Airtel launches VoLTE service in Mumbai, to launch in other cities soon

Market leader Bharti Airtel Monday launched calling services over the Voice over LTE (VoLTE)technology in Mumbai.

“Airtel VoLTE, which works over 4G, will offer customers HD quality voice calls along with faster call set up time,” the Gurgaon-based telco in a statement said.

Airtel subscribers can get VoLTE service on their 4G-LTE enabled mobile devices, and according to the company, there will be no additional data charges for VoLTE and calls will be billed as per existing plan or packs benefits.

Sunil Mittal-driven company has also deployed 4G Advanced Carrier Aggregation technology in Mumbai that enables data speeds of up to 135 Mbps by combining spectrum capacities in the 2300 Mhz (TD LTE) and 1800 Mhz (FD LTE).

In case of non-availability of 4G in the area, Airtel VoLTE calls would automatically fall back on 3G or 2G network to ensure seamless connectivity for consumers.

“Airtel VoLTE will also allow customers to continue with their data sessions at 4G speeds while the call is in progress,” the telco in a statement claimed.

“This (VoLTE launch) is a significant milestone in Airtel’s network transformation journey under Project Leap,” Abhay Savargaonkar, Director – Networks, Bharti Airtel said.

“We believe it’s the right time to enable VoLTE calling as part of our service portfolio. Over the next few months, we will rapidly accelerate the deployment of VoLTE to cover all key geographies to bring HD quality calling to our customers,” Savargaonkar added.

In November 2015, Airtel launched the ‘Project Leap,‘ which is the company’s network transformation program to build a future-ready network pan-India at a spend of Rs. 60,000 crores for three years.