The RAINBOW concept for a generic UMTS network architecture

An overview of the work performed in the European ACTS Project RAINBOW (Radio Access Independent Broadband on Wireless) is presented in this paper. The main objective of the project has been the specification and design of a generic UMTS access network useful to investigate relevant architectural issues of third generation mobile systems. The main concepts demonstrated in the project and the demonstrator built to evaluate them are presented and described in the paper.