It took more than 15 years of research, standardization work, and
develop- ment with an enormous effort of manpower to bring third
generation (3G) wireless communication systems to life. The first
research work on 3G sys- tems started around 1988 [1]. At this time
the striking success of second generation (2G) systems, especially of
GSM (Global System for Mobile Com- munications), was not yet evident. A
substantial part of these early research activities took place in Europe
and was sponsored by the European Commis- sion in the course of research
programs such as: Research and Development of Advanced Communications
Technologies in Europe (RACE-I, RACE-2) and Advanced Communications
Technology and Services (ACTS) [2]. Even before these activities, 3G
systems were considered in 1992 at the WARC (World Administrative Radio
Conference), where 230 MHz of spectrum around 2 GHz was identified for
3G, and in standardization bodies like the ITU (Interna- tional
Telecommunications Union) from a global perspective and ETSI (Eu- ropean
Telecommunications Standards Institute) in Europe. At the present time
3G networks are deployed or are already operating (e. g., in Japan the
first commercial 3G system started its service in October 2001).
Unfortu- nately, the initial idea to create one single 3G standard to
allow for seam- less world-wide roaming could not be realized. However,
three of the five members of the so-called IMT-2000 (International
Mobile Telecommunica- tions, the official acronym for 3G systems) family
of standards are based on Wideband-CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access).
