Editing UMTS (section)

==== Deployment ====
The world's first commercial W-CDMA service, FOMA, was launched by NTT DoCoMo in [[Japan]] in 2001.

Elsewhere, W-CDMA deployments are usually marketed under the UMTS brand.

W-CDMA has also been adapted for use in satellite communications on the U.S. [[Mobile User Objective System]] using geosynchronous satellites in place of cell towers.

[[J-Phone]] Japan (once [[Vodafone]] and now [[SoftBank Mobile]]) soon followed by launching their own W-CDMA based service, originally branded "Vodafone Global Standard" and claiming UMTS compatibility. The name of the service was changed to "Vodafone 3G" (now "SoftBank 3G") in December 2004.

Beginning in 2003, [[Hutchison Whampoa]] gradually launched their upstart UMTS networks.
 
Most countries have, since the ITU approved of the 3G mobile service, either "auctioned" the radio frequencies to the company willing to pay the most, or conducted a "beauty contest"{{snd}} asking the various companies to present what they intend to commit to if awarded the licences. This strategy has been criticised for aiming to drain the cash of operators to the brink of bankruptcy in order to honour their bids or proposals. Most of them have a time constraint for the rollout of the service{{snd}} where a certain "coverage" must be achieved within a given date or the licence will be revoked.

Vodafone launched several UMTS networks in Europe in February 2004. [[MobileOne]] of [[Singapore]] commercially launched its 3G (W-CDMA) services in February 2005. [[New Zealand]] in August 2005 and [[Australia]] in October 2005.

[[AT&T Mobility]] utilized a UMTS network, with HSPA+, from 2005 until its shutdown in February 2022.

Rogers in [[Canada]] March 2007 has launched HSDPA in the Toronto Golden Horseshoe district on W-CDMA at 850/1900&nbsp;MHz and plan the launch the service commercial in the top 25 cities October, 2007.

[[TeliaSonera]] opened W-CDMA service in [[Finland]] October 13, 2004, with speeds up to 384&nbsp;kbit/s. Availability only in main cities. Pricing is approx. €2/MB.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}

[[SK Telecom]] and [[KTF]], two largest mobile phone service providers in [[South Korea]], have each started offering W-CDMA service in December 2003. Due to poor coverage and lack of choice in handhelds, the W-CDMA service has barely made a dent in the Korean market which was dominated by CDMA2000. By October 2006 both companies are covering more than 90 cities while [[SK Telecom]] has announced that it will provide nationwide coverage for its WCDMA network in order for it to offer SBSM (Single Band Single Mode) handsets by the first half of 2007. [[KT Freecel]] will thus cut funding to its CDMA2000 network development to the minimum.

In [[Norway]], [[Telenor]] introduced W-CDMA in major cities by the end of 2004, while their competitor, [[NetCom (Norway)|NetCom]], followed suit a few months later. Both operators have 98% national coverage on EDGE, but Telenor has parallel WLAN roaming networks on GSM, where the UMTS service is competing with this. For this reason Telenor is dropping support of their WLAN service in Austria (2006).

[[Maxis Communications]] and [[Celcom]], two mobile phone service providers in [[Malaysia]], started offering W-CDMA services in 2005.

In [[Sweden]], [[Telia Company|Telia]] introduced W-CDMA in March 2004.