When launched, Reliance Jio was well ahead of its competitors with support for the latest technology. Users experienced 4G VoLTE for the first time in India with the help of Jio, and it looks like its biggest competitor – Airtel – is levelling up.
The largest mobile telecom operator in India is hosting an event in New Delhi, which reports suggest will host the launch of VoLTE service in India. This would make Airtel second to Jio for utilising the advanced technology for voice and data.
Ahead of Airtel's official announcement, Apple India revealed on its support page that Airtel VoLTE is already supported for iPhone 6 and above. This clearly gives away the element of surprise from Airtel's Monday event, but it is not the first time we've unofficially heard of Airtel VoLTE.
Recent reports claimed that Airtel had been testing the necessary infrastructure for its VoLTE service in India and partnered with various smartphone manufacturers, including Motorola, Xiaomi, Samsung and OPPO, to test the service. The main reason behind extensive testing performed by Airtel for its VoLTE is to prevent a Reliance Jio-like fiasco that resulted in millions of dropped calls last year.
Currently, Airtel uses Circuit Switched Fall Back (CSFB) technology for voice calls, which transfers users to the GSM platform to make and receive calls. Since Airtel is doing everything to stay ahead of Reliance Jio in the telecom race, it is essential for the telco to match up to its rival on all fronts.
What is VoLTE? How is it beneficial?
VoLTE is short for Voice over LTE. It allows an operator to offer voice and data services without switching between bands like in the circuit-switch technology. By deploying VoLTE, Airtel will not only offer superior voice quality, but will also be able to lower call rates for its subscribers.
VoLTE helped Jio make voice calls free for its users and Airtel could do the same without denting its profits and revenue. The result of VoLTE rollout in Airtel will improve voice call quality and make them free.
Airtel hasn't commented on the VoLTE rollout and the changes it will bring to the tariffs in India, but today's event is going to shed more light on the matter. Stay tuned for updates.
