What is Volte?

Surely one of the readers has already seen or heard the phrase VoLTE. Let's see what it hides under itself and how relevant today in Russia.

VoLTE - what is it?

VoLTE has a simple definition - it is a technology for voice transmission in LTE networks (the second name is 4G). Accordingly, it is available only on smartphones with 4G support. Based on VoLTE's IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). Its innovation is that the technology allows telecom operators to provide voice services, delivering them from the addressee to the addressee in the form of a data stream in LTE networks, which becomes the reason for its greater capacity and higher quality than when making a call using 2G or 3G.

VoLTE translation is fully consistent with the definition. The combination of letters means Voice over LTE, which translates from English as "voice over LTE."

The technology is not super new - it was presented by Singapore-based SingTel in May 2014. Initially, VoLTE supported only one gadget - Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Since 2015, telecom operators around the world, including Russian ones, have become actively interested in technology.

Technology benefits

Answering the question: “VoLTE - what is this?”, We will touch on the most important advantages of the invention:

1. Each call to the subscriber will be 2 seconds shorter - that is how much it takes to switch the smartphone from 4G to 3G mode when making a call to the recipient. Now the gadget does not need to do such manipulation.
2. Improving the quality of communication, minimizing interference, voice distortion.
3. While subscribers are talking using LTE VoLTE, their gadgets can transmit data at a maximum speed of 4G - as you remember, devices now have no need to "get down" to 3G.
4. An increase in the number of subscribers who will be able to simultaneously communicate with one tower - the base station. This advantage, so far seen only by telecom operators, subscribers will remember with a good word on New Year and other holidays - many are faced with the fact that they can’t get through to the chiming clock to relatives and friends just because of the exorbitant load on the aforementioned tower. Now, in the VoLTE era, a base station can support three times as many subscribers.

Disadvantages of VoLTE

Le VoLTE has a couple of disadvantages, which are also important to note:

1. The new technology implies a slightly greater load on the smartphone, as a result of which it will discharge a little faster during a conversation.
2. LTE towers are mainly installed in cities and large settlements. Therefore, on the highway, on nature and recreation facilities, in villages, etc., communication may be lost. To reach a specific subscriber, the user will have to manually switch his smartphone to 3G or even EDGE, GPRS - to a mode that is supported in the area. It is possible that the developers of gadgets will soon "teach" their devices to perform this action automatically if necessary.

VoLTE in Russia

In Russia, a new technology today is in the following status:

• The large Russian operator Megafon provides VoLTE technology to its subscribers living in Moscow and the Moscow Region. It is available not to all owners of gadgets that support 4G, but only to those who have some models of iPnone, Sony and several other manufacturers. The “Call in 4G” service (also called “HD-voice in 4G”) is automatically activated for them. If this does not happen, then you should seek help by calling the service support numbers.
• In Beeline, VoLTE is available to subscribers connected to tariffs with a post-pay system. It is provided only on certain models of gadgets - their list can be found on the official website of the company. You can try out the new technology by contacting the Beeline subscription service.
• MTS provides its subscribers with a similar service - VoWiFi / VoWLAN (Wi-Fi calling). Owners of the latest Samsung Galaxy models (A5-2016, J5 Prime, S7, S7 Edge, S8, S8 +), as well as Sony Xperia XZs can enjoy it.
• Tele2, a Moscow telecom operator, has also made available a call using VoLTE technology. However, he did it selectively - so far only for owners of devices released directly by Tele2: Midi LTE, Maxi LTE, Maxi Plus. It’s easy to activate the service with this operator - just dial the command * 219 * 1 #. Some users were able to manually configure voice transmission on their phones running on MTK chipsets. The operator also provides its subscribers with VoWiFi / VoWLAN. To make a call using this technology, the user should download a special application.

Let us examine in more detail the innovation on the example of a number of telecom operators.

VoLTE and Megaphone

The first in Russia to get an answer to the question: "VoLTE - what is this?" MegaFon subscribers could. In September 2016, owners of Sony Xperia (X, X Compact, X Performance, XZ) began to use innovative technology.

In April 2017, it was the turn of the owners of the latest iPhones, on whose phones the OS update was installed no later than 10.3.1. The service is provided by default for free to subscribers of the entire line of megaphone tariff plans.

VoLTE technology for regional MTS subscribers

If Beeline, Megafon and Tele2 have not yet announced that they plan access to their VoLTE regions in their networks, then MTS shares news about the prospects for a much larger launch of the technology. Already in 2017, testing of the invention is expected in several regions of Russia: St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok. Their residents will soon try on themselves what it is - VoLTE.

As already mentioned, the operator made Wi-Fi Calling technology available to subscribers in the capital and the Moscow Region. This happened in November 2016 - the technology was open only to the owners of a limited number of Samsung and Sony models. Today, the operator plans to expand a number of supporting devices to include phones from manufacturers such as Asus, Alcatel, HTC, LeEco, ZTE. Their owners will also soon learn about VoLTE: what it is and with what it is “eaten”.

The situation with the iPhone is ambiguous - the latest models of such devices support VoLTE by default, but work in the networks of the mobile operator only after giving MTS direct permission from Apple.

VoLTE on iPhone

Today, the technology mentioned is available to owners of iPhone 6 and newer. We will tell you how to make detailed VoLTE settings on these phones:

1. Go to the "General" section in the phone settings, find the "Software Update" item. Once in it, make sure your iOS version is higher than 10.3. Otherwise, update the system.
2. After these manipulations in the same basic settings, find the "About device" tab, then - information about the operator. Supports VoLTE version of the operator no lower than 28.3 (for "Megaphone", "Beeline"). If possible, upgrade it to this level.
3. The next item will be a reboot of the gadget.
4. After the reboot, you should re-enter "Settings" - "Cellular". In the "Data Options" in the "Voice and Data" tab, check the box for LTE.
5. Restart your iPhone again.
6. When the mobile Internet is on (make sure that you are in the 4G - LTE coverage area), make a call to another subscriber. If the LTE icon does not disappear while the Internet is working properly, then at the moment you have tried the new Voice over LTE technology.

VoLTE is the latest voice technology in modern smartphones with 4G support - the fastest current Internet connection from mobile operators. The invention allows not only to improve communication quality and connection speed, but also to increase the capabilities of base stations of telecom operators.