As expected, Airtel has officially launched its Voice over LTE service in India, kicking off its journey from Mumbai. It’ll eventually spread the feature’s reach across the country over the course of the next few months.
Anyone with an Airtel 4G SIM card and VoLTE-ready handset will be able to make VoLTE calls at no additional data charges. The company’s touting 3 main advantages. First, it claims the HD technology will make way for clear conversations. Second, calls will apparently connect 3 times faster. Third, it’ll now be possible to call someone without interrupting a 4G internet browsing session.
In case there’s no 4G connectivity to be had, VoLTE calls will fall back to 3G/2G networks. Airtel’s asking customers interested in VoLTE to visit its dedicated website on the subject. There’s a list of compatible smartphones listed, ranging from the iPhone 7 to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4.
Airtel’s been actively testing and certifying popular devices for VoLTE compatibility and plans to add more to the list. It’s also important for the consumer themselves to upgrade their phone’s OS to make sure they have the version that supports VoLTE.
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All eyes will be on Reliance Jio now to see how it responds to Airtel’s launch. The former has been the only provider of VoLTE services in India for over a year. Its position could be threatened since the biggest carrier in the country has entered the scene, retaining existing customers and attracting new ones.