Editing UMTS (section)

== Features ==
UMTS supports theoretical maximum data [[Bit rate|transfer rates]] of 42&nbsp;[[Mbit/s]] when [[Evolved HSPA]] (HSPA+) is implemented in the network.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/networking/telstra-boosts-next-g-to-21mbps/ | title=Telstra boosts Next G to 21Mbps | first=Suzanne | last=Tindal | date=8 December 2008 | publisher=[[ZDNet]] Australia | access-date=2009-03-16}}</ref> Users in deployed networks can expect a transfer rate of up to 384&nbsp;kbit/s for Release '99 (R99) handsets (the original UMTS release), and 7.2&nbsp;Mbit/s for [[High-Speed Downlink Packet Access]] (HSDPA) handsets in the downlink connection. These speeds are significantly faster than the 9.6&nbsp;kbit/s of a single GSM error-corrected circuit switched data channel, multiple 9.6&nbsp;kbit/s channels in [[High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data]] (HSCSD) and 14.4&nbsp;kbit/s for CDMAOne channels.

Since 2006, UMTS networks in many countries have been or are in the process of being upgraded with High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), sometimes known as [[3.5G]]. Currently, HSDPA enables [[downlink]] transfer speeds of up to 21&nbsp;Mbit/s. Work is also progressing on improving the uplink transfer speed with the [[High-Speed Uplink Packet Access]] (HSUPA). The 3GPP [[LTE (telecommunication)|LTE]] standard succeeds UMTS and initially provided 4G speeds of 100&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 50&nbsp;Mbit/s up, with scalability up to 3&nbsp;Gbps, using a next generation air interface technology based upon [[OFDM|orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing]].

The first national consumer UMTS networks launched in 2002 with a heavy emphasis on telco-provided mobile applications such as mobile TV and [[Video teleconference|video calling]]. The high data speeds of UMTS are now most often utilised for Internet access: experience in Japan and elsewhere has shown that user demand for video calls is not high, and telco-provided audio/video content has declined in popularity in favour of high-speed access to the World Wide Web{{snd}} either directly on a handset or connected to a computer via [[Wi-Fi]], [[Bluetooth]] or [[USB]].{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=April 2015}}