Verizon Preparing to Launch Voice Over LTE Network in September

Tuesday August 26, 2014 10:27 am PDT by Kelly Hodgkins
Verizon today announced that it is preparing to launch its voice over LTE (VoLTE) service sometime in September, reports CNET. The new service will be available nationwide on supported phones that are connected to the carrier's LTE network.

VoLTE will provide high-definition quality voice and video calls that will significantly improve the overall calling experience. Not only will customers notice an enhancement in voice call quality, they also will be able to initiate a FaceTime-like video call right from the dialer app.
Once you experience the HD quality voice, you don't want to go back," Greg Dial, executive director of mobile services for Verizon, said in a pre-briefing and demonstration of the new service with reporters. "The tight integration of the video calling feature is also significant. You can launch it right from the dialer. There's no opening a separate app."
These new HD VoLTE calls will be considered voice calls and will count against a customer's available minutes. Video calls will be counted as data and will subtract from the customer's data allotment. There will be no extra charges for using this service, and it will be optional for customers.

vzw-volte
Verizon has not specified which phones will be updated to support its new calling service, but the iPhone may be included on this list. The current generation iPhone chipset supports this feature, and it can be enabled with a software update. Rumors have suggested that Apple has plans to support VoLTE with the launch of iOS 8 and the iPhone 6. Along with Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile have announced plans to add VoLTE to their networks in the near future.

iOS 8 will also bring a WiFi calling feature, allowing customers to place higher-quality voice calls over WiFi instead of using a cellular network. T-Mobile is the first carrier to confirm that it will support Apple's WiFi calling feature when it launches this fall along with iOS 8.

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Jack Delgado
72 months ago
If you've ever experienced a voice call over wifi, either through facetime audio or skype, you'll know how jarring it is at first being able to hear someone so clearly.

It's amazing how much we've become used to low-fidelity calls.
Rating: 27 Votes
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ElZeus
72 months ago
Their LTE video calls will require DATA + Minutes. BAWHWHAWHWHAWHAHAHAHA

We will stick with Facetime video/audio calls thank you very much. :apple:
Rating: 19 Votes
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LostMyiPhone
72 months ago
Also, look at how well-manicured that beard is! Holy cow!

Be all you can BEARD bro!
Rating: 10 Votes
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Col4bin
72 months ago
Get with it Verizon. 2007 called, they want they're on-screen design back.

That's some gross-looking GUI. Please tell me that's not from present day? (Must be Android) ;)
Rating: 10 Votes
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AppleScruff1
72 months ago

What's the point of this app? We already have FaceTime - why do we need a second-rate, Verizon-specific knockoff of it?


How does FaceTime work on Android phones?
Rating: 9 Votes
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AngerDanger
72 months ago
I feel like the makers of this screenshot missed an opportunity to show the human nuances that can be conveyed via video chat… such as eye contact:

Rating: 8 Votes
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TWSS37
72 months ago

How does FaceTime work on Android phones?


I've never understood why people get so locked into FaceTime or nothing at all when there are so many video chatting apps available like Skype, Hangouts, etc. If the argument is "well you don't need a second app, it's all a part of the Apple experience," I'd argue that Hangouts and Skype are the same thing for their respective platforms, only they can be used across all devices, including Apple.

Whatever happened to making FaceTime available for everyone, anyway? :apple:

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Why does that matter? I don't have an Android phone.


This.

When we finally all only worry about ourselves and no one else, the world will become a better place. :rolleyes:
Rating: 7 Votes
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MentalFloss
72 months ago

Why does that matter? I don't have an Android phone.


Yes, but other people do. Do you call other people or yourself?
Rating: 6 Votes
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shenan1982
72 months ago
Simultaneous voice and data.

Verizon in 2014 where AT&T\T-Mobile were in 1992. LOL
Rating: 6 Votes
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MentalFloss
72 months ago

Also, look at how well-manicured that beard is! Holy cow!

Be all you can BEARD bro!


Actually, a "manicure" refers to a cosmetic treatment of the hands or the nails, not the beard.

Yes, I was born a smartass. It's genetic.

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Yeah, I saw people video calling on their mobile devices ALL THE TIME before FaceTime came into existence. :roll eyes:


Actually, video calls have been a huge mobile phone feature in Japan for a long time. Just because you personally don't see something, it isn't non-existent. :rolleyes:

And that dude was acting like Apple invented video calling and like Verizon is knocking it off, when in fact Verizon is implementing something now that is based on 3GPP specifications from around the year 2000.
Rating: 4 Votes

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