There's not a lot of buzz for HD voice being one of the Big Things in 2012. Mobile pundits seem to be more fixated on mergers and spectrum while cable companies appear to be (still) waiting on reliable/plentiful amounts of consumer CPE gear before introducing wideband voice.   But Verizon Wireless (News - Alert) has vowed to deliver Voice over LTE (VoLTE) with AMR-WB – the de facto HD voice codec for mobile phones – in 2012. And there's also the Verizon Business (News - Alert) VIPER SIP network to consider since it now supports G.722 at no additional cost.

Verizon is once again in the position of promoting a new (to the U.S.) and advanced technology – HD voice – and it will be interesting to see how the company positions and promotes it relative to other carriers and its existing 3G CDMA network offerings. Ericsson (News - Alert) and Qualcomm have been promoting HD voice for CDMA for what feels like ages, but so far none of the U.S. carriers have decided to go down the CDMA HD voice path.  

If the name of the game is to increase market share, Verizon Wireless will have a window of opportunity this year to present HD voice on LTE as a unique feature worth switching for. The window starts to close in 2013, when Sprint (News - Alert) and AT&T have said they will roll out their VoLTE offerings and restoring the playing field to the usual elements of pricing plans and network coverage.

But will consumers buy into the “better voice” experience? Certainly, Verizon is already promoting better sound through the rollout of the HTC (News - Alert) Rezound on its LTE network, a phone that incorporates Beats Audio-brand and technology. HD voice may be a natural an opt-in choice for high-end audiophiles, who will then pester/drag family members and co-workers into mobile wideband voice as phones and service plans reach end-of-life.

Moving from the mobile world, Verizon Business has opened up no-charge SIP exchange between all of its VoIP customers. The VIPER service is opt-in, and now officially supports both G.722 HD voice and H.323 video conferencing via SIP. Exactly how many end-points are connected within the VIPER service is an open question; Verizon won't give a straight numeric answer, but says about 90 percent of their new VoIP customers opt-in to join the SIP exchange. Opting in provides “free” calls between SIP devices, so there's no termination or per-minute long distance fees associated with it.

At some point – if it hasn't happened already – I wouldn't be surprised to see smaller carriers buy access (i.e., purchase a SIP trunk or other service) to VIPER to gain direct access to the service. There's also the open question as to how third-party exchange service Neutral Tandem might move HD voice calls between its customers and the Verizon VIPER SIP “cloud.”

Both of these services will enable and introduce HD voice to larger audiences, most likely laying the groundwork for an actual surge in HD voice adoption in the United States in 2013. Add on a pull for HD interoperability with overseas carriers in Europe and Asia, and the future looks more promising in the next 12 to 24 months.