With an ever increasing appetite for data consumption, today’s smartphone users are harnessing maximum advantage of utilizing the Wi-Fi networks around their ecosystems. Most of the latest smartphones available are also ‘Wi-Fi aware’ and guide the devices towards better Wi-Fi coverage automatically. In this scenario, Wi-Fi calling holds great potential for users to utilise Wi-Fi in terms of making voice calls, while at the same time remain incredibly cost effective for their pockets. With clearly visible benefits for the operators as well as customers, availability of Wi-Fi networks and delivery of excellent quality of service can exponentially drive Wi-Fi calling ahead towards the end user community. In the present scenario, voice calls have been driven over Wi-Fi networks either in the form of OTT (over the top content) applications such as Viber, Skype or as part of Unlicensed Mobile Access technology and FemtoCells which are directed towards enhancing the operator’s reach of mobile voice services in subscribers’ homes and other locations. However, as a challenge to the operator community, most of the OTT applications give minimal control over the applications and on the other hand, the UMA or the femtocell option involves a lot of upfront investment. As opined by many experts, in an ideal scenario, voice calling should be delivered in a totally seamless fashion for the user, be available in built-in mode with the device ecosystem and most importantly, it should work over any network connection. This is set to create new rules of the telecoms game and innovation in Wi-Fi will take center stage in delivering what is best for the customer. Next-generation Wi-Fi Calling with VoWiFi and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) support pre-integrated in the Smartphone dialler, which offers a completely seamless customer experience without any interruption in voice quality when a customer hovers between LTE and Wi-Fi networks. Recently T mobile followed by Sprint announced that every new smartphone sold by T-Mobile will be capable of supporting Wi-Fi calling and texting and the carrier will leverage Wi-Fi to deliver unprecedented coverage to its customers to places where no cellular network can reach.

Operators Benefits	Customers Benefits
Wi-Fi is an economical solution which helps in increasing the access to voice services coverage along with data services	With Wi-Fi calling there is an ease of availability of voice services over Wi-Fi network anytime anywhere
With Wi-Fi Calling operators can achieve the objective of reduced churn and increased customer acquisition as it provides a better indoor coverage as compared to the cellular base stations	It can be integrated with the phone dialer or any downloaded dialer on the smartphone. Thus assures a hassle free user experience with a single and uniform voice dialer
It enables the operators to compete with OTT players like Skype and Viber and deliver a unique experience for their customers	With Wi-Fi Calling the subscribers can enjoy a better coverage indoors and in the areas with challenging cellular network for voice services
Wi-Fi Calling and IMS-based VoLTE go hand-in hand with respect to architecture. Hence with fewer base stations for the same voice coverage, the operators can significantly reduce their infrastructure costs	Seamless call transfer support between Wi-Fi and LTE (using VoLTE) and specific support is embedded directly into the dialer of latest smart devices. This offers users a truly seamless handoff from cellular to Wi-Fi calls
With minimized roaming charges, Wi-Fi Calling becomes a preferred option for frequent travelers and tourists. This in turn creates potential revenue generating opportunities for the operators	With Wi-Fi access, the charges for a call from anywhere across the globe would remain similar to that of the home mobile network with a seamless transfer without any interruption in service

The next-generation Wi-Fi Calling requires native IMS support with VoLTE/VoWiFi. Elitecore Wi-Fi Service Management Platform (SMP) with its enhanced 3GPP AAA capabilities, support for  enforcing relevant policies, and other innovative features for Wi-Fi calling including seamless roaming services and other business cases. For more information click here