Idea Cellular has become the fourth telecom operator in the country to launch Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) service. The Idea 4G VoLTE services will be initially available only to its own employee (not for general public yet) starting 1st March 2018.
The “Soft launch” from Idea Cellular will only be available in limited telecom circles. That’s limited to 30 Indian cities across four telecom circles. The key cities where Idea 4G VoLTE will be available include Kochi, Trivandrum, Calicut, Pune, Goa, Nashik, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Hyderabad among others. The telecom operator plans to cover all twenty 4G telecom circles with VoLTE services by the end of April 2018.
Idea 4G VoLTE services will offer high-quality, crystal clear HD voice calling. Also, the call connecting time will be drastically reduced. The best part, you could use high-speed un-interrupted internet while using voice service. The telecom operator will also automatically route voice calls through 3G or 2G network when customers move out of 4G coverage area, thus ensuring continuous call connectivity.
Most of the popular 4G VoLTE support handsets will support Idea 4G VoLTE service. The telecom operator is also partnering with mobile vendors to ensure the availability of Idea VoLTE capable devices in the market before the actual commercial launch. Huawei has already released an OTA for its smartphones to support Idea 4G VoLTE. Other major mobile vendors Xiaomi, OnePlus and Samsung will also be releasing software update to make their existing devices Idea 4G VoLTE capable.
In the first phase, Idea VoLTE services will be available in four telecom circles by the first half of March 2018. This includes Maharashtra and Goa, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Idea 4G VoLTE services for general public or commercial launch will happen “progressively” on a circle-by-circle basis.