Smart launches VoLTE in Metro Manila

MANILA, Philippines — PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. said selected subscribers would soon enjoy better call experience as it starts the roll out of Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) service commercially.

After activating VoLTE across its LTE sites in Metro Manila, Smart said it is making the latest technology in voice calls initially available to selected Smart subscribers.

It is also making the service available soon to Smart Signature plan holders.

“We don’t just provide voice communication, we want to provide an enriching voice call experience when our subscribers talk with their family, friends, and when making business calls. Through services such as VoLTE, we are also able to maximize our available network resources, particularly for LTE,” PLDT-Smart senior vice president for network planning and engineering Mario Tamayo said.

Smart said VoLTE’s main benefit is the high-definition voice call quality, as calls made through the service are superior in quality compared to those made over 3G and 2G.

VoLTE also enables faster call setup, which means the amount of time it takes for a mobile phone to connect to another for a voice call is also drastically reduced, Smart added.

Compared to over-the-top (OTT) applications, Smart also said VoLTE guarantees that the receiver of the call is reached, unlike OTTs that require both caller and receiver to be online and on the same app.

“PLDT-Smart is always at the innovation forefront to bring the latest technologies available to our subscribers for the best customer experience,” Tamayo said.

Last year, Smart also activated VoWifi services or Wifi calling, which lets customers make and receive calls and text messages over a Wifi connection using their smartphone’s native dialer, without having to install a third-party app.

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

“These pioneering initiatives are key parts of PLDT-Smart’s integrated efforts to continuously improve and evolve our voice services. 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.