Thailand’s second largest mobile operator Digital Total Access Communication (DTAC) has revealed that it is testing Voice-over-Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) services, which it aims to be first in the country to launch. Testing is starting with DTAC employees who own 4G VoLTE-enabled devices including the Samsung S6, S6 Edge, and DTAC Eagle X smartphones, ahead of public testing and eventual commercial launch. The VoLTE service will offer high definition (HD) voice and video call quality (with video calling resolution up to 720p/1080p) while allowing simultaneous voice and data connections on DTAC’s 4G LTE network, and ten times faster call setup time (decreasing ‘from five seconds to half a second’). Currently the LTE network carries data-only traffic, with voice calls handed off to 2G/3G networks. DTAC, which is controlled by Norway’s Telenor, currently offers 4G LTE services in more than 40 cities in Thailand, and forecasts that it will replace 2G/3G services with 4G within four years. According to the cellco, it aims to make Thailand the 16th country in the world to commercialise VoLTE.
