When it comes to talking to friends and family, bad coverage and unreliable service can adversely affect call quality. This potential disaster is why you have to learn about voice over WiFi.
With countless technological breakthroughs happening daily, voice over WiFi stands out among the rest. Voice over WiFi, also dubbed VoWifi, is an emerging option for consumers and entrepreneurs who want to enjoy high-quality calls whenever they want and wherever they go. Boasting successful market reports and impressed users, there’s no denying that its application and use will multiply in the coming years.
Here’s a look at how this cost-effective and reliable service can impact your life.
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What Is Voice Over WiFi?
By now, you’ve probably heard about Voice Over WiFi on social media and the news. And if you still don’t know what it is, you’re probably very intrigued. Voice over WiFi refers to voice calls and traffic delivered through a wireless internet connection.
If you’re wondering if it is merely synonymous with Skype and other services, the answer is yes. The technology and message transfer works similarly to conferencing and messaging services, except voice over WiFi is integrated with your mobile operator. Even without software or apps such as Skype or Messenger, you can make a call through your mobile network using WiFi once you enable this function.
One of the reasons why voice over WiFi is taking over headlines is because it promises high-quality sound. Users simply need a phone number to call people. There’s no need to worry about the network of the call’s receiver.
Why Should You Try It?
You may solely rely on your mobile coverage when calling your colleagues or loved ones. If so, you may experience bad reception whenever you’re indoors. Just like WiFi, the signal of your mobile provider is dependent on the material and layout of your home or office building. For example, thick walls and windows will block the signal. There is also a possibility that you are located somewhere without a radio shade. Not only that, but the signal per room also varies, even if it’s in the same building.
If you are unsatisfied with your mobile coverage, you probably rely on two major options to call people or send them messages. These options include picocells, which cover limited areas like buildings. You may also be dependent on your WiFi or wireless internet. The advantage you gain from choosing voice over WiFi is pretty obvious since the majority of homes and office buildings are already equipped with it. However, not all structures have picocell infrastructure. Therefore, you can save money, time, and effort by choosing voice over WiFi.
What It Needs to Work
Your WiFi must meet the two requirements of capacity and coverage to function properly. This way, you will get the best call quality possible. The former means your bandwidth should be able to deliver voice messages at the same time as your receiver. And the latter implies you should not have dead zones for your wireless connection.
When you have WiFi coverage throughout your building or home, you can place and receive calls anywhere without having to worry about the signal.
Just like regular calls made through your mobile network, voice over WiFi is also sensitive to fluctuations in your coverage and capacity. It’s crucial to have high levels of both to prevent unwanted issues. Aside from making sure the capacity and network are adequate, you may also want to prioritize voice traffic in your router or Internet Service provider (ISP).
Advantages of Voice Over WiFi
The number of people who use voice over WiFi has grown dramatically since it was first introduced. This service has captured a lot of people, with more than 100 million voice over WiFi calls being made on WhatsApp daily. Take a look at the major advantages of this service.
Improved call quality
One of the reasons why many users prefer using voice over WiFi to make calls is because it enables high definition voice quality. This quality makes your phone call sound like you are talking in person.
High Definition (HD) audio, also referred to as wideband audio, is capable of using a wider frequency range compared to narrowband voice services. This ability prevents background noise, which can reduce the quality of the call. The superior quality enabled by voice over WiFi is truly amazing since it gives people an avenue to have improved conversations. This method saves time and resources for businesses, while also boosting efficiency.
No coverage problems
People commonly complain about having weak cellular reception in their room, shop, or office. This problem could be a source of frustration since they have to exert effort just to get a good signal, such as leaning towards their window or raising their phones to the ceiling. With voice over WiFi, users can finally receive and make calls even when they are indoors because they do not have to rely on their phone reception. Not only that, but they also do not need to make an extra purchase to install signal boosters in their house to enjoy phone coverage. By using WiFi access points in your home, you can enjoy voice over WiFi even if you have poor network coverage.
