Verizon preparing improved voice calls, video chat with 4G LTE network

February 9, 2011 By Andrew Couts

Verizon says its 4G LTE network will soon offer customers improved voice calls and video chat functionality.

Verizon Wireless says it will begin funneling voice calls over its new 4G LTE network, reports CNN. The new service, says Verzion, will allow for crisper, clearer “high-definition” voice calls, and let users to enjoy video chat functionality over its network.

Verizon announced the nation’s first 4G LTE network last December, and unveiled its portfolio of 4G-enabled devices — everything from the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot to the Motorola Xoom tablet — at this year’s CES.

In the past, Verizon has said it will route voice calls through its standard CDMA network, and reserve LTE for high-load data transfers. But according to Verizon’s executive director for ecosystem development, Brian Higgins, who spoke with CNN, the wireless company will begin sending voice calls, text messages and video content through LTE as well.

Higgins says Verizon will unveil the VoLTE (Voice Over Long-Term Evolution) service at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, next week, where they will demonstrate the new network on LG’s Revolution 4G smartphone. (When the Revolution 4G launches later this year, however, it will not yet be VoLTE-enabled.)

Verizon’s 4G LTE network is expected to allow download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps, and upload speeds of between 2 and 5 Mbps, and will be as widely available as its current 3G network — the largest in the U.S. — by 2013.

In addition to improvements to the sound quality of voice calls, the 4G LTE network will also allow for better video chat quality. Customers who plan to use the newly-released Verizon iPhone 4 will, of course, be able to use the phone’s pre-loaded with FaceTime video chat functionality over Verizon’s current network. But LTE will make it far better, the company says.

Skype may already have an iPhone app. But the videos are grainy. Over LTE, that will be improved. In fact, Verizon and Skype are already working together on a video conferencing feature that will reportedly work on the LG Revolution (and probably other 4G devices).

Like T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, and Sprint’s WiMax, Verizon’s 4G LTE is not, technically, true “4G,” according to the strict guidelines set by the International Telecommunications Union. But for now — and for the foreseeable future — it’s as good as we’ve got.

Showing 8 comments

Maxwell Evans at 10:08am 11th February 2011 Also, a very common misconception about dual core processors. Even if it's a dual core 1Ghz, it's still 1Ghz. The second core just processes more data within the same speed. Dual core processors process twice as much data as single core, quad core processes four times, and so on. So the Droid Bionic is still a 1Ghz phone, but can process twice as much data within the 1Ghz speed.
whizmeeting at 2:05am 11th February 2011 Video Conference Enable visual communication with video conferencing solution in sync with your teleconference http://blog.whizmeeting.com/?p=138 Rendezvous with Telepresence Technology: Day 2 http://blog.whizmeeting.com/?p=780
Maxwell Evans at 10:00am 11th February 2011 "The current generation of mobile telecommunication networks are collectively known as 3G (for "third generation"). Although LTE is often marketed as 4G, first-release LTE does not fully comply with the IMT Advanced 4G requirements. The pre-4G standard is a step toward LTE Advanced, a 4th generation standard (4G)[3] of radio technologies designed to increase the capacity and speed of mobile telephone networks. LTE Advanced is backwards compatible with LTE and uses the same frequency bands, while LTE is not backwards compatible with 3G systems."
Maxwell Evans at 9:59am 11th February 2011 In fact, LTE Advanced is the actual 4G candidate, NOT LTE.
Maxwell Evans at 9:58am 11th February 2011 Even LTE Advanced, being faster than LTE isn't 4G either.
Maxwell Evans at 9:57am 11th February 2011 No, dude. Do you research. 4G isn't even a standard yet. LTE, WiMax, HSPA+, etc are all PRE4G. In other words, not quite 4G, but still 3G.
AyeJaye Lovern at 11:10am 10th February 2011 This is 4G, mate. Thats like saying the Bionic even though is a dual core processor its still only a 1Ghz phone.
Maxwell Evans at 7:34am 10th February 2011 If only they'd actually market true 4G and not 3GPP LTE.