Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is a technology that enables High Definition (HD) voice call quality among other quality of service benefits for operators and their customers. 5G Americas, the industry trade association and voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas, has announced the publication of a technical white paper, The Evolution of 3GPP Communications Services which offers a clear understanding of the evolution and ecosystem for VoLTE, as well as Video over LTE (ViLTE) and Rich Communication Services (RCS) technology.
“3GPP Communications Services such as VoLTE, ViLTE, HD Voice and RCS are gaining momentum throughout the world as operators continue to invest heavily in their networks to provide excellent services to their customers,” commented Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas.
Voice over LTE (VoLTE) provides high quality voice service by typically offering lower latency and higher capacity compared to competing VoIP services which utilize best-effort bearers that can adversely affect their service quality. First launched in 2012, VoLTE has made progress through the years and is now being rapidly deployed in many parts of the world. Operators in North America are among the early adopters of VoLTE. Video over LTE (ViLTE) is a complementary conversational video service that is also recently being adopted by many operators around the globe. The expectation is that in a few years, both VoLTE and ViLTE will form the backbone of IP-based telecommunications just as voice was an integral part of 2G and 3G networks. When VoLTE, including video, is introduced, it provides Quality of Service (QoS) and regulatory-required services such as E-911.
Operators deploying VoLTE will also tend to deploy Rich Communications Services messaging as one step in their migration to an all-IP network as an evolution to legacy SMS and MMS messaging. Similar to VoLTE, RCS messaging takes advantage of IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) control capabilities, encompassing a rich multimedia service portfolio, including multimedia messaging, chat, file transfer, privacy, buddy lists and presence.
RCS introduces an important all-IP communication evolution enabler in capability discovery. The end user will always be aware of who in their contact book is able to communicate using new services. Furthermore, RCS messaging natively integrated into Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) devices and chipsets offers a seamless out-of-box experience to the end-user.
Overall, the white paper highlights how 3GPP Communications Services continue to be enhanced and are gaining traction as IMS infrastructure in operator networks is being fortified and enhanced to provide real-time IP services such as voice and video. 3GPP Communications services such as VoLTE, ViLTE and RCS messaging will continue to make progress providing new and enhanced features, applications and services for years to come.
The white paper The Evolution of 3GPP Communications Services was written by members of 5G Americas and is available for free download on the 5G Americas website.
