with the mobile phone standards called cdmaOne, CDMA2000 and WCDMA , which are often referred to as simply CDMA, and use CDMA as an underlying channel access...
- Common pilot channel or CPICH, a simple synchronisation channel in WCDMA.
- Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is the major issue of multiple antenna research.
- Wi-FiWi-FiWi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
: a local area wireless technology that is complementary to UMTS. - List of device bandwidths
- Operations and Maintenance CentreOperations and Maintenance CentreIn Mobile Networks, Operations and Maintenance Center is the central location to Operate & Maintain the Network.There are various types of OMCs depending on the functionality:OMC-B OMC-R In Mobile Networks, Operations and Maintenance Center is the central location to Operate & Maintain the...
- Radio Network ControllerRadio Network ControllerThe Radio Network Controller is a governing element in the UMTS radio access network and is responsible for controlling the Node Bs that are connected to it. The RNC carries out radio resource management, some of the mobility management functions and is the point where encryption is done before...
- UMTS securityUMTS securityThe Universal Mobile Telecommunications System is one of the new ‘third generation’ 3G mobile cellular communication systems. UMTS builds on the success of the ‘second generation’ GSM system. One of the factors in the success of GSM has been its security features. New services introduced in UMTS...
- Huawei SingleRANHuawei SingleRANHuawei SingleRAN is a radio access network technology offered by Huawei that allows mobile telecommunications operators to support multiple mobile communications standards and wireless telephone services on a single network...
: a RANRadio access networkA radio access network is part of a mobile Telecommunication system. It implements a radio access technology. Conceptually, it resides between a device such as a Mobile phone, a computer, or any remotely controlled machine and provides connection with its core network...
technology allowing migration from GSM to UMTS or simultaneous use of both.
Literature
- Martin Sauter: Communication Systems for the Mobile Information Society, John Wiley, September 2006, ISBN 0-470-02676-6
- Ahonen and Barrett (editors), Services for UMTS (Wiley, 2002) first book on the services for 3G, ISBN 978-0-471-48550-6
- Holma and Toskala (editors), WCDMA for UMTS, (Wiley, 2000) first book dedicated to 3G technology, ISBN 978-0-471-72051-5
- Kreher and Ruedebusch, UMTS Signaling: UMTS Interfaces, Protocols, Message Flows and Procedures Analyzed and Explained (Wiley 2007), ISBN 978-0-470-06533-4
- Laiho, Wacker and Novosad, Radio Network Planning and Optimization for UMTS (Wiley, 2002) first book on radio network planning for 3G, ISBN 978-0-470-01575-9
External links
- 3GPP Specifications Numbering Schemes
- Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications, up to Release 8
- UMTS LTE Link Budget Comparison
- UMTS FAQ on UMTS World
- Worldwide W-CDMA frequency allocations on UMTS World
- UMTS TDD Alliance The Global UMTS TDD Alliance
- 3GSM World Congress
- UMTS Provider Chart
- LTE Encyclopedia