Towards fourth-generation (4G) mobile radio systems
Cellular networks - Evolution of the UMTS system towards the EPS system

In November 2008, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) published the specifications for 4th generation (4G) mobile radio systems under the name "IMT-Advanced", following on from the 3rd generation specifications known as IMT-2000.

The main features of this specification are described in report M.2134 [ITU-R-M.2134] :

• worldwide operation and roaming ;

• compatibility of services within IMT mobile networks (IMT-2000) and fixed-line networks ;

• interoperability with existing access networks (including UMTS, EPS and cdma2000 1x);

• flexible bandwidth of 40 MHz...