Idea to launch VoLTE in some markets from March 1

MUMBAI: Idea Cellular, will launch its Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services for employees, in select markets starting from March 1.The Kumar Mangalam Birla owned telecom operator on Wednesday said VoLTE services will be launched in over 30 cities across 4 circles including the key cities of Kochi, Trivandrum, Calicut, Pune, Goa, Nashik, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Hyderabad among others, in the first half of the month. Competition from Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio), that uses VoLTE as a platform has forced incumbents to move towards this technology that offers more clarity on voice through high definition calling, using the same network used for carrying data. While Vodafone has launched its VoLTE services in Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat this January, Bharti Airtel launched its VoLTE services last year onwards across many states. "Idea plans to cover all 20 4G circles with VoLTE services by the end of April," said the telco in its statement. Launched in phases, the services will be initially for employees of the company and will be accessible on 4G handsets. Idea Cellular said it is partnering with several handset manufacturers to ensure availability of Idea VoLTE capable devices in the market, prior to the commercial launch. In Phase 1 of launch, Idea’s VoLTE services will be rolled out in 4 circles in the first half of March ’18, namely Maharashtra & Goa, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh & Telangana. Commercial services will be launched progressively, on a circle by circle basis, said the operator.

from The Economic Times http://ift.tt/2BYnoJ5