In a report on CNN, Verizon has finalized plans to deploy and standardize around the yet to be ratified Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) standard for carrying voice and video calls over its recently launched LTE network.
The carrier has also confirmed via representative Jeffery Nelson that the standard will be demonstrated during Mobile World Congress next week in Barcelona, Spain along with the first handset to support VoLTE in the LG Revolution Android smartphone. Nelson also took great pains to clarify that the device will not launch with VoLTE enabled and will be enabled next year in an update along with the rollout of the standard.
With the confirmation, Verizon is the first carrier to confirm a voice standard for its 4G LTE network, though its expected that AT&T will follow suit with the adoption of VoLTE, as both carriers announced a partnership to standardize voice protocols for their respective LTE networks in the One Voice initiative in 2009. Meanwhile, T-Mobile outside of the US branch has developed the competing VoLGA (Voice Over LTE via Generic Access) voice over LTE standard, with no firm commitment on its own selection for its planned LTE network deployments. MetroPCS is yet another LTE carrier that has yet to confirm its voice protocol selection for its AWS-based LTE network though it has confirmed that it is testing VoLTE.
