AMR Wideband : Loud and Clear

Mobile communications is on the threshold of a quantum leap in voice quality.
This is the starting point of voice quality revolution that will change
telephony from what we know today, thanks to the dynamic improvements in network
technology. This has been made possible by Adaptive Multi Rate Wide Band
technology (AMR-WB). It delivers the voice quality that was so far unknown. This
technology will give the operators an excellent opportunity to further improve
their quality, and boost customer satisfaction in the long term.

Ericsson is at the forefront of development of AMR-WB technology for high
quality voice calls in the mobile network. Ericsson is ready to roll out this
impressive voice quality feature in all Ericsson supplied GSM and WCDMA/HSPA
networks in the world.

Key Benefits

Adaptive Multi Rate Wide Band technology is a patented speech coding
standard developed after the AMR using similar technology as ACELP. The codec
provides excellent speech quality due to wider speech bandwidth of 50-70000 Hz
as compared to narrow band speech codecs which, in general, are optimized for
POTS wireline quality of 300-3400MHz.

The AMR-WB speech codec has been adopted and standardized by 3GPP and ITU-T.
The adoption of this technology by ITU-T is of significance since it is for the
first time that the same codec is adopted for wireless as well as wireline
services. This will eliminate the need for transcoding, and ease the
implementation of wide band voice applications and services across a wide range
of communication systems and platforms. This technology uses the speech
compression techniques to increase the audio bandwidth to 7 kHz, almost doubling
the speech bandwidth as compared to narrow band AMR without comparing radio or
backhaul requirements.

AMR Wideband enhances voice quality and clarity in mobile networks to
noticeably higher levels than today's mobile and fixed telephone networks even
in whispered conversations or environments with high background noise. The new
speech compression algorithm doubles voice bandwidth without extra radio and
transmission requirements. It delivers improved fidelity audio and enhances the
end user experience.

The technology can be implemented in both GSM and WCDMA/HSPA networks. Mobile
customer satisfaction increased hand-in-hand with voice quality. Results from
consumer trials show that consumers appreciate the higher voice quality and make
more and longer calls. Higher voice quality is ideal for telephone meetings and
can contribute to a reduction in business traveling which will improve
productivity and lower environmental impact.

This improved quality is expected to make conversations more comfortable and
enjoyable for subscribers. A satisfied customer is prepared to make longer calls
which results in increased volume of minutes of usage (MoU) and higher voice
revenues for operators. Adaptive Multi Rate Wide Band supports dynamic
adaptation to the network conditions, using lower bit rates during network
congestion or degradation while preserving voice quality. It also enables
improved operator services such as enhanced personalized ring back tones and
multi party conferences. Therefore, it is also expected to lead to higher voice
revenues for operators.

Arpita Prem

arpitap@cybermedia.co.in