UMA
Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) provides access to cellular mobile voice and data services over unlicensed spectrum technologies, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi (802.11).
A UMA phone will use a cellular networks (GSM, CDMA, etc.) when out and about, and automatically switch to a UMA-enabled Bluetooth or Wi-Fi local network when in range, such as at home or in the office.
In local mode, a complete, virtual GSM or CDMA connection is "tunneled" to the carrier via the Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection and the Internet. This allows seamless, transparent use of all services at all times, including voice, messaging, and data services.
This hybrid approach allows full mobility, while offering consumers better coverage, faster data rates, and lower service costs when using the local network.
The technology can also lower infrastructure costs for carriers, by reducing load on networks in densely populated areas, and reducing the need for towers in sparsely-populated residential areas.
Last updated Nov 5, 2012 by Rich Brome
Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.
