Airtel VoLTE services launched in India, first place to get it is Mumbai

Airtel today announced that it will start providing its VoLTE (Voice Over LTE)services to its customers. The roll-out has started for Mumbai, and will provide the customers with the facility of making HD quality voice calls, the company also says that it will now have a much faster call set up time.

This has made Airtel become the second brand in India to provide VoLTE services after Reliance Jio which was launched during the previous year. To avail this service the users will have to have a phone which has 4G VoLTE enabled. The customers can call on any mobile or landline without getting charged extra for any of the additional data used to make the calls.

To make the transition seamless Airtel will switch the calls back to 2G/3G if and when there isn't any 4G network available. Interestingly, the company will allow users to continue with their data sessions at 4G speeds while the call is in progress.

“This is a significant milestone in Airtel’s network transformation journey under Project Leap. Airtel has built a world-class 4G network across India and with the VoLTE compatible device ecosystem beginning to mature, 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. We keenly look forward to our device partners enabling Airtel VoLTE on their smartphones,”

said, Abhay Savargaonkar, Director – Networks, Bharti Airtel.

How to get Airtel VoLTE

1. Check mobile device compatibility at www.airtel.in/volte. Airtel has tested and certified popular device models for VoLTE compatibility. More models will keep getting added to this list.
2. Upgrade the mobile device’s operating software to the latest version that supports VoLTE. This update is provided by the handset manufacturer.
3. Ensure the device has an Airtel 4G SIM. Customers can upgrade to the 4G SIM by visiting the nearest Airtel store.
4. Enable VoLTE by following instructions on www.airtel.in/volte.

The company has informed us that to use VoLTE services in a dual SIM smartphone, the user will have to insert the SIM Card in his first slot and then mark the network mode as - 4G/3G/2G (Auto).

As for the compatibility list, Airtel VoLTE currently supports - iPhone SE / 6 / 6 plus / 6S / 6S plus / 7 / 7 plus, Samsung J700 / A800 / J2 Pro / J2 2016, Xiaomi Mi Max Prime / Redmi Note 4 / Mimax / Mi5, Gionee A1, Oppo F3 plus. 

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