Vodafone became the first operator to launch two of the most prominent voice services, VoLTE and WiFi Calling in Czech Republic. The Operator which has 4G LTE coverage across nearly 97% of the population aims to provide better service and improve mobile coverage in not spots, such as in basements and concrete buildings.
The VoLTE service will enable Vodafone to offer high-definition (HD) voice and simultaneous surfing over its 4G LTE networks, as well as richer communication services experiences, such as video calling over LTE. At the same time, Wi-Fi calling enables users to make a regular phone call via WiFi using the phone's dialer, enabling users with smartphones supporting the functionality to simply use WiFi to make voice calls natively on their phones. For users with smartphones that do not support native Wi-Fi calling, a special Vodafone app can be downloaded and configured to make calls over Wi-Fi connectivity.
For the launch of the service, the Operator has chosen Ericsson as the supplier for a full-scale upgrade of the operator's core network which involves Ericsson supplying a range of network equipments including the Ericsson IP Multimedia Subsystem (with Call Session Control Function, Multimedia Telephony Application Server, and Session Border Gateway) and Ericsson Wi-Fi Mobility Gateway, User Data Consolidation and related professional services.
Petr Dvořák, Vice President for end customers at Vodafone
Vodafone will be the first operator in the Czech Republic to offer on a massive scale such calling services going beyond cellular coverage calls.
Valter D’Avino, Head of Region Western & Central Europe, Ericsson
With this solution Vodafone Czech Republic will be able to utilize one efficient core network to enable several communication services.
