Bharti Airtel to offer VoLTE services

Bharti Airtel will soon launch voice services for its 4G, TD-LTE customers in Pune, India, through its existing GSM network.

The operator has selected Nokia Siemens Networks to deploy its Circuit Switched FallBack (CSFB) voice solution in the operator's live TD-LTE network in the city. With CSFB, the network can transfer customers to GSM platform to make and receive voice calls and access voicemails while retaining the experience of ultra-fast data services on 4G smartphones.

Jagbir Singh, CTO & director - Network Services Group, Bharti Airtel said, "Bharti Airtel has the advantage of pan-India GSM and 3G networks and with the deployment of cutting edge CSFB functionality, we will have the flexibility of using either or both the networks to support voice services on our TD-LTE platform. The solution will enable our 4G customers to enjoy high-quality voice services on GSM network and ultra-fast data services on TD-LTE platform - thereby allowing them to have a unified experience on a 4G handset."

Thorsten Robrecht, head of Mobile Broadband portfolio management at Nokia Siemens Networks said, "This achievement of enabling world-first voice call fallback from TD-LTE to GSM in live network is yet another milestone in our efforts to strengthen the commercialization and deployment of TD-LTE technology globally. Our CSFB assures a successful and reliable mechanism for voice services alongside any LTE data service."

With its comprehensive mobile broadband and services portfolio, Nokia Siemens Networks is a leading supplier of CSFB core capability. The company has delivered CSFB to more than 30 customers across the globe.