Vodafone Australia said it has successfully completed trials of voice over LTE (VoLTE) services on its network and expects to make what the operator describes as “4G calling” available to customers this year.
The company wants to carry out further extensive tests of the technology before taking the service to the next st age, but clearly expects to be one of the first operators in Australia to launch VoLTE.
According to Vodafone Australia CTO Benoit Hanssen, VoLTE will make call connection times two to three times quicker. He added that customers will experience no time lag between pressing the call button and being connected to the number they have dialled.
As things stand, customers are dropped back to 3G technology when they make or receive calls.
“Vodafone will be one of the first to launch VoLTEin Australia. It offers the benefit of staying on 4G when receiving or making calls, offering a better data experience,” said Hanssen.
VoLTE-compatible phones include the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4 and the Huawei Ascend Y550.
The operator said more than 2 million devices are now connected to the Vodafone 4G network, which now reaches 95% of Australia’s metropolitan network.
In January, the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) said 80 operators in 42 countries are investing in the rollout of VoLTE. Some 14 operators have launched HD voice services using VoLTE in seven countries, and "many more launches are expected in 2015," the GSA said.
