According to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), by the end of November 2004 there were 55 WCDMA networks in operation across 24 countries. This means that more than half of the WCDMA license holders worldwide have now launched commercial services. And 11 more are poised to do so in the near future.

GSA President Alan Hadden says the drivers for operators deploying WCDMA stem from its outstanding radio capabilities. "WCDMA optimizes spectrum usage to the maximum," Hadden says. "This translates into a low operating cost per transported bit, enhanced capacity for increased revenue opportunities, and the best user experience of 3G services."

In November 2004, Vodafone extended its WCDMA offering to include a host of European countries, in addition to Japan. Today the company's extensive 3G service portfolio includes video calling, full-track music downloads and 3D games, all of which are accessible from a choice of 10 Vodafone-branded WCDMA handsets.

Another global operator, Hutchison Whampoa, now reaches more than 3.2 million consumers in Italy, the UK, Hong Kong, Australia, Austria, Sweden and Denmark through its WCDMA network. And the company's Israeli mobile company, Partner Communications, launched that country's first commercial WCDMA services on December 1, 2004.

In the same month, Orange went live with WCDMA services in the UK and France. The company can now provide subscribers with high-speed mobile email and video-telephony services, as well as game, music and video downloads. Orange is backing up this offering with a comprehensive handset portfolio and a simple pricing model.

Elsewhere, operator 3 is now offering WCDMA coverage to more than 70 percent of the Italian population. Finland's Elisa has also opened a 3G network for commercial use, offering the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G/GPRS data card for portable computers. And Norwegian operator Telenor Mobil has launched commercial UMTS services, covering about 70 areas around the country.

Hadden says the increasing availability of WCDMA-enabled handsets is a major catalyst for market acceptance of 3G services. "Research by the GSA identified 106 devices (including phones and PC data cards) on the market as of December 6, 2004," Hadden says. "This represents a steep growth in variety and availability, especially during the second half of 2004."

As for 2005, South African operator MTN has said it is aiming to roll out a commercial WCDMA network from Ericsson before July. SingTel is also on target to launch its 3G services across Singapore early in the year. And Cingular will be looking at doing a rollout soon, following a UMTS/HSDPA network equipment deal with Ericsson in November.

All WCDMA operators are expected to enhance their offerings in the near future by deploying HSDPA; a technology that will enable them to deliver advanced mobile broadband services such as internet and corporate access. HSDPA's unprecedented data rates, of up to 14Mbps, will allow users to download audio, video and other large files at speeds significantly faster than traditional UMTS.

Ericsson's HSDPA systems have been up and running since the second quarter of 2004, and the company in fact demonstrated HSDPA over a live WCDMA system at the China PT Expo in October. Ericsson is now continuing with customer trials and expects the commercial release of HSDPA to take place during the second half of 2005.

Read more on Ericsson's WCDMA/HSDPA solution here. http://www.ericsson.com/products/mobile_broadband/offering/wcdma.shtml