Wideband CDMA

nd direct sequence CDMA (Code Division ple Access) is emerging as the predomitechnology for the next-generation regional and global wireless standard. The North American CDMA system based on the IS-95 has brought many practical technical achievements as well as several lessons learned and has paved the way for possible future deployment of a more refined system operating at higher chip rate based on Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA). This system, some aspect of which has been led by the NTT Docomo of Japan and supported by other organizations and harmonized with European standards, is known as UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access and is clearly laying the foundation for next-generation wireless networks. The W-CDMA has the potential to bring a highly valuable packet mode as a hallmark of the third-generation system, the same way digital access did for the second-generation wireless air interface. This will allow flexibility both in the physical layer through CDMA and in the network through packet communications, thereby simplifying a number of functions for heterogeneous and mobile traffic.