In the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), user equipment (UE) is any device used directly by an end user to communicate. It can be a hand-held telephone, a card in a laptop computer, or any other device. It connects to the base station ("Node B", or 3G Base Transceiver Station) as specified in the 25-series of specifications. It roughly corresponds to the mobile station in GSM systems.

Radio interface between the UE and the Node B is called Uu.

Functionality

UE handles the following tasks towards the core network:

• Mobility management
• Call control
• Session management
• Identity management

The corresponding protocols are transmitted transparently via a Node B, that is, Node B does not change, use or understand the information. These protocols are also referred to as Non-access stratum protocols.

External links

• http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/25-series.htm