W-CDMA stands for
Wideband Code Division Multiple Access.
"Multiple Access" means that many transmissions can use the same frequency at the same time.
"Code Division" is how that is accomplished.
To understand CMDA in context, it is often best to look at earlier technologies.
- FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) is a multiplexing system where available bandwidth is divided by frequency. i.e. I get 5Mhz and you get 5Mhz.
- TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) is a multiplexing system where available bandwidth is divided by time. i.e. I get 10Mhz for a tenth of a second and then you get the same 10Mhz and we trade off regularly.
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) is a multiplexing system where available bandwidth is allocated by codes. Each time you or I transmit, we must preface our transmissions with our special code. The CDMA network then load balances all of these transmissions based upon how it has been configured to prioritize traffic.
In a way, CDMA is much like IP (Internet Protocol). In IP, all packets are coded (the IP header) and the network determines how to handle all packets concurrently.
wCDMA 
Linear Mode
