What is VoLTE? How it works & Scope in India?
What is VoLTE
For a layman the term VoLTE might sound like something related to electric current but actually it is a standard for wireless communication high in speed and technology. The term VoLTE actually stands for Voice Over Long Term Evolution. The growing use of stable and high bandwidth internet has raised the bar for quality in services being provided and hence, VoLTE has emerged as a great technological advancement over the years. It has nearly 3 times greater voice and data capacity than 3G UMTS and up to six times more than 2G GSM. Moreover, it does not occupy more bandwidth space as the VoLTE’s data packets are sm0aller than those of LTE/VOIP. Although VoLTE seems to be the extension of LTE, the basic difference is LTE is a hardware related thing while VoLTE is like a software update. The various advantages and downsides of VOLTE will be discussed below in the article.
Why VoLTE ?
The customer’s whether corporate or personal users have always demanded the best quality service at
lowest possible prices and hence VoLTE has made it possible for better sound quality for voice communication. The main feature of VoLTE is the calls being delivered over the Mobile 4G LTE broadband network in place of the standard internet protocol. However, the customer’s won’t be able to see much gain in the short term as much as because of it’s various advantages like lower call
connecting time as it takes only few milliseconds to connect call over VoLTE as compared to the traditional CDMA or GSM technology. Although VOLTE is being much talked about be VOLTE has also made possible the use of data and voice facility simultaneously. We will also find improved network service while working over VOLTE.But the call rate will be higher as of now because the customer’s will be charged in terms of data charges. The reason for this being the voice being transferred in form of data packets while communicating through VOLTE. Hence, this is different from the Reliance Jio free calling facility for example.
As a service provider, an operator is able to offer both data and voice without switching between bands, and voice being just another application riding on an LTE data network. Moreover, VOLTE enables more efficient utilization of spectrum as data travels in form of packets and hence, lesser space is required over the network.
How VOLTE technology works?
Talking in technical terms, the VOLTE is different from VOIP. In order to understand for the customer the technology that they are using for availing much better HD quality voice calls and lower call setup times. Hence, in Voice calls over VOLTE, the voice is converted in form of data packets and then transferred to other end and again converted into voice form whereas in traditional 2G or 3G VOIP, the voice is transferred through circuit switched network and voice calls are routed through any normal speed internet connection like mobile data as well for example Skype and Viber work on VOIP technology. On the other hand, , VOLTE works over an LTE mobile data connection only and integrated directly iVoLTE is inle device’s dialer. In VoLTE technology, voice traffic is consolidated on LTE data channels, thereby terminating their legacy circuit-switched voice channels and leading to a reduction in infrastructure costs for voice services.
Example of VoLTE voice calling in India
Reliance Jio is the first company to launch the LTE based Voice calling in India. Hence, we just need a 4G device that supports 4G LTE Internet and download an app which is ‘Jio4Voice’ available in Google play store. This experience of high quality voice calling was not experienced before in India. The best thing is lower call connecting time which is just milliseconds as compared to earlier 3-4 seconds. Hence, the experience is like Instant connect with friends and relatives.
What are the ups and downs for VoLTE as a user ?
Talking about the technical things is fine but what really matters at the end of the day is the market value of the product or service. The Reliance Jio is offering free calling facility to it’s users but if VoLTE calling will be charged in terms of data usage, then the customers need to take care of the usage limit like 1 GB for Jio Prime users and respectively for other plans. Moreover, using the VoLTE requires compatibility of handsets as the technology is not supported on 3G sets but it is possible through the Jio router which is available at the company’s select stores. Hence, using the 4G LTE supporting router, one can make high quality HD calls through 3G handsets as well.
Availability of VoLTE network at both ends results in good call connectivity otherwise there will be more call drops. VoLTE is able to deliver (RCSs) Rich Communication Services offering various features such as file transfer, language translation,video calling, voicemail and instant messaging. Hence, VoLTE operators can compete with services delivered by over-the-top-players eg. Skype and viber etc.
Another key advantage for end users is the improved battery life while making voice calls over VoLTE. Several studies have also estimated that VoLTE services provide improved battery life compared with older technologies, thereby making it an attractive option for end-users.
Future scope of VoLTE in India
The growing need for speedier communications paves the way for high demand of 4G LTE phones in India and leading mobile manufacturing companies like Samsung, LG, Nokia and others have gained a lot with the launch of 4G in India. According to a recent study by Juniper Research, the number of VoLTE connections is likely to increase from about 123 million in 2015 to 2 billion by 2020.The driving factors will be both individual and corporate, including efficient and cost-effective voice services, and the delivery of better multimedia services with greater bandwidth and speed.
