IMT2000

IMT-2000, International Mobile Telecommunications-2000, is a set of international standards defined by ITU-R to specify the requirements for third-generation (3G) mobile telecommunications. Introduced in the late 1990s, IMT-2000 aimed to provide higher data rates, better spectral efficiency, and global roaming across networks while accommodating voice and data services.

IMT-2000 is not a single technology but a framework that includes multiple IMT-2000–compatible radio interfaces. The main technologies brought under this umbrella are W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), used by the UMTS family; CDMA2000, including IS-2000, 1xRTT, and EV-DO; and TD-SCDMA, developed mainly in China.

These technologies were developed by separate standardization efforts: 3GPP, responsible for UMTS/W-CDMA (and later evolves into LTE); 3GPP2, responsible for CDMA2000; and the TD-SCDMA Forum for TD-SCDMA.

The goals of IMT-2000 include enabling mobile broadband, multimedia services, and roaming across international networks. It sought to provide supported data rates ranging from hundreds of kilobits per second to several megabits per second, depending on the technology, user location, and spectrum. It also aimed to improve voice capacity and network efficiency.

IMT-2000 is regarded as the 3G generation. Its successful deployment paved the way for subsequent enhancements, such as HSPA in UMTS networks, and laid the foundation for the transition to IMT-Advanced, the framework for 4G technologies like LTE and WiMAX.