Smart makes first voice-over WiFi call outside Metro Manila

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. has made the first successful Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) call over a live network outside Metro Manila.

Smart, along with its technology partner Huawei Technologies Inc., said the VoWiFi call was made in Cebu.

VoWiFi or WiFi Calling allows customers to make and receive calls and text messages over a WiFi connection by using their smartphone’s native dialer and without having to install a third-party app.

Apart from improved calling and messaging experience, Smart said WiFi Calling offers extended network coverage, as customers can make and receive voice calls, as well as video calls, wherever there is Wifi connection.

PLDT and Smart senior vice president for network planning and engineering Mario Tamayo said the initiative is a key part of PLDT and Smart’s integrated efforts to continuously improve and evolve its voice services.

“As we invest in future-proofing our network, we are continuously innovating to add more communication options for our customers. We look forward to letting our customers make high-definition WiFi calls soon, especially via PLDT Home WiFi and Smart WiFi,” Tamayo said.

Smart said customers would soon be able to make voice over WiFi calls using VoWiFi-capable smartphones.

In April, Smart announced that it made the first successful VoWiFi call over its network

Last year, the company also made the country’s first Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) mobile call, which uses LTE or 4G to make calls.

With VoLTE, customers with VoLTE-capable devices can stay on the 4G/LTE network when making and receiving calls, which makes call set-up time in LTE faster.

“We will continue to strengthen and revolutionize our network so that we can deliver relevant services such as WiFi Calling and VoLTE, as well as voice/video over 5G in the near future,” Tamayo said.