Last year, Indian telecom companies launched a service that largely went unnoticed. Struggling with connection quality and call drops, some operators rolled out voice over WiFi features. While voice over LTE (VoLTE) was made famous by Reliance Jio for high definition calls, looking at heavy traffic and poor connection ranges almost all major telcos have been rolling out voice over wifi, to aid users at places where signal strengths are weak.
What is Voice over WiFi calling and how does it work?
The concept of WiFI calling is not something alien to most people. Anyone who has ever made a WhatsApp call knows what VoWiF is. But to understand VoWiFi, it is important to understand how VoLTE works. VoLTE uses data flows in order to deliver better quality than the circuit lines. It also uses lesser bandwidth than some unoptimised VoIP services. VoWiFi calling improves upon this by allowing a more optimised packet transfer than most social calling apps. As the service is dependent on WiFi, it also dilutes the issue of network strength.
Does any network in India support VoWiFi calling?
The first network in India to support VoWiFi was BSNL, which offered this under a plan called Wings. But at the time BSNL was charging a `1,099 service fee for unlimited calls across networks. This was followed by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel offering services. These companies have not imposed any charge for this. Vodafone Idea is yet to launch the service. Even Bharti Airtel and Jio only offer this in select circles.
Is there a particular phone that is required for VoWiFi and how can one activate it?
Most phones that come equipped with VoLTE, also come equipped with VoWiFi feature. Even some of the entry level smartphones that have VoLTE feature have VoWiFi facility. But, more than the phone, it depends on your network operator. So, you need to check if your network operator has enabled this facility on your phone. For instance, for iPhone users need to visit centres to activate VoLTE. Jio allows such calling on Google Pixel 3a, but Airtel does not. If you do have the service, then iPhone users need to go to settings, then mobile data tab and activate service. Android users can go to sim card, mobile and network or wifi preferences and activate this feature.
Techsplained @FE features weekly on Mondays. If you wish to send in queries that you want explained, mail us at ishaan.gera@expressindia.com
