Introduction

switching. Release 4 Specifications were frozen in March 2001. The 3GPP Release 5 then
introduces a new element called the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) for unifying the
methods to perform IP based multimedia services. Multimedia service is a scenario in which
more than one service type component is combined on one physical connection to a user
such as voice along with image or video. In Release 5 of the 3GPP specifications, the notion
of all-IP is introduced, extending IP transport to the access network as well. This extends the
IP mode communication all the way to the radio access network including the circuit
switched domain. So, a voice call from UE to PSTN is transported through UTRAN as
packets and from the GGSN the VoIP is routed to the PSTN via IMS, which provides the
required conversion functions. Release 5 also introduces Wideband AMR, as well as
HSDPA. HSDPA service is a new evolution in the air interface for providing high-speed
data rates on the downlink. HSDPA provides integrated voice on a dedicated channel and
high-speed data on a downlink shared channel on the same carrier, which allows data rates of
up to 14.4 Mbps. HSDPA is primarily deployed for dense urban and indoor coverage.
Release 5 Specifications were frozen in June 2002. A similar enhancement is introduced on
the uplink side in Release 6 for offering high-speed data rates on the uplink, HSUPA.
Release 6 also includes wireless LAN/UMTS inter-working, Multimedia Broadcast/
Multicast Service (MBMS), network sharing, and the Push services.
From the user terminal point of view, the network is basically the same in the various
developmental phases, except for some new service capabilities such as HSDPA that will
require new capabilities in the terminal for using the service. The major changes
introduced by the various releases of the UMTS specifications occur within the network
and are in the transport technologies, and the new flexibilities and efficiencies provided in
operating the network. For instance, release 1999 uses ATM as the transport technology,
whereas in 3GPP R4, and R5, ATM is swapped withv IP.

1.2 3G Challenges
The current deployment of UMTS networks is not in many cases ubiquitous and is only
concentrated in the congested urban business areas. They are used to provide either the
special higher rate data services or increased capacity for handling the voice traffic in
specific locations and are therefore complementary and supplemental to the GSM networks.
The GSM networks are anticipated to stay around and even continue to grow and expand for
at least the next five years given the huge investments already made by the operators in the
GSM infrastructure networks and their fine capability to handle voice, though not with the
same spectral efficiency as the WCDMA. This means that the island deployment of UMTS
networks will be the trend for some time to come, and hence the requirement for the
seamless roaming, handover, and inter-operation with the existing GSM networks to provide
service coverage continuity and load sharing. Therefore, the elaborate inter-operability and
coordination mechanisms and features provided by the equipment need to be exploited by
the network planners to effectively result in the pooling of the resources, and hence result in
the most efficient utilization of the limited expensive radio spectrums. Moreover, for uniform
service quality provisioning, prior optimization of existing GSM/GPRS networks may be
necessary to provide the same service quality as in WCDMA in inter-system roaming.
On the other hand, the incumbent GSM operators can exploit their existing GSM network
infrastructures in multiple ways to facilitate cost effective optimal planning of UMTS in