What is VoLTE

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1. What are the benefits of VoLTE?
   
   
   Superior call quality –  The big advantage of VoLTE is that call quality is superior to 3G or 2G connections as far more data can be transferred over 4G than 2G or 3G. Up to three times as much data as 3G and up to six times as much as 2G to be precise, making it easier to make out not only what the person on the other end of the line is saying, but also their tone of voice. Essentially it’s an HD voice call and it’s a much richer experience over all.The Voice over LTE, VoLTE scheme was devised as a result of operators seeking a standardised system for transferring traffic for voice over LTE.
   
   
   Improved coverage and connectivity – VoLTE can connect calls up to twice as fast as the current methods and as 2G and 3G connections will still be available when there’s no 4G signal it simply means that there’s greater mobile coverage overall, as currently places with a 4G signal but no 2G or 3G means that one you can’t make or receive calls.
    
   
   1. Originally LTE was seen as a completely IP cellular system just for carrying data, and operators would be able to carry voice either by reverting to 2G / 3G systems or by using VoIP in one form or another.
      When looking at the options for ways of carrying voice over the LTE system, a number of possible solutions were investigated. A number of alliances were set up to promote different ways of providing the service.
      You might think that would be a rare occurrence, but some of the frequencies that 4G operates on, such as the 800MHz spectrum, have far greater reach than 2G or 3G spectrum, so you’ll be able to get signal further away from a mast or in buildings which other signals struggle to penetrate. Indeed, Three is fully relying on its 800MHz spectrum for VoLTE calls.
      
      
      However, while 2G and 3G services would likely remain they wouldn’t be as necessary as they are now and much of the spectrum used for 2G in particular could potentially be repurposed to increase capacity on 4G networks.   
      Better battery life
      anyone who currently uses 4G could also find their battery life increased with VoLTE, as right now whenever you make or receive a call your phone has to switch from 4G to 2G or 3G, since 4G calls aren’t supported (other than on Three Super-Voice) and then once the call is finished it switches back again.
      
      
      
      
      
      
      Video calling – It’s also theoretically possible to make video calls over 4G, much like a Skype call except you’d just use your mobile number and be able to use the regular dialler and call interface, so you can make and receive video calls from anyone else with VoLTE, rather than relying on separate accounts.
      
      
      In fact you may have noticed that Skype and other existing video calls services often seem to have superior audio quality to voice calls. That’s because like VoLTE they use more data as part of a similarly named VoIP system, so you can expect your voice calls to start sounding more like Skype calls, but they won’t hit your battery life as much as Skype does.
      
      
      Not only could video calls become native to the dialler, but other Rich Communication Services (or RCS’s) could as well, such as file transferring, real time language translation and video voicemail and there may be applications which haven’t even been thought up yet.
      
      
      As VoLTE is tied to data it could also mean that you won’t have to worry about how many minutes you use, as everything will fall under data use.
      
      
      Limitations:
      there are a few, Depending on how the networks set it up there also may or may not be network interoperability at first, so it’s possible that initially you may only be able to use VoLTE to call people on the same network as you. VoLTE also potentially requires both participants on the call to have 4G coverage. As that’s not yet as widespread as 2G and 3G it means that VoLTE calls won’t always be available and if someone moves out of 4G coverage during the call there’s a chance that the call will be dropped.

4GLTE?

What is 3G?

When 3G networks started rolling out, they replaced the 2G system, a network protocol that only allowed the most basic of what we would now call smartphone functionality. Most 2G networks handled phone calls, basic text messaging, and small amounts of data over a protocol called MMS. With the introduction of 3G connectivity, a number of larger data formats became much more accessible, including standard HTML pages, videos, and music. The speeds were still pretty slow, and mostly required pages and data specially formatted for these slower wireless connections. By 2G standards, the new protocol was speedy, but still didn’t come anywhere close to replacing a home broadband connection.

What is4G?

The ITU-R set standards for 4G connectivity in March of 2008, requiring all services described as 4G to adhere to a set of speed and connection standards. For mobile use, including smartphones and tablets, connection speeds need to have a peak of at least 100 megabits per second, and for more stationary uses such as mobile hotspots, at least 1 gigabit per second.

When these standards were announced, these speeds were unheard of in the practical world, because they were intended as a target for technology developers, a point in the future that marked a significant jump over the current technology. Over time, the systems that power these networks have caught up, not just in the sense that new broadcasting methods have found their way into products, but the previously-established 3G networks have been improved to the point that they can be classified as 4G.

What is LTE?

LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, and isn’t as much a technology as it is the path followed to achieve 4G speeds. As it stands, most of the time when your phone displays the “4G” symbol in the upper right corner, it doesn’t really mean it. When the ITU-R set the minimum speeds for 4G, they were a bit unreachable, despite the amount of money tech manufacturers put into achieving them. In response, the regulating body decided that LTE, the name given to the technology used in pursuit of those standards, could be labeled as 4G if it provided a substantial improvement over the 3G technology.

Immediately networks began advertising their connections as 4G LTE, a marketing technique that allowed them to claim next-gen connectivity without having to reach the actual required number first; it would be like the U.S. claiming they had landed on the moon because they got pretty close and the spaceship that got them there was a lot better than the previous ship. It’s not entirely trickery though, despite inconsistent speeds depending on location and network, the difference between 3G and 4G is immediately noticeable.

Speed

So the real question is, can you feel a difference between 4G and LTE networks? Is the speed of loading a page or downloading an app on your handheld a lot faster if you have LTE technology built in? Probably not. While the difference between slower 3G networks and new 4G or LTE networks is certainly noticeably faster, most of the 4G and “true 4G” networks have upload and download speeds that are almost identical. For now, LTE is the fastest connection available for wireless networks.

Creating 4G connectivity requires two components: a network that can support the necessary speeds, and a device that is able to connect to that network and download information at high enough speed. Just because a phone has 4G LTE connectivity inside doesn’t mean you can get the speeds you want, in the same way that buying a car that can drive 200 MPH doesn’t mean you can go that fast on a 55 MPH freeway.

Before carriers were able to truly offer LTE speeds in major areas, they were selling phones that had the capabilities they would need to reach the desired speeds, and afterwards started rolling out the service on a limited scale. Now that LTE service is fairly widespread, this isn’t as much of a problem, but if you don’t live in a major metropolitan area it’s worth checking to make sure you actually need LTE service where you live and work. With the rise in popularity, it’s uncommon for a provider to charge less if you aren’t utilizing the LTE speeds on a regular basis, but you can save money by picking up an older generation smartphone with only 3G or 4G connectivity.