Major US carriers unveil VoLTE plans

The evolution of voice continues apace as US carriers Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA reveal plans to launch Voice over LTE, with AT&T expected to follow suit on Friday.

Verizon said it will start national rollout of the technology later this year, offering an HD Voice experience, using the AMR-wideband standard, which the company claims to provide the best voice quality available now and allows for future interoperability with others.

The company said it will have a robust line-up of VoLTE-enabled smartphones available when the service launches, with select handsets to be VoLTE-enabled through a software update leading up to the roll out of the service.

Verizon’s VoLTE will also offer video calling options, including making and receiving video calls directly from contact lists. As part of the VoLTE video calling experience, customers have the ability to change their calls instantly from voice-only to voice and video, with the rollout also setting the stage for future enhancements through Rich Communications Services (RCS).

On T-Mobile’s network in the Seattle area, VoLTE is now available for the LG G Flex, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy Light, after the devices are software updated.

T-Mobile has been offering HD Voice over HSPA already since January 2013, but VoLTE enables HD Voice over the LTE network now as well.

Meanwhile, AT&T Mobility is expected to launch HD voice services using VoLTE from Friday, with the Samsung Galaxy S4 mini the first phone to make use of the service.

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