Vodafone is celebrating another key milestone with the rollout of a 4G Calling service across wider Auckland and RBI2
sites. Completed at the end of September, this enhanced 4G Calling will offer Vodafone customers with crisper, clearer
voice calls over 4G as well as faster call setup when placing calls.
This follows Vodafone switching on New Zealand’s first Voice over Long-Term Evolution (VoLTE) sites in June across
Auckland’s North Shore as the first step of the rollout.
Key benefits of the VoLTE 4G upgrade, otherwise known as ‘4G Calling’, includes reduced background noise on voice calls
and quicker call connection.
The wider Auckland upgrade has just been completed, and 4G Calling in Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown will be
rolled out by December. RBI2 sites also support 4G Calling as these sites are switched on. The rest of the country
network for 4G Calling is on track to be completed by the end of March 2020.
Sharina Nisha, Head of Platforms, Vodafone New Zealand, said: "This network upgrade will mean Vodafone customers
experience improved voice calls over our already high-performing 4G network. VoLTE-enabled devices will stay on 4G
rather than drop to 3G or 2G to make calls. And to ensure call continuity when moving, our 4G Calling service can
seamlessly transition to 3G if required, which means Vodafone customers can expect an enhanced voice call experience
overall.
“Another benefit of 4G Calling is it can reduce disruption if you were streaming video or downloading content when a
call comes in, where 4G data speeds will be maintained. Also with 4G Calling, 5G data speeds will be maintained when we
launch 5G in December.
“We've focused our rollout geographically to ensure a speedy rollout – and we expect to have completed these 4G Calling
upgrades for customers across New Zealand by the end of March next year.”
The crisper, clearer 4G Calling is available to Vodafone customers on a wide range of devices across Auckland today
(when using the latest software version). This includes newer Samsung models as well as the iPhone 6 and above.
As Sharina explains: “A key focus of our 4G Calling introduction has been on the end-to-end testing in conjunction with
the phone manufacturers. Our technology experts have been working hard to enable enhanced voice calls for as many Kiwis
as possible, and 4G Calling will be available on newer devices.
“Interestingly, we have more iPhone 6’s on our network than any other phone model, so this means many thousands of our
customers who have an iPhone 6 can use VoLTE or 4G Calling on our network. The majority our customers will be able to
use 4G Calling once we have completed the rollout early next year.”
This 4G Calling project is supported by technology partner Nokia, and delivers a key part of Vodafone’s voice evolution
strategy.
For more information about 4G Calling, please visit: https://www.vodafone.co.nz/volte/