Although previous estimates for its nationwide rollout of voice over LTE (News - Alert) (VoLTE) services noted that customers would begin to have access early next year, it appears that one national telecom will officially launch its newest service "in the coming weeks," according to a recent company blog post.
The service provider in question here is Verizon (News - Alert), and last week it announced via blog post that some of its users would soon be able to experience the full power of a VoLTE connection by making use of their 4G LTE smartphones. Dubbed Advanced Calling 1.0, Verizon says its customers will be able to experience high-definition voice calling and enhanced video calling through their existing handsets. In its announcement, the company explained how video calling will work.
"Video calling is simplified when using VoLTE technology. The contact list in the phone clearly shows, with a video camera icon next to the name, who can receive a video call, and a tap or two on the phone starts the call so you can speak to friends and family face-to-face. Customers control video calls, easily switching to a voice-only call from a video call and back with a tap on the phone. The audio portion of a video call is delivered in HD voice."
One drawback to the immediate rollout of this service is that only people in the Verizon 4G LTE coverage and have VoLTE-enabled smartphones can take advantage of high-definition calling and video calling as described above. Such phones are limited in dispersion at this point and represent only the highest-end models available. Customers without them will experience calling as they always have. Those people waiting for the complete experience of LTE-only phones -- those without CDMA support -- will likely have to wait until 2016 to get their hands on the newest models arriving that year.
Further analysis at The Motley Fool indicates that, from a billing perspective, Verizon will be treating voice calls that use the VoLTE protocol as they would treat traditional voice calls, so VoLTE voice will not drain a user's data plan. That bit of detail on top of an already-impressive set of features should allow Verizon to keep up with competitors T-Mobile (News - Alert) and AT&T that have already released VoLTE services in select markets. Verizon, however, is apparently providing nationwide coverage, so potentially many more users will be able to take advantage of the service already, and it will make Verizon stand out among those seeking the feature when deciding to purchase a new plan or switch providers.
Edited by Alisen Downey