The voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) concept has given markets a whole new way to develop in recent years, allowing for voice traffic to proceed on a data network means there can be a focus on developing the data network alone. The Indian communications market is showing this quite well, as LG Electronics (News - Alert) India has recently brought a pair of new handsets with a VoIP focus to the region.

The two new handsets—the LG Spirit LTE and the LG G4 Stylus—offer a particular difference not commonly seen in the region: voice over LTE (News - Alert) (VoLTE) and voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) capability. These handsets are set up in such a fashion that data, and by extension voice, traffic is transmitted faster than more standard devices, and so VoIP will get a particular edge with these handsets. Those interested will be able to pick up the devices at several different multi-brand outlets.

LG's new agreement with Reliance Retail, meanwhile, gives LG access to the network the retailer enjoys, featuring fully 1,200 distributors and a whopping 150,000 total retail outlets. This should be more than enough to establish a decent sales performance.

Thanks to these new handset, LG will have something of a first-mover advantage in the VoLTE and VoWiFi fields in India, giving LG its own specific market niche, at least for now. LG Mobiles India's head of marketing, Amit Gujral, noted that those who wanted to take fullest advantage of the 4G network in the region would need one of these handsets on hand. Gujral also noted that both “existing LG loyalists” and “potential LG customers who want the best” would have a particular desire for the “futuristic gadgets” the company was offering.

In general, the Indian telecommunications market is something of its own beast. Somewhat comparable to China in some ways, wireless buildouts have been more regularly seen than wired services thanks to levels of investment involved and accompanying regulations. The appeal of mobile devices that can go where a user does is also fairly substantial, so huge numbers of the devices have been sold and in turn need an infrastructure from which to run. That infrastructure can be complex and expensive to establish, so seeing a desire to build out in more of the data direction makes sense. Previously, data networks would have to be built alongside voice networks, but with VoLTE and VoWiFi coming more into play, networks can be built mostly on data and the customers can be moved to such systems accordingly.

LG might have a real edge in the upcoming Indian telecommunications market, and that could be a real help to LG's operations worldwide, particularly given the highly competitive nature of the global telecommunications market in general.