WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) is a radio interface technology that uses wideband code division multiple access with two wide radio frequency bands of 5 MHz each. The term W-CDMA (
The WCDMA technology has been chosen by most mobile network operators to provide Internet access in order to support
W-CDMA is optimized for high-speed multimedia services and provides access speeds of up to 2 Mbit/s over short distances and 384 kbit/s over longer distances with full mobility. Such data transmission rates require a wide frequency band, which is why the WCDMA channel bandwidth is 5 MHz.
The HSDPA enhancement supports data transmission rates in the “base station to mobile terminal” direction of up to 7.2 Mbit/s.
The frequency spectrum allocated for UMTS use in Europe is already occupied by other services in the United States: the 1900 MHz band is assigned to Personal Communications Service (PCS) under the 2G standard, and the 2100 MHz band is used for satellite communications. However, by decision of U.S. government authorities, part of the 2100 MHz band is being released for 3G services, as well as part of the 1700 MHz band (for data transmission from the mobile terminal to the base station).
Competing with WCDMA are CDMA2000 and FOMA networks, which envision the use of WiMAX and Flash-OFDM. Both CDMA2000 and W-CDMA are recognized by the International Telecommunication Union as part of the IMT-2000 family, along with the EDGE standard and China’s proprietary TD-SCDMA standard.