NTT DoCoMo this week struck a voice over LTE (VoLTE) roaming deal with KT Corp.
The partnership, announced on Wednesday makes the operator the first in Japan to offer an outbound VoLTE roaming service.
Nine smartphones in DoCoMo’s newly-announced winter/spring line-up will be compatible with the new service, which will go live on 7 October. The company did not list exactly which devices will support VoLTE roaming though.
"Customers with compatible DoC oMo handsets will be able to make the same high-quality voice and video calls as in Japan using VoLTE to and from Japan, as well as in countries and regions capable of using the service," said the telco, in a statement. "First, the service will be offered between Japan and South Korea and within South Korea, through a cooperative initiative with Seoul-based KT Corporation, one of South Korea’s largest mobile operators."
The telco has offered a domestic VoLTE service since June 2014. As of 31 August, 10 million VoLTE calls had been placed by DoCoMo customers.
"Going forward, DoCoMo expects to expand its VoLTE roaming service into other countries through partnerships with local companies, aiming to steadily broaden DoCoMo customers’ global access to extra-high-quality voice and video calls," DoCoMo said.
