The state-owned telecommunication service provider Nepal Telecom (NTC) has commenced the official trial of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) service in Nepal.
"On the occasion of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), NTC has launched the VoLTE service, which is now available in all 77 districts and has undergone good testing," said an official communication from the telco.
VoLTE is now available all over the country but with select handsets, it said