The deployment of third generation (3G) technologies is constantly growing, offering higher wireless capacity which promises broader access to IP applications including rich multimedia content. The deployment of such applications primarily requires the identification of performance characteristics offered by the underlying 3G network. In this paper, the results of a series of experiments aiming to characterize the performance of forward link 3G CDMA2000 1x-RTT wireless networks are presented. The performance is evaluated for various types of traffic, e.g. FTP, HTTP, VoIP and multimedia streaming. The measurements have been performed on a live CDMA2000 1x-RTT network for both stationary and mobile states, providing results not readily obtainable by means of simulations. The paper highlights issues that researchers should consider when validating their design on this type of network. Moreover, a set of recommendations are provided giving a road map for operators and service developers providing applications running on such networks.