DHAKA, Jan 15, 2019 (BSS) – With a view to offering high definition voice service alongside the fastest data, mobile network operators (MNOs) in Bangladesh are taking preparation to introduce VoLTE (Voice over Long Term Evolution) service.
Once the VoLTE service is introduced, the mobile phone users in the country would enjoy lower call drop, longer smartphone battery life, ultra HD clear calling experience and less call establishment time, said officials of MNOs.
As part of the efforts, Robi as the first mobile network operator is going to unveil the non-commercial trial of cutting-edge technology-VoLTE tomorrow at its office in partnership with a renowned technology and equipment vendor.
Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar is scheduled to witness the demonstration as chief guest.
Talking to BSS today, Mustafa Jabbar said the government would allow anyone who is willing to introduce new technology for the betterment of people.
“When the VoLTE would be introduced, people must get benefit from it,” said the minister, adding that the MNOs have already given permission to deploy such type of technology in their license.
Replying to a query, he said they are mulling to introduce VoLTE in state-owned operator Teletalk as “we could not roll out 4G service expectedly”.
Singapore is the pioneer in introducing this technology in May, 2014 commercially.
Robi officials said they will run a pilot to introduce the service for the first time in Bangladesh. Its Managing Director and CEO Mahtab Uddin Ahmed would reveal the details of their scheme on VoLTE technology tomorrow at Robi office.
Robi’s head of corporate and regulatory affairs Shahed Alam told BSS today that VoLTE is the next stage of 4G where the users would experience HD quality voice service alongside faster internet.
“We hope mobile phone users would witness a different type of experience after the commercial launch of VoLTE,” added Alam.
Experts said the big advantage of VoLTE is that call quality is superior to 3G or 2G connections as far more data can be transferred over 4G than 2G or 3G. Up to three times as much data as 3G and up to six times as much as 2G to be precise, making it easier to make out not only what the person on the other end of the line is saying, but also their tone of voice.
Besides, VoLTE can connect calls up to twice as fast as the current methods and as 2G and 3G connections. In addition, a user who currently uses 4G could also find the battery life increased with VoLTE, as without it whenever you make or receive a call your phone has to switch from 4G to 2G or 3G, since 4G calls aren’t supported and then once the call is finished it switches back again. All that switching, plus the need to search for a different signal each time, can give the battery a significant hit.