Improved native dialer services
The foundation of voice over WiFi is the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). This system supports various enhanced calling services that users can access from their native dialer without downloading a new application. People can do group chats, video calls, and even see if their contacts are online before they call them. If you have a business, voice over WiFi is also an effective way to take advantage of unified communication services, which gives excellent call quality.
Quick connection and affordability
If you’ve ever had trouble connecting voice over WiFi calls, it’s probably because your connection is 3G or 2G. However, when you and the call’s receiver have a fast wireless internet connection, you can significantly quicken your setup. By connecting quickly, you can save time. This fast connection can be very beneficial, especially for health and government workers looking for ways to maintain voice communications at a lower cost.
If you have relatives living abroad, voice over WiFi will allow you to talk to them without paying extra. Although you still have to pay depending on the provider, there are no extra international or roaming fees, and this lets you save money.
Prolong battery life
Another amazing advantage you can get from voice over WiFi is that it does not use battery resources as much as over-the-top (OTT) phone calls or voice call apps. By making your device’s battery last longer on a single charge, you can talk for a longer period or use your phone for another purpose.
Disadvantages of Voice Over WiFi
Despite having clear advantages, voice over WiFi features a couple of drawbacks. First of all, it would not be possible to use and enjoy without a good WiFi connection. Although there are many parts of the world with good internet coverage, it is not as widely available as older data networks. If both parties do not have a good connection, the phone call may connect through the regular cellular network. Here are the other disadvantages of voice over WiFi you should know.
Not supported in all devices
Not all mobile devices can make calls over a WiFi network. For example, Apple only allows this feature on the iPhone 5c and its following models. Thankfully, more Android devices have this feature enabled. WiFi calling is also limited or unavailable in some countries like China.
Signal strength variations
It can be challenging to look for a signal that can accommodate voice over WiFi. Since the audio quality depends on the wireless internet connection, there is no guarantee that it will stay consistent if you move to different places. The strength of the signal can also decrease as more people use the same network in crowded places, such as coliseums, airports, and hotels.
For a conversation to have good audio quality, a device must have at least -67 decibels relative to a milliwatt or dbm. If your device has a weaker signal, you will most likely encounter problems in your conversation. Be sure to run internet speed tests for your device before you make a call. If the signal in your area is less than the desired dbm, you need to have more access points, which could be achieved by changing your setup. This option will allow you to change places as you are talking without encountering problems since other connections would not be eating up the capacity where you are present.
Data use
Whether you use the internet connection in your office, school, or home, voice over WiFi may default to using the data plan of your phone. If this is the case, your data allocation will decrease by one megabyte or MB per minute. For videos call, this amount is around eight MB per minute.
Applications of Voice Over WiFi
Get to know some of the applications of voice over WiFi.
Service provider
All mobile networks lean to voice over WiFi to broaden their network capability and expand their service reach. It can also dramatically improve their indoor coverage and prevent expensive spectrum acquisitions. Many fixed-line service providers have introduced WiFi hotspots to align with their voice over WiFi services.
Business
Many business environments rely on voice over WiFi. Because many companies have made investments in a wireless connection, they can simply leverage what they already have to decrease spending.
Once businesses are connected to wireless internet, their employees can access the features of voice over WiFi, and receive and make calls to their coworkers and customers. Service is also universal and not just limited to a certain operator, so it can be used by anyone in the company with a device that has access to the WiFi network and supports the service.
Consumer
Perhaps consumer purposes of voice over WiFi are the most impactful for daily life. Traditionally, many consumers use voice over WiFi together with over-the-top (OTT) communications services. Many OTT providers offer their services to tablets, PCs, and smartphones. These devices can connect to a wireless internet network such as public WiFi hotspots. An OTT user may place or receive calls from other subscribers, or use voice over WiFi service to prevent expensive roaming charges and fees.
Want to Try Voice Over WiFi?
The major reason why voice over WiFi is becoming more common is because of poor cellular reliability. Without question, voice over WiFi grants overall improved experience for customers and business users. When you experience its high-quality calls, you will continue using it forever and even tell your friends about it. In time, word of mouth will motivate providers to find new ways to improve voice over WiFi.
