availability of VoLTE

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daringpeter

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#279552 22-Oct-2020 19:01

I am posting this in the hope that someone will know the answer. I have a mobile boasting that it is 4G. Great, I thought, I will be able to use it in places served only by the RCG. Not so. To be used in 4G (only) coverage areas it must be VoLTE enabled. Now, all the network providers seem to be rather cute about VoLTE. It is available only (it seems) to certain mobiles, and then only if your plan allows it (eg Skinny doesn't, despite using Spark's network). Why is this? What is so special about VoLTE? All the 'suitable' mobiles, and plans seem to be mid-to-high end ones- is VoLTE expensive to connect customers to? Why? I'm told (by Nokia/HMD) that “ Every device which has wi-fi and mobile network function can receive VoLTE”- is this not so?

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#2590363 22-Oct-2020 19:09

What do you mean by providers being cute?

Skinny do support VoLTE.

Here's the process for getting a device to work

daringpeter

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#2590414 22-Oct-2020 20:24

Look,

If I bought say a 3G handset a couple of years ago I could use it out of the package('3.5g').

- why is 4G any different? I know Skinny offer VoLTE. they tell me that this is to selected rural customers, a sop to the taxpayer funded billion dollar RCG. What is so special about VoLTE? Please tell me. Of course, if you know.

RunningMan

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#2590468 22-Oct-2020 21:01

daringpeter: I know Skinny offer VoLTE. they tell me that this is to selected rural customers, a sop to the taxpayer funded billion dollar RCG.

Not just to rural customers. As per the link above, each handset needs to be certified with the network. It is handset dependant, not location dependant. https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=275959&page_no=1#2571809

daringpeter:What is so special about VoLTE? Please tell me. Of course, if you know.

As per the link above, each handset needs to be certified with the network. It is because 4G doesn't support circuit switched voice like 3G does, only packet switched. Think of it like VoIP for mobile if that's easier, both the handset and the provider need the right software at each end to reliably communicate.

DjShadow

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#2590469 22-Oct-2020 21:02

daringpeter:

Look,

If I bought say a 3G handset a couple of years ago I could use it out of the package('3.5g').

- why is 4G any different? I know Skinny offer VoLTE. they tell me that this is to selected rural customers, a sop to the taxpayer funded billion dollar RCG. What is so special about VoLTE? Please tell me. Of course, if you know.

Its needed as some sites like most of the RCG ones are 4G only so you need VoLTE to be able to place and receive Voice Calls, also in the coming years carriers will be looking at phasing out 3G.

Other big advantage of VoLTE is better call sound quality.

Both Spark and Vodafone have VoLTE enabled on all their towers, 2degrees are still in the process of implementing VoLTE but has it on the RCG sites.

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#2590471 22-Oct-2020 21:13

Only RCG sites on main highways have 3G fall back for CS voice calls

Having a handset that supports Wi-Fi has really zero to do with VoLTE yes Wi-Fi calling can hand off to VoLTE in a perfect world so the VoLTE Voice call does not drop

Not all 4G handsets support VoLTE

daringpeter

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#2590755 23-Oct-2020 13:42

Thanks guys. I guess I should have realised that VoLTE would have implications like VoIP...but I still think that providers are retarding things for some unrevealed reason.

I am tempted to start another topic (although I won't). Am I the only person left standing who thinks that a mobile handset should primarily be a telephone? Not a surrogate for the PC at home/work, but like an old fashioned POTS device..straight out of the box.

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richms

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#2590756 23-Oct-2020 13:44

daringpeter:

Thanks guys. I guess I should have realised that VoLTE would have implications like VoIP...but I still think that providers are retarding things for some unrevealed reason.

I am tempted to start another topic (although I won't). Am I the only person left standing who thinks that a mobile handset should primarily be a telephone? Not a surrogate for the PC at home/work, but like an old fashioned POTS device..straight out of the box.

Yeah you are I think. I still find it amazing that there is no toggle to turn off voice calls on phones. And how I am forced to use their very primitive messaging app called "sms" to interact with the provider just because I am buying a mobile data connection from them. In fact that SMS app is so broken that just enabling VoLTE on my phone will break it from working.

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#2590758 23-Oct-2020 13:48

daringpeter:

Thanks guys. I guess I should have realised that VoLTE would have implications like VoIP...but I still think that providers are retarding things for some unrevealed reason.

You should apply Hanlon's Razor. There's no malice. It's just hard. Take Vodafone and Huawei for example. They have just a couple of weeks ago approved VoLTE for Huawei devices on the Vodafone network - and it is still not working completely fine (at home my device shows VoLTE service on and off). The same device on Spark network shows a solid VoLTE icon. The reason, I was told, was an incompatibility on the Vodafone network.

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ripdog

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#2590836 23-Oct-2020 15:02

Why is VoLTE such a mess?

Hell, why aren't the standards enough? Why do telcos need to certify devices/brands? Why is spark using a different standard/configuration to vodafone? The entire point of having standards is to ensure that *none of this rubbish is necessary*, no?

richms

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#2590857 23-Oct-2020 15:29

ripdog:

Why is VoLTE such a mess?

Hell, why aren't the standards enough? Why do telcos need to certify devices/brands? Why is spark using a different standard/configuration to vodafone? The entire point of having standards is to ensure that *none of this rubbish is necessary*, no?

Its almost as crazy as how they will only update phones once they have approved the updates, so people are wandering around with an old android version vulnerable to who knows what just because the telcos want to meddle with that. Its as absurd as them having to approve windows updates before you get them just because you happen to have bought a PC thru them.

All this stuff should just work. It should be up to the standards makers to make a standard that the telcos have to follow to have it work, not mess around with client devices to have them compatible with various broken in different way implimentations that different telcos produce.

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#2590911 23-Oct-2020 17:36

richms:

All this stuff should just work. It should be up to the standards makers to make a standard that the telcos have to follow to have it work, not mess around with client devices to have them compatible with various broken in different way implimentations that different telcos produce.

Agreed. my phone supports both volte and wifi calling, but, will never be supported in NZ as it was not sold by one of the NZ networks. Having proper standards and adhering to them should be enough to enable this functionality. Don't think that is ever going to happen though.

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daringpeter

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#2590945 23-Oct-2020 18:57

I agree absolutely that this VoLTE is a mess! Compared it to VoIP, provided we both use the same software I can talk to my mate without approval from our ISP or anyone. What is so different about VoLTE?

Thought. if I had a gateway connected to the PSTN I could make voice calls from my mobile anywhere using VoIP, forget VoLTE. just use 'data'...and it will work through 4G sites which afaik happily handle 'data' from my phone (if you can call the device that....). Weird.

chevrolux

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#2590955 23-Oct-2020 19:13

"VoIP" is very much not the thing to use as an example of a completely ubiquitous, compatible communications method. Like you said yourself, "provided we both use the same software".

SIP as a standard, sure. But there are sooooo many different VoIP applications around that don't interconnect its not funny. Even tier 1 telcos haven't got SIP interconnects in place.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2590957 23-Oct-2020 19:16

The same software, sure. The software at both the telcos (once they install it) and on your phone probably both work fine.

The issue, as with VOIP, is getting the 200 settings on each side lined up, given that the user expects to be able to just check the box and have it work.

ripdog

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#2591042 23-Oct-2020 21:48

Surely the mess that is SIP was already known when VoLTE was being designed. Surely the spec would have been designed to reduce the number of configurable knobs in the software. Surely the spec would have been designed with autoconfiguration for the knobs which were available. Surely, right?

I mean somehow I can stuff a SIM from basically any telco into my phone and it will work. A mobile network is dramatically more complex and subject to varying physical conditions than a VOIP system running on that network. There's no excuse for this rubbish. The fact that I can download whatsapp and make a call to any other whatsapp user immediately with no configuration shows how solvable this problem is.

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