Vodacom announced that it made the first ever commercial voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) call in South Africa on 4 June 2015. The service is now live across the Vodacom network.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe move to use Wi-Fi technology to carry voice traffic will mean better call quality for consumers,\u201d said Vodacom.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy integrating Wi-Fi into its network as another voice carrier, Vodacom is ensuring a seamless voice experience no matter what the connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first call was made by Vodacom\u2019s network engineering officer Beverly Ngwenya to Vodacom\u2019s CTO Andries Delport.<\/p>\n
\u201cAside from seamless call quality, there are a number of consumer benefits that come with Wi-Fi calling. One of the most significant is the ability to make a call using your cellphone number with no need for additional apps,\u201d said Delport.<\/p>\n
VoWiFi differs from other applications that allow voice calling over a data network, in that it uses the built-in voice dialling feature of the phone and thus your normal cellphone number to make a call.<\/p>\n
At present, there are only a small number of test Samsung Galaxy S6 devices in the country that have the ability to make VoWiFi calls.<\/p>\n
However, Vodacom is working with Samsung on a software update which will be released once final testing is complete.<\/p>\n
VoWiFi technology will also assist in improving coverage where normal cell signals battle to reach, such as inside office blocks or in the basement of shopping centres.<\/p>\n
In the future, VoWiFi will also offer a solution for remote sites that have Wi-Fi coverage – like guest lodges in game reserves.<\/p>\n
Calls made over a Wi-Fi network will be billed using existing minutes. No data costs will be incurred when making a Wi-Fi call.<\/p>\n