Cell C launching VoLTE

Cell C has announced its plans to launch Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services in South Africa through its collaboration with Germany-based ng-voice.

It recently completed its first VoLTE call on Amazon Web Services. Cell C said the development will also enable the delivery of Voice over New Radio (VoNR) and Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) services.

VoLTE allows cellular subscribers to make and receive phone calls without the network first dropping them back to 3G, disconnecting them from the faster LTE data service during the call.

“Cell C is launching its VoLTE services using ng-voice’s fully cloud-native IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and ePDG (AAA),” the mobile operator said in a statement.

It added that the new services would enhance voice communications for all its customers in South Africa while future-proofing its network.

The collaboration will see Cell C benefit from the flexibility and cloud technology, allowing its voice systems to be continuously updated.

It will also enable the quick introduction of new services and operations.

“Deploying ng-voice solutions in AWS eliminates the need for large hardware investments, making it the perfect solution for keeping voice production costs down,” said Cell C.

Cell C chief technology officer Schalk Visser described ng-voice’s IMS on AWS as “the perfect solution” to enable high-quality, reliable, cost-effective voice communication services.

“This collaboration aligns with our commitment to harness the power of technology to meet our customers’ evolving needs,” added Visser.

Ng-voice chief executive officer David Bachmann said his company’s solution is highly automated and delivers high voice quality while minimising costs.

“We are thrilled to be part of this major milestone for Cell C and the region. We are committed to replicating this success across Africa to make this innovative solution available to more operators, driving the future of cloud-native communications in the region,” said Bachmann.