UAE's du announces first-in-region VoLTE technology using full potential of 4G LTE

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, du, has announced that for the very first time in the Middle East, its customers in U.A.E. will soon be able to simultaneously access the Internet at 4G LTE speeds while making a crystal-clear voice call, made possible by Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology.
Announcing the successful completion of its network's first VoLTE call, du became not only the first to install and test VoLTE on a live network in the region, but also the world's fastest – at just 80 days.
du said VoLTE empowers 4G LTE operators to transfer voice traffic over an LTE network. It improves customers' experience by delivering high definition (HD) voice with a high quality of service; richer multimedia services such as video share and call, multimedia messaging, chat, file transferring and more, as well as reducing call setup time – the time it takes to establish a call – down to just 1-2 seconds.
Saleem Al Balooshi, Executive Vice President, Network Development and Operations, du, said, "With VoLTE, we will be exploiting the full potential of 4G LTE. Our commitment to our customers has been reconfirmed with this fastest installation and testing of VoLTE on a live network. VoLTE will significantly enhance the call experience for customers using our 4G LTE network, adding more value through the use of the latest technology innovations." According to the TRA's Mobile Networks Benchmarking survey on Quality of Service (QoS) in 2013, du leads on several key performance indicators.
du launched HD Voice on mobile in 2012, which received a tremendous response from customers – with 200% growth in HD voice traffic in the last six months – and is the only operator to offer the service at no extra cost! Today, du offers HD voice on both its 3G mobile and fixed line networks. du's 4G LTE network now also offers HD Voice over LTE thanks to VoLTE technology. According to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association, du is the only mobile network to deploy HD Voice on 3G voice.