Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access

Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access (FOMA) is the brand name of the W-CDMA-based 3G telecommunications services being offered by the Japanese telecommunications service provider NTT DoCoMo. It is an implementation of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) and was the world's first 3G mobile data service to commence commercial operations.

NTT DoCoMo also offers HSPA services branded FOMA 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

The W-CDMA air interface was accepted by the ITU as one of several air interfaces for the IMT-2000telecom initiative and by the ETSI as one of three air interfaces for the UMTS cellular network standard.

NTT DoCoMo originally planned to launch the world's first 3G services, initially branded Frontier 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 to Freedom of Mobile multimedia Access.[3] In June 2001 trial subscribers complained the mobile phones had insufficient battery life and crashed frequently, that there was inadequate network coverage, and that there were security issues within the handset itself.[3] As a result, DoCoMo recalled

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 as i-mode or Osaifu-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 the UMTS band I around 2100 MHz, which has been originally assigned to IMT-2000 services worldwide, except in the Americas. 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 2G PDC mova service, which corresponds to UMTS band VI and is similar to band V used in the United States.[7] These extended service areas are branded FOMA Plus-Area (FOMAプラスエリア) and require multiband terminals.