VoLTE Chip

[legion125]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 2 February 2012

 

Here's some information on Qualcomm's new chip to satisfy the inner geek in us and this technology has been discussed in other threads and forums as being under development, now its a reality. This design allows the hand off from a GSM network to VoLTE and back. Obviously its a multi-mode single chip design that eliminates the need of another modem in the phone. This is a first step and I'm sure CDMA is not far behind.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-57370121-64/qualcomms-snapdragon-on-track-for-voice-over-lte/?tag=cnetRiver

 

 

Qualcomm's Snapdragon on track for Voice over LTE

Qualcomm, along with Ericsson, has successfully completed a major hurdle that will enable Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE).

The technology, called Single Radio Voice Call Continuity, or SRVCC, enables continuity of service by seamlessly switching to a WCDMA network when a consumer on a VoLTE call leaves the LTE network's coverage area, Qualcomm said.

Qualcomm and Ericsson have completed the first voice call handover from an LTE mobile network to a WCDMA network using SRVCC.

A Snapdragon-powered Ericsson device, using Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 3G/LTE multimode processor, will be on demonstration at Qualcomm's Mobile World Congress booth, Qualcomm said.

Ultimately the goal is to have one less modem chip to worry about and therefore slimmer, less power-hungry LTE phones.

And how is this achieved? An acronym-packed backgrounder is provided by Qualcomm.

"SRVCC is the next logical step in...4G LTE voice...following the commercial launch of circuit-switched fallback technology (CSFB) on smartphones in 2011. Circuit-switched fallback technology (CSFB) allows a single radio in the handset to dynamically switch from an LTE data connection to a 3G connection when the user needs to make or receive a call. Similarly, SRVCC support enables a single radio in the handset to execute a seamless handover of a voice call from an LTE network to a 3G network."

And SRVCC and CSFB allow both LTE and 3G network connections to be supported on a single chip. The upshot: no need for separate LTE and 3G radios and modems. And that means handsets with lower power consumption that are more compact--and have a lower component cost.

"This new development eliminates the need for a second modem chip, thereby reducing the cost and even size of future 4G/LTE handsets. Clearly, this will make future high-performance smartphones more attractive to consumers," said Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts.

[S4GRU]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 2 February 2012

 

VoLTE is coming! And interoperability with existing 3G and 2G networks will be essential. This is an exciting development. I remember reading about 3 or 4 years ago some naysayers said it was virtually impossible to handoff between VoLTE and existing voice networks, and that VoLTE networks would have to be stand alone. Boy, did they call that wrong! I love evolving technology.

[xcharles718]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 2 February 2012

 

I wonder at the time at which LTE chipsets get cheap enough to be put into flip phones, it's will bring the beginning of the end of GSM & CDMA Networks.

[legion125]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 3 February 2012

 

Agreed. The thing I'm looking forward to is how Sprint will reallocate all the spectrum it uses for 2&3G. With voice & data being on LTE, Sprint can do a lot with bldg penetration and area coverage with this free spectrum in areas were those needs are weak. However, it looks like Sprint will be the last of the group transitioning over to it since it looks like Metro PCS, Verizon and AT&t will beat them by a year or two.Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 2 February 2012

[S4GRU]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 3 February 2012

 

Verizon is supposedly working with OEM's now on on voice only VoLTE handsets and VoLTE feature phones. I think we are just about there.

[pyroscott]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 4 February 2012

 

I was in batteries plus buying a 4 wheeler battery, and there was a lady buying a new battery for her 10+ year old nokia. People are going to react to VoLTE with anger at first. They are going to have to offer feature phones for free with free activation and ship them to some people.

[legion125]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 4 February 2012

 

I think it will be ok, and more like the transition from analog to digital. Once VoLTE is out there will be an approx 3 year transition or maybe longer, so people that have older phones can fulfill contract obligations and then get a newer phone. Of course there are some who like hanging on to their phones forever, but eventually they will have to join the 21st century.

I don't know if the carriers will make accommodations or not. When TV made the switch to digital most waited until the last minute before buying their converters or getting a new set. They just cried all the way to the store, but it got done.

[pyroscott]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 5 February 2012

 

I was talking to my brothers in law last night at the basketball game and none of them had any idea what LTE or VoLTE is. When I said it is coming in 2013 and they will eventually have to upgrade their phones. 2 have iphones and the other has an Evo. The two with the iPhones were not pleased with the upgrade requirement. That market could be more difficult to transfer over than the feature phones. IPhones are expensive, even with an upgrade, and Verizon just started carrying the iPhone, so there are a lot of customers with newish iPhones that will not be happy with a mandate to upgrade. Who knows, maybe by that time the iPhone 5 will be free with upgrade like how AT&T offers the 3GS...

[legion125]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 5 February 2012

 

It will certainly be a carrier at a time doing the VoLTE transition, but I recall when the carriers where migrating from analog to digital the analog network was up for years before it was finally shut down, and it affected a only a few who stubbornly held on to their analog phones. I think we will hear more when Metro PCS and Verizon begin to take VoLTE seriously and see what their timelines say.

[WiWavelength]

Migrated from Original Forum. Originally Posted 5 February 2012

 

I am curious why everyone is so agog over VoLTE. Certainly, the prospect of ubiquitous mobile VoIP is, at least technologically speaking, an interesting paradigm shift. But do we really expect an enhanced end user experience from VoLTE? CDMA1X spreading gain, soft handoff, and noise suppression make it almost ideally suited to moderate bit rate voice transmission. So, VoLTE has a high standard to follow.

 

AJ

[legion125]

I'm intriuged, at least in Sprints case that this will free up a lot of spectrum that can be reallocated for better coverage and how Sprint will use it..

[S4GRU]

 

I am curious why everyone is so agog over VoLTE. Certainly, the prospect of ubiquitous mobile VoIP is, at least technologically speaking, an interesting paradigm shift. But do we really expect an enhanced end user experience from VoLTE? CDMA1X spreading gain, soft handoff, and noise suppression make it almost ideally suited to moderate bit rate voice transmission. So, VoLTE has a high standard to follow.

 

AJ

 

I think some carriers are excited about a single technology network where all frequency is being utilized at maximum spectral efficiency. Verizon certainly is aiming for an all LTE network at warp speed ahead.

 

I think in the case of Verizon, they want an all LTE network for simplicity and cost savings. And the ability to repurpose all its existing spectrum to LTE as soon as they can reasonable force its customers to migrate.

 

In the case of MetroPCS, I think they are so deseperate for LTE spectrum, that they desperately need to use its 1x spectrum for LTE. So why not kill two birds with one stone?

 

I don't advocate that these are the best solutions necessarily. But I can see why these two carriers are pursuing it so readily.

 

VoLTE is going to be interesting to watch deploy and mature.

 

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