equipment was still bulky, evolved radio access referred to as the Long-Term Evo- mainly car-borne, and voice quality was often inconsistent, lution (LTE) and an evolved packet access core network with 'cross-talk' between users being a common problem. in the System Architecture Evolution (SAE). By 2009- With an international system such as NMT came the 2010, LTE and SAE are expected to be deployed first. concept of 'roaming,' giving a service for users traveling Looking back to when it all it started, it begun several outside the area of their 'home' operator. This also gave decades ago with early deployments of analog cellular a larger market for the mobile phones, attracting more services. companies into the mobile communication business. The analog cellular systems supported 'plain old telephony services," that is voice with some related 4.1.1.1 Before 3G supplementary services. With the advent of digital communication during the 1980s, the opportunity to The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) develop a second generation of mobile-communication approved the first commercial car-borne telephony ser- standards and systems, based on digital technology, sur- vice in 1946, operated by AT&T. In 1947 AT&T also faced. With digital technology came an opportunity to Communications Engineering Desk Reference; ISBN: 9780123746481 Copyright © 2007, Erik Dahlman, Stefan Parkvall, Johan Skold and Per Beming. Published by Elsevier Ltd 2001. All rights reserved CHAPTER 4.1 Background of 3G evolution increase the capacity of the systems, to give a more driven a much tighter international cooperation around consistent quality of the service, and to develop much 3G cellular technologies than for the earlier generations. more attractive truly mobile devices. In Europe, the telecommunication administrations in CEPT¹ initiated the GSM project to develop a pan- 4.1.1.2 Early 3G discussions European mobile-telephony system. The GSM activities were in 1989 continued within the newly formed Euro- Work on a 3G mobile communicati