The GSMA has adopted the work of the “One Voice” initiative for voice service over LTE.
Last November, the One Voice initiative was established by a set of industry players to push for a standards-based solution for voice and SMS over LTE networks. The companies offered a technical profile for LTE voice and SMS services that defines an optimal set of existing 3GPP-specified functionalities. Initial backers of this effort included AT&T, Orange, Telefonica, TeliaSonera, Verizon, Vodafone, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Sony Ericsson.
Now, the GSMA’s Voice over LTE (VoLTE) initiative has taken on this work and gained the backing of more than 40 organizations from across the mobile ecosystem. The goal is to establish a single, IMS-based voice solution for next-generation mobile broadband networks. The GSMA will also lead the development of the specifications that will enable interconnection and international roaming between LTE networks, and will complete that work by Q1 2011.
The VoLTE approach will be based on IMS (IP multimedia subsystem), which supports voice call service features such as call waiting, call hold and call barring, and is highly scalable to serve very large subscriber bases. IMS also provides mobile operators with the ability to offer services that can integrate voice calls with enhanced, rich features such as presence, instant messaging and video content, delivered in an interoperable and multi-operator environment. Fall back mechanisms to circuit-switched voice services over existing 2G/3G networks is also being worked on.
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