12-Dec-2019: Bharti Airtel has introduced Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi)

Bharti Airtel has introduced Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi), a first for India. Airtel Wi-Fi calling claims to enhance indoor voice calling experience for smartphone customers.

Wi-Fi Calling is aimed especially for areas where cellular networks are not strong. It uses high speed Internet connection, available via broadband, to make and receive high definition (HD) voice calls. Users don’t have to pay extra for these calls as it is using a Wi-Fi network.

This is not much different from a voice call using WhatsApp or any other over-the-top messaging platform, but here the call is from one number to another, and not using an app. Since these calls use stable Wi-Fi connections, call drops are not expected to be a problem.

Wi-Fi Calling can be configured on compatible smartphones by upgrading operating systems to the version that supports Wi-Fi Calling, and enabling this in Settings. Keeping VoLTE switched on will help in seamless voice calling, but this is not essential.

At the moment the service is limited to Delhi-NCR users with compatible devices. This will not be charged extra as it will use Wi-Fi and not Airtel’s networks.