Airtel to roll out VoLTE services from next week: Report

After Reliance Jio, the first telecom operator to offer Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services on its 4G network, rival Airtel has now decided to jump on the VoLTE bandwagon as well. According to a source cited by the Economic Times, Bharati Airtel is all geared up to launch its own VoLTE service that is set to roll out from early next week.[caption id="attachment_4022925" align="alignleft" width="380"]

An Airtel store. Reuters[/caption]VoLTE or Voice over LTE is a technology which basically routes calls through a data network instead of switching to a voice network when a subscriber places a call. To a customer, VoLTE allows for better clarity or even HD voice calls thanks to the data network.When rolled out, Airtel will become one of the first of the incumbent telecom operators to offer VoLTE services.According to the ET report,  Airtel's VoLTE services will first be rolled out to customers in Mumbai and then Kolkata. After this the VoLTE services will be expanded to other metro cities.Customers will get to know of the availability of VoLTE services by SMS, and can activate the VoLTE calls soon after.As for the devices, the report claims that manufacturers will roll out software updates to enable VoLTE support.Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd