Verizon Wireless is rolling out Wi-Fi calling to some of its customers via a software update this week on two devices.
The software update to Verizon’s Advanced Calling 1.0 Voice over LTE service includes voice and video calling over Wi-Fi capabilities and is available to subscribers with the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge devices. Verizon said that it would be rolling out the update to subscribers using other Android and iOS devices early next year.
Users have to install the latest software update and turn on the advanced calling option in order to use VoWi-Fi. Verizon said that users will be able to initiate both voice and video calls over Wi-Fi, and that calls started on their LTE network would handover to known Wi-Fi hotspots when available.
Verizon said that all Wi-Fi calls made to U.S. numbers are free, and that calls made to international numbers will be billed at international long distance rates.
In late October, Verizon had requested a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to implement Voice over Wi-Fi that doesn’t follow the same accessibility requirements for people with hearing issues; AT&T had requested a similar waiver earlier in the year. That request was granted, with the same waiver timeframe granted to AT&T; it ends in December 2017. In November, Cellular South made the same request and the Competitive Carrier Association also asked for waivers on behalf of its members, saying that “it is not currently achievable or readily achievable to provide IP-based LTE and Wi-Fi-based mobile wireless services that are compatible with a text telephone [TTY] device.”
Cisco has predicted that VoWi-Fi could see rapid uptake, concluding that “VoWi-Fi not only can extend the reach of MNOs by enabling them to deliver a cost-effective, scalable, and quality solution for delivering in building coverage, where cellular coverage might be sketchy, but also can help them battle the erosion of revenue from over-the-top providers’ (OTTPs’) VoIP offers.”
Cisco’s numbers predict that VoWi-Fi will surpass VoLTE by 2018, in terms of minutes of use.
