History

WCDMA is a digital cellular specification that was initially created to provide a single global cellular system. WCDMA began development in 1996, and the first commercial WCDMA digital cellular system was activated in 2001 in Japan. Because the specification was created by representatives from many countries, it is accepted as the next generation digital standard by more than 75 countries.

In 2001, GSM was the world leader in digital cellular systems with global market share of over 60% . This market share dominance was achieved despite the GSM system having limited advanced features and less efficient use of radio spectrum when compared to other digital wireless systems. The GSM systems gained worldwide market domination through detailed standardization, cooperation between multiple manufacturers, and aggressive (low-cost) pricing of systems and mobile telephones. Information about the history and standards for WCDMA can be found at www.3GPP.org.

Figure 6.1 shows the development of the WCDMA standard. This diagram shows that the 3rd. generation wireless standard was influenced from a variety of standards, including nontraditional standards such as paging, land mobile radio, and cordless telephone technology.

Figure 6.1. Development of WCDMA Standard.