COST 231 achievements as a support to the development of UMTS: a look into the future

An overview has been given of the current trends in the field of mobile communications, with specific reference to the European environment; in particular, the COST 231 organisation and activities during its first five years of life have been outlined, emphasizing the major results obtained so far and their potential impact on current or proposed third-generation mobile communication systems. Relationships established with other projects or regional and international standardization bodies have been pointed out, and special attention has been given to the activities envisaged for the near future.