M1 this week became the last of Singapore’s three major mobile operators to commercially launch voice over LTE (VoLTE).
Available at no extra cost to 4G customers, M1 has pitched VoLTE as a service that offers higher call quality than standard calls, rather than drawing attention to its other capabilities such as simultaneous data sessions and video calling.
Called 4G Voice, it may require customers to apply a software update to their device before it will work, M1 said.
"Following a period of extensive testing, we are pleased to make available 4G Voice calls to our customers. We are sure our customers will appreciate the enhanced voice call quality and the ease of use of the feature," said Patrick Scodeller, COO of M1, in a statement Wednesday.
By Singaporean standards, M1 is late to the party when it comes to VoLTE.
Incumbent Singtel launched the service in May 2014, followed by StarHub, which began offering VoLTE in June.
According to the Gl obal mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), there were 14 VoLTE services up and running worldwide in January. A total of 80 operators in 42 countries are investing in the technology.
