Book excerpt: In June 2000, GTEL (Wireless Telecommunications Research Group) at the F- eral University of Ceara ́ was founded by Professor Rodrigo Cavalcanti and his c- leagues with the mission of developing wireless communications technology and impact the development of the Brazilian telecommunications sector. From the start, this research effort has been supported by Ericsson Research providing a dynamic environment where academia and industry together can address timely and relevant research challenges. This book summarized much of the research output that has resulted from GTEL’s efforts. It provides a comprehensive treatment of the physical and multiple access layers in mobile communication systems describing different generations of systems but with a focus on 3G systems. The team of Professor C- alcanti has contributed scienti cally to the development of this eld and built up an impressive expertise. In the chapters that follow, they share their views and kno- edge on the underlying principles and technical trade-offs when designing the air interface of 3G systems. The complexity of 3G systems and the interaction between the physical and m- tiple access layers present a tremendous challenge when modeling, designing, and analyzing the mobile communication system. Herein, the authors tackle this pr- lem in an impressive manner. Their work is very much in line with the developments in 3GPP providing a deeper understanding of the evolution of 3G and also future enhancements.