If you’re not familiar with VoLTE or Voice Over LTE, it basically allows voice services carried over wireless data networks. This by itself should improve call quality and reduce LTE network congestion. VoLTE clears the way for HD voice which would allow even better voice quality. There is however, a catch… you have to have a compatible VoLTE device. Some devices are able to upgrade via a software update, while with older devices, you’re stuck with regular old LTE until you get a new device. There’s been an increasing amount of marketing noise from the various carriers over the upgrades made to their networks. These upgrades constitute the use of more spectrum; the result is an increase in capacity and speeds for everyone on the network. Wideband LTE is just another industry term for the use of multiple bands of spectrum. The other carriers have taken to creating marketing terms. Sprint touts its Spark network, which it boasts is faster and offers a wider lane for wireless traffic. Verizon recently started using the term XLTE, which uses two bands of spectrum to alleviate the congestion it was previously seeing in busy markets such as New York. T-Mobile’s announcement of voice over LTE, or VoLTE, in select markets provides a glimpse into the future of network services for all of the carriers. By moving the voice portion of wireless traffic on the more efficient LTE network, it can eventually provide better services and features on top of a typical phone call. For now, those calls are still in limited markets.
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