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{{Short description|Mobile network in Japan}}
{{Redirect|FOMA||Foma (disambiguation)}}
'''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.

[[File:FOMA N900iS.jpg|thumbnail|A typical FOMA phone]]

NTT DoCoMo also offers [[High Speed Packet Access|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/func_tool/high_speed/|title=FOMAハイスペード|author=NTT DoCoMo|language=ja|access-date=2009-06-10|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421060836/http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/func_tool/high_speed/|archive-date=2009-04-21}}</ref>

==History==
The [[W-CDMA]] [[air interface]] was accepted by the [[International Telecommunication Union|ITU]] as one of several air interfaces for the [[IMT-2000]]telecom 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.<ref name="3GPP memo">{{cite web |url=http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/tsg_sa/TSGS_11/Docs/PDF/SP-010140.pdf |title=3GPP TSG_SA Vice-Chairman Nomination |access-date=2009-02-12 |author=Yabusaki, Masami |date=2001-03-12}}</ref> 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.<ref name="CaseStudy01">{{cite web|url=http://www.icmrindia.org/pdf/Business%20Strategy%20Case%20Study%20-%20DoCoMo.pdf |title=ICMR Case Collection: DoCoMo - The Japanese Wireless Telecom Leader |access-date=2009-02-12 |author=ICFAI Center for Management Research |date=2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229110830/http://www.icmrindia.org/pdf/Business%20Strategy%20Case%20Study%20-%20DoCoMo.pdf |archive-date=December 29, 2009 }}</ref> In doing so, they also renamed the service to '''Freedom of Mobile multimedia Access'''.<ref name="CaseStudy01"/> In June 2001 trial subscribers complained the [[mobile phone]]s had insufficient battery life and [[Crash (computing)|crashed]] frequently, that there was inadequate [[Coverage (telecommunication)|network coverage]], and that there were [[Information security|security]] issues within the handset itself.<ref name="CaseStudy01"/> As a result, DoCoMo [[Product recall|recalled]] 1,500 handsets by the end of June 2001. FOMA successfully launched in October 2001, providing mobile telecommunications coverage to [[Tokyo]] and [[Yokohama]].<ref name="CaseStudy01"/>

Initially - as the first full-scale 3G service in the world<ref>{{cite web |title=NTT Docomo Case Study | Picsel Technologies |url=http://www.picsel.com/index.php/mediacentre/casestudy/151/ |publisher=[[Picsel]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090914145652/http://www.picsel.com/index.php/mediacentre/casestudy/151 |archive-date=2009-09-14 |date=2007-11-19}}</ref> - The first FOMA handsets were of an experimental nature, targeting [[Early adopter (marketing)|early adopters]], were larger than previous handsets, had poor battery life, while the initial network only covered the center of Japan's largest towns and cities. For the first 1–2 years, FOMA was essentially an experimental service for early adopters - mainly centered around communication industry professionals.

As NTT DoCoMo did not wait for the completion and finalization of the 3G Release 99 network specification, their 3G W-CDMA network was initially incompatible with the internationally deployed UMTS standard.<ref>{{citation|author=Hsiao-Hwa Chen|title=The Next Generation CDMA Technologies |publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=2007|isbn=978-0-470-02294-8|pages=105–106}}</ref> However, in 2004 NTT DoCoMo performed wide-scale upgrades on its network, bringing it into compliance with the specification and enabling 100% compatibility with UMTS handsets, including incoming and outgoing roaming.

Around March 2004, the FOMA network achieved mass adoption, and handset sales soared. As of September 29, 2007, FOMA had over 40 million subscribers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nttdocomo.com/pr/2007/001367.html|title=3G FOMA Subscribers Exceed 40 Million|access-date=2007-10-03|date=October 2, 2007|publisher=[[NTT DoCoMo]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003020048/http://www.nttdocomo.com/pr/2007/001367.html|archive-date=October 3, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== 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 frequency bands|UMTS band I]] around 2100 MHz, which has been originally assigned to IMT-2000 services worldwide, except in the Americas.<ref name="freqalloc"/> 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 [[Personal Digital Cellular|PDC]] mova service, which corresponds to [[UMTS frequency bands|UMTS band VI]] and is similar to band V used in the United States.<ref name="freqalloc">{{Cite news
|last=Okada
|first=Takashi
|title= Mobile Terminal RF Circuit Technology for Increasing Capacity/Coverage and International Roaming
|url=http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/binary/pdf/corporate/technology/rd/technical_journal/bn/vol10_2/vol10_2_047en.pdf
|access-date=2009-06-10
|periodical =NTT DOCOMO Technical Journal
|volume=10
|number=2
|pages=47–56}}</ref> These extended service areas are branded '''FOMA Plus-Area''' ('''FOMAプラスエリア''') and require multiband terminals.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Mobile telecommunications standards}}

[[Category:Telecommunications-related introductions in 2001]]
[[Category:2001 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Telecommunications in Japan]]
[[Category:Mobile telecommunication services]]
[[Category:NTT Docomo]]

Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access - Revision history

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