Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access

Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access(FOMA) is thebrand nameof theW-CDMA-based3G telecommunicationsservices being offered by the Japanesetelecommunications service provider NTT DoCoMo.It is an implementation of theUniversal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS) and was the world's first 3G mobile data service to commence commercial operations.

NTT DoCoMo also offersHSPAservices brandedFOMA High-Speed(FOMAハイスピード), which offers downlink speeds up to 7.2 Mbit/s and uplink speeds up to 5.7 Mbit/s.^[1]

History

TheW-CDMA air interfacewas accepted by theITUas one of several air interfaces for theIMT-2000telecominitiative and by theETSIas one of three air interfaces for theUMTScellular network standard.

NTT DoCoMo originally planned to launch the world's first 3G services, initially brandedFrontier of Mobile Multimedia Access(FOMA), in May 2001.^[2]However, by May 2001, NTT DoCoMo had postponed the full-scale launch until October 2001, claiming they had not completed testing of their entire infrastructure, and would only launch an introductory trial to 4,000 subscribers.^[3]In doing so, they also renamed the service toFreedom of Mobile multimedia Access.^[3]In June 2001 trial subscribers complained themobile phoneshad insufficient battery life andcrashedfrequently, that there was inadequatenetwork coverage,and that there weresecurityissues within the handset itself.^[3]As a result, DoCoMorecalled1,500 handsets by the end of June 2001. FOMA successfully launched in October 2001, providing mobile telecommunications coverage toTokyoandYokohama.^[3]

Initially - as the first full-scale 3G service in the world^[4]- The first FOMA handsets were of an experimental nature, targetingearly adopters,were larger than previous handsets, had poor battery life, while the initial network only covered the center of Japan's largest towns and cities. For the first 1–2 years, FOMA was essentially an experimental service for early adopters - mainly centered around communication industry professionals.

As NTT DoCoMo did not wait for the completion and finalization of the 3G Release 99 network specification, their 3G W-CDMA network was initially incompatible with the internationally deployed UMTS standard.^[5]However, in 2004 NTT DoCoMo performed wide-scale upgrades on its network, bringing it into compliance with the specification and enabling 100% compatibility with UMTS handsets, including incoming and outgoing roaming.

Around March 2004, the FOMA network achieved mass adoption, and handset sales soared. As of September 29, 2007, FOMA had over 40 million subscribers.^[6]

Terminals

NTT DoCoMo offers a wide range of FOMA branded handsets, which are made specifically for the Japanese market. FOMA handsets differ from Western UMTS handsets in several aspects, for example:

A standardized menu structure and chargers.
Japan-specific features such asi-modeorOsaifu-Keitai(electronic wallet).
Multiband-support, which includes band VI at 800 MHz for FOMA Plus-Area (newer models).
No support for dual-mode operation with GSM/EDGE (except some models branded by DoCoMo as World Wing).

Frequency allocations

In metropolitan areas, FOMA uses theUMTS band Iaround 2100 MHz, which has been originally assigned to IMT-2000 services worldwide, except in the Americas.^[7]In order to improve coverage in rural and mountainous areas, NTT DoCoMo also offers FOMA services in the 800 MHz band originally assigned to the 2GPDCmova service, which corresponds toUMTS band VIand is similar to band V used in the United States.^[7]These extended service areas are brandedFOMA Plus-Area(FOMAプラスエリア) and require multiband terminals.

References

^NTT DoCoMo."FOMAハイスペード"(in Japanese). Archived fromthe originalon 2009-04-21.Retrieved2009-06-10.
^Yabusaki, Masami (2001-03-12)."3GPP TSG_SA Vice-Chairman Nomination"(PDF).Retrieved2009-02-12.
^^a ^b ^c ^dICFAI Center for Management Research (2003)."ICMR Case Collection: DoCoMo - The Japanese Wireless Telecom Leader"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on December 29, 2009.Retrieved2009-02-12.
^"NTT Docomo Case Study | Picsel Technologies".Picsel.2007-11-19. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-09-14.
^Hsiao-Hwa Chen (2007),The Next Generation CDMA Technologies,John Wiley and Sons, pp. 105–106,ISBN 978-0-470-02294-8
^"3G FOMA Subscribers Exceed 40 Million".NTT DoCoMo.October 2, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon October 3, 2007.Retrieved2007-10-03.
^^a ^bOkada, Takashi."Mobile Terminal RF Circuit Technology for Increasing Capacity/Coverage and International Roaming"(PDF).NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal.Vol. 10, no. 2. pp. 47–56.Retrieved2009-06-10.

[1] NTT DoCoMo."FOMAハイスペード"(in Japanese). Archived fromthe originalon 2009-04-21.Retrieved2009-06-10.

[3GPP_memo-2] Yabusaki, Masami (2001-03-12)."3GPP TSG_SA Vice-Chairman Nomination"(PDF).Retrieved2009-02-12.

[CaseStudy01-3] ICFAI Center for Management Research (2003)."ICMR Case Collection: DoCoMo - The Japanese Wireless Telecom Leader"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on December 29, 2009.Retrieved2009-02-12.

[4] "NTT Docomo Case Study | Picsel Technologies".Picsel.2007-11-19. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-09-14.

[5] Hsiao-Hwa Chen (2007),The Next Generation CDMA Technologies,John Wiley and Sons, pp. 105–106,ISBN 978-0-470-02294-8

[6] "3G FOMA Subscribers Exceed 40 Million".NTT DoCoMo.October 2, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon October 3, 2007.Retrieved2007-10-03.

[freqalloc-7] Okada, Takashi."Mobile Terminal RF Circuit Technology for Increasing Capacity/Coverage and International Roaming"(PDF).NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal.Vol. 10, no. 2. pp. 47–56.Retrieved2009-06-10.

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