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Bouygues Telecom has selected Ericsson to launch a new era in mobile voice communications with the introduction of VoLTE services to its live, commercial 4G/LTE network in France.
The service will bring major benefits to Bouygues Telecom customers, with HD (high definition) voice conversations that are significantly clearer than conventional mobile voice services, shorter call set-up times and enriched IP-based communication services such as video calling over LTE. Customers will have the flexibility to make HD voice calls and use 4G/LTE mobile data services at the same time.
"Ericsson has been selected to provide key components of the IMS solution for VoLTE including the Ericsson Multimedia Telephony Application Server Ericsson Session Border Gateway, Ericsson Home Subscriber Server and Ericsson User Profile Gateway, as well as software upgrades to the installed base of Ericsson LTE radio access network and Ericsson Evolved Packet Core," a statement said.
"Based on its local expertise, international experience and extensive credentials in this area, Ericsson has also been chosen by Bouygues Telecom to complete the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network integration in its multi-vendor environment and thereby guarantee network reliability and service quality. This large-scale project is the first step towards providing enriched communication services, which are now being tested or planned for the future," it said.
"Bouygues Telecom is proving the capabilities of its 4G/LTE network to support the latest advanced technologies and services. Commercial service roll-out is scheduled for 2015 and our network will be carrying the first voice and video calls over LTE later this year," said Jean-Paul Arzel, Head of the Networks Division, Bouygues Telecom.
"Ericsson has been a partner of Bouygues Telecom for many years, in particular for 4G/LTE technology. With the combination of our leadership in both technology and services we are now supporting Bouygues Telecom in its latest move to improve network and service quality for French customers," said Franck Bouétard, Head of Ericsson France.
In addition, 4G/LTE is a key technology for mobile data services and is taking off rapidly. According to the Ericsson Mobility Report more than 65% of the world's population will be covered by LTE in 2019.