HD Voice: Vodafone Voice Over 4G service for 2015 launch

Vodafone today announced its intentions to build a 4G voice service (also known as Voice over LTE or VoLTE), with trials beginning this year before a full launch in 2015. According to Benoit Hanssen, Chief Technology Officer of Vodafone, VoLTE services have two key benefits: higher definition voice and faster connection speeds.

“With our enhanced indoor 4G coverage and voice calls on the same network, our customers will feel the difference. The call audio quality will be high definition, and call connection times will be significantly shorter.

“In other words, there will be virtually no time lag between the customer pressing the call button and the call being connected when they are using 4G.”

Vodafone claims it will be the first provider in Australia to launch such a network, which will tie in with its plan to convert its 850MHz 3G spectrum to 4G over the next 12-18 months. This low-frequency network could be key. Sub-1GHz frequencies have better range and penetration inside buildings than those that are higher.

The move to VoLTE is being constructed in partnership with Ericsson as part of Vodafone’s plan to consolidate and modernise its core-network. This is one more move in Vodafone’s multi-billion dollar scheme, the full span of which will cover five years when all is said and done, although the telco is keeping its lips sealed as to what’s coming next

So what is Voice over 4G?

It’s exactly what it sounds like. Currently 4G network coverage is reserved for the uploading and downloading of internet data. That’s all well and good, but it’s worth considering that the 2G technologies on which our voice calls are based are starting to look a little aged.

T-Mobile in the US has already started the shift towards VoLTE, which it claims not only improves voice quality, but decreases background noise as well.

Vodafone didn’t mention whether or not it’ll be easier to make yourself heard if you’re making business calls from the dance floor, but it would be a fantastic feature.

Alex Angove-Plumb

Digital Content Editor

Alex Angove-Plumb is a Digital Content Editor at WhistleOut and an award-winning journalist. He's been in the tech publishing industry since 2010, putting him a few short years away from the title of Grizzled Ancient in his chosen profession. He was an original WhistleOut-er before running NBN Co's corporate blog for two years, then moving on to a lengthy stint at CHOICE. Now he's come home.

Read full bio