Orange UK WCDMA field trials overview

OrangeUK has had an operational WCDMA trial network in Bristol since April 1999 and was the first operator within Europe to make live 3G video calls. Using its Bristol trial network OrangeUK has performed many tests to verify the performance of a WCDMA network. At the time of writing only one UK operator has officially launched 3G services although it could be argued that all five UK 3G operators are still in the trials-phase of WCDMA network operation. As with any new technology Orange realises the benefits of extensive trials before commercial operation and has therefore been performing trials with its multi-layered Nokia trial network in Bristol for over 2 years. This paper gives an overview of this network and highlights some of the tests performed to date.