South Korean Mobile Operators, last week announced the launch of an interconnected VoLTE service in the country which is aimed at delivering higher quality voice and faster connection, according to a statement by GSMA.
The debut of the commercial interconnected VoLTE service follows a three year initiative by the Korean government. In 2012, the Korean government set up the ‘VoLTE Inter-working Technology Consultation Group' to provide the technical standards and specifications for the service. The group was participated by the three Korean mobile network operators - SK Telecom, KT Corp, LG Uplus; as well as research institutes - the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI) and the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA).
In the run-up to the launch, the Operators conducted and completed network inter-working communications tests and handset quality tests and are set to start the commercialization of the service on a stage-by-stage basis.
According to GSMA which lauds the initiative, the South Korean Operators will initially make the service available to subscribers on compatible handsets before expanding the service to all VoLTE handsets. All subscribers will be migrated to the new service by November 2015, it added.
Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA
The commercial launch of interconnected VoLTE services across South Korea’s three operators is a huge milestone for our industry and we congratulate them for being the first to market. Interconnected VoLTE delivers a real step change in call quality to consumers with a seamless switch between voice and video as well as faster connection speeds. At the GSMA we work closely with mobile operators from around the world to accelerate the adoption of all-IP communications and we hope that South Korea’s example will pave the way for many more interconnected VoLTE services in other markets.
Minister Yang Hee Choi, Korean Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, South Korean Government
The world’s first commercialisation of VoLTE between operators will enable the fast and instantaneous delivery of voice, video and multimedia services to citizens. This is a significant achievement that will enable Korea to lead in global technical standards.
