devices and network conditions with a possibility to provide some content specifically formatted according to the subscriber location. The UMTS Forum in [UFRep9][UFRep13]
classifies 3G services into the following six groups as illustrated in Figure
1.Mobile Internet access: a mobile access to the Internet with service quality close to the one offered by fixed Internet Service Providers. This includes full Web access, file
transfer, electronic mail, and streaming video and audio.
2.Mobile Intranet/Extranet access: a secure framework for accessing corporate Local Area Networks (LANs) and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
3.Customized infotainment: a device-independent access to personalized content from mobile portals.
4.Multimedia messaging service: a means of exchanging messages containing multimedia contents including text, images, and video and audio elements. The multimedia messaging
service can be considered as an evolution of SMS where truly multimedia messages can be exchanged between subscribers.
5. Location-based services: location-aware services such as vehicle tracking, local advertisements, etc.
6.Rich voice and simple voice: real-time, two-way voice communications. This includes Voice over IP (VoIP), voice-activated network access, and Internet-initiated voice calls.
Mobile videophone and multimedia real-time communications should also be available on high-end multimedia devices.
In the scope of the 3GPP standardization process, the UMTS specification work was divided into two distinct phases. The first phase UMTS, named UMTS Release 99 (also
known as Release 3), is a direct evolution from 2G and 2.5G networks (GSM and GPRS networks). The second phase UMTS, also known as UMTS Release 4/5, is a complete
revolution introducing new concepts and features.