Owners of Samsung smartphones will be the first to reap the benefits of a Voice over LTE (VoLTE) network when Vodafone rolls it out in December.
The next-generation network infrastructure makes it possible to hold phone calls over 4G to deliver a number of benefits, said Benoit Hanssen, chief technology officer at Vodafone.
“VoLTE will mean an enhanced call experience including shorter call set up times as well as longer battery life on some smartphones.
Users will be able to multi-task over the 4G standard, jugging between phone calls and web browsing, for instance.
Over the air updates will have to be pushed out to compatible devices, starting with Samsung’s Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ and Note5.
“This is the first step to moving all voice traffic over to 4G,” said Hanssen. .
“In terms of the network, VoLTE means enhanced spectral efficiency with 2.3 times more users per MHz. It will also support the re-farming of our spectrum from 3G to 4G so that we can continue to provide great data speeds as traffic grows.
Voice over LTE is among a slew of recent changes made to the Vodafone network. The company has spent more than $3 billion on network infrastructure in an effort to win back customers.
The next innovation on Vodafone’s agenda is “seamless Voice over Wi-Fi”, as reported earlier by Good Gear Guide. Rival Optus has already introduced Wi-Fi Talk; however, Vodafone’s take on the technology works without the installation of an app.
The carrier recently announced a billion dollar deal with TPG, where Vodafone’s network will migrate TPG’s subscriber base in exchange for optical fibre infrastructure to be serviced by TPG.
