The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) standards have been defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), but one cannot learn how the system works simply by reading the standards. They presuppose a knowledge of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), as well as other digital communication technologies. This seminar provides the technological background needed to understand the standards.The seminar includes digital transmission principles, radio wave propagation and the way it influences system design, cellular basics, multiple access technology, error control, speech coding, and CDMA technology. Also included are data transmission to wideband devices, the transition to 3G, and some of the basic provisions of the 3 G specifications.