Idea launches VoLTE services in thirty cities, currently available only for its employees

Idea launches VoLTE services in thirty cities, currently available only for its employees

Telecom service provider Idea Cellular on Wednesday said that the company will launch its Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) services for its employees from March 1 in 30 cities. "Idea VoLTE services will be launched in over 30 cities across four circles...in the first half of March," the company said in a statement.

The Kumar Mangalam Birla owned telecom operator on Wednesday said VoLTE services will be launched in over 30 cities across 4 circles including the key cities of Kochi, Trivandrum, Calicut, Pune, Goa, Nashik, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Hyderabad among others, in the first half of the month. 

"Idea plans to cover all 20 4G circles with VoLTE services by the end of April 2018," it said. "Huawei has already released Over-the-Air (OTA) update for select devices, while One Plus and Xiaomi will be releasing it soon, enabling their users to experience Idea VoLTE," it added. The company said it is partnering with several handset manufacturers to ensure availability of Idea VoLTE capable devices in the market, prior to the commercial launch.

Competition from Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio), that uses VoLTE as a platform has forced incumbents to move towards this technology that offers more clarity on voice through high defini ..