In the cellular provider world, companies are always trying to find the next big thing that will really bring in the customers. It appears that AT&T and Verizon (News - Alert) have decided that the best way to lure in customers is to work together. Earlier this month, the two companies announced that they are working on technology that will allow Voice over LTE (News - Alert) (VoLTE) connections between customers of the two providers.
The good news for customers of the two companies is that the tech is apparently not that far off. At the same time the two firms announce VoLTE interoperability, AT&T (News - Alert) and Verizon said they want to be able to offer this service by 2015. Because this isn’t something that is done every day, whether or not the firms are able to actually launch the service by the end of next year is something that is still somewhat of a question.
The two firms say that engineers from both companies are working overtime in order to get through a full set of requirements. These include testing in lab environments and then moving onto field trials. This testing is going to be extensive and the two firms say they are undergoing this testing in order to make sure that once it is rolled out, customers are getting a seamless experience.
"Customers use their smartphones to connect with friends, family and colleagues across service providers and around the world. Interoperability among all VoLTE providers takes connectivity to the next level with HD quality voice and additional features that customers want," said Tony Melone, chief technology officer at Verizon in a statement announcing the partnership. "We're pleased to be working with AT&T as our first interoperating carrier, and we look forward to working with other operators as VoLTE continues to grow."
The two companies are doing more than heading off the competition in forging this deal. While VoLTE is expected to be one of the next big things when it comes to cellular communications, WebRTC is still a big competitor to the technology. Assuming the team-up is successful, it will go a long way towards making this tech easier to use, thereby staving off other tech for a while yet.
Edited by Alisen Downey