Some operators have taken the path cdmaOne - cdma2000 1x - cdma2000 1x EV-DO - cdma2000 3x some D-AMPD - EDGE and some have chosen a GSM1900 - EDGE ( - possible UMTS) route. New cellular frequencies allocations have been postponed, so operators will have to use their existing frequencies, which naturally limits the available capacity. Read more about the USA 3G situation.

China has been testing the TD-SCDMA 3G system. License allocation and possible adaptation of other 3G technologies are still open. Read more about the China's 3G situation.

Most people have their own view what the 3G Killer Application(s) will be. Some say that there will not be a single application, but a palette of services. Most likely there will not be only a single application that becomes very popular and at the same time makes a lot of money to the operator. Email, voice(!), messaging, music/video streaming are popular bets for money making applications.

By the year 2000 we will have between 600 ? 800 million mobile phone users around the world. Increasingly those users will want services that are not offered today, and the option of wireless access for applications, such as accessing a corporate LAN, using the Internet or Intranets, videoconferencing and sending and receiving high quality pictures ie data communications. Before this can happen, the capabilities of wireless networks in terms of bandwidth must be improved.

Packet-based data provides several advantages over the existing circuit-switched techniques used for carrying mobile voice. It allows higher call volumes and support for multimedia data applications, such as video and photography. Users will be charged on how much data they transmit, not on how much time they are connected to the network, because with 3G you are constantly online and only pay for the information you receive.

Third generation technology will change the whole nature of what being a (telecommunications) carrier means" says Ericssons Director of Business Development Gunnar Blockmar, "It will also create a large number of new opportunities for content and service providers." G services sees the logical convergence of the two biggest technology trends of this decade and the next: the growth of the Internet and the penetration of mobile telephony.

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) is a data service available to users of GSM mobile phones. It is often described as 2.5G, that is, a technology that is in between the second (2G) and third (3G) generations of mobile telephones. GPRS provides moderate speed data transfer, sufficient for example for transmission of short text passages and news excerpts, but it is not quite 3G. When 3G arrives, you will have online TV - and not just news reports - available on your wireless device ...

Third Generation (3G) is a term used to describe the next generation of mobile phone systems. The advanced technology includes internet access and the ability to view video footage. 2G, also known as GSM, is the current second generation technology. For further information see 3G Fact Sheet. For an in-depth technical briefing on how General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) systems work, please see the MOA's report.

IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread, also known as UTRA FDD including WCDMA in Japan, ARIB / DoCoMo recommendation. UMTS is developed by 3GPP. IMT-2000 CDMA Multi-carrier, also known as Cdma2000 (3X) developed by 3GPP2. IMT-2000 CDMA2000 includes 1X components, like cdma2000 1X EV-DO. IMT-2000 CDMA TDD, also known as UTRA TDD and TD-SCDMA. TD-SCDMA is developed in China and supported by TD-SCDMA Forum For more information about 3G air interfaces, download ITU "What is IMT-2000" presentation (2.5Mb!).

From 3GPP page http://www.3gpp.org/specs/titles-numbers.htm you can see specifications titles and versions. For example if you want to know about USIM, following titles can be seen: You need to FTP them for example from ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/specs/latest/ . You can also type that to IE5.0 or later or use FTP program. If you use IE5.0 select File - Copy to Folder from the top menu to copy file so your computer.

G is short for 3nd generation mobile phone technology. 3G is a term which the telecommunications industry uses to describe the "next" stage of mobile phone technology which allows you do send, receive and view video pictures as well as doing all the things that 2.5G technology can do. In Australia, there is a 3G network in operation called "3". It uses spearate special mobile phone network and also special 3G mobile phones.

Several GSM operators (like in UK, Sweden, Denmark and France) failed / did not want / missed initially to get an UMTS license, but do not count them out yet. Existing operators have great assets like customer base, image, retail network, BTS site locations, transmission system etc., which help them to make deals with 3G license holders. Hutchison 3G in UK and Telia with Tele 2 in Sweden are good examples.

Beauty Contest means that the government asks all applicants to provide a plan how to build a network and manage their future 3G business. A plan typically includes things like: How many new jobs are created, what kind of services will be available and when, how much domestic products are used, how will less developed areas (rural areas) benefit from this, what kind of financial plan is in place to guarantee the success and avoid bankrupts etc.

G / GSM operators web sites, press releases, annual report (see how they spend their money), CEOs comments etc. National Office of Telecommunication (or other government organisation) information services (or web pages) If you still did not find, email: info@umtsworld.com after reading the Contract us page. No guarantees, but we will try to help.

See our book selection page. But before you buy, you should study a bit 3G / UMTS. Read our technology section. Then download 3GPP specifications content page and select the first specifications of each series like XX.001, XX.002 or XX.Y01, for example: Once you know the basics well enough, you can buy the book that has the right technical level for you. You will also notice how some of the books have copied most of the content from the 3GPP specks.

Simple, to give iPhone users cheaper data plans. If I’m on EDGE I cant download as fast as 3G. Which means, that the average user will use a lot less bandwidth. So, since iPhone users will be using less bandwith, Cingular (at&t) can offer much cheaper data rates (I’m thinking $20 to match the “smart phones”). It would also be nice to see them throw in text messaging (under the new at&t), but I’m not going to hold my breath.

There is a large body of existing scientific research at frequencies above and below those for 3G services, and a growing body of science using these particular signals. Expert groups have not established any signal or modulation specific effects, so the scientific consensus is that compliance with current safety standards provides protection against all known health effects.