OTT services that provide communication over Wi‑Fi where cellular coverage is weak—such as Skype and WhatsApp—have long been essential for travelers in remote areas. Now those services are becoming less critical: the UK’s largest mobile operator, EE, has announced that from autumn 2014 customers will be able to make calls and send texts over Wi‑Fi using their existing plans.
This Wi‑Fi calling capability delivers three key benefits. First, it enables high‑quality voice calls in locations where cellular reception is patchy or non‑existent. Second, customers can be reached on the same phone numbers they already use, so there’s no need to share alternative contact details. Third, calls and messages work through the handset’s native dialer and messaging apps, offering a familiar, seamless experience.
Using Wi‑Fi for voice and messaging also helps free up mobile network capacity. Carriers typically apply traffic management policies to handle heavy demand and preserve a baseline quality of service, especially during large gatherings like music festivals where many users compete for limited bandwidth. Offloading voice and messaging to Wi‑Fi relieves pressure on the mobile network and helps operators cope with not only a growing number of subscribers but also increasingly bandwidth‑intensive use cases such as HD video streaming and online gaming.
EE says its Wi‑Fi calling service will deliver better call quality and reliability than many existing internet calling apps. Fotis Karonis, EE’s CTO, explained: “Our Wi‑Fi calling capability will let customers make calls where they have access to Wi‑Fi but not to the mobile network. The customer experience is seamless because it’s the same as making a network call and uses the normal call interface of the handset.”
To improve coverage intelligence, EE’s MyEE app detects when a device enters an area with no reception and reports that information back to the network. This helps EE identify locations where users cannot access the service they expect, allowing the operator to target new site builds and upgrades more effectively to support the more than 900 million calls made weekly on its network.
EE is also investing substantially in network improvements. The operator has committed £275 million this year to upgrade 2G sites with modern equipment—6,000 sites have already been enhanced—to ensure core voice services remain widely available. A further £275 million is planned for 2014. Beyond 2G upgrades, EE is deploying newer technologies such as VoLTE (Voice over LTE). VoLTE running on the 800 MHz band offers broader coverage than services on the 1,800 MHz band and delivers significantly improved call quality. HD Voice is already available to customers using compatible devices on EE’s 3G network.
EE’s Wi‑Fi calling rollout aims to combine the convenience of native handset calling with the resilience and capacity benefits of Wi‑Fi, reducing reliance on third‑party apps while improving the overall user experience in weak‑signal areas. As operators and device manufacturers continue to adopt standards for Wi‑Fi calling and VoLTE, customers can expect clearer calls, simpler workflows, and more consistent connectivity, whether they’re at home, at work, or in places where mobile reception is limited.
What do you think about EE’s Wi‑Fi offloading announcement? Let us know in the comments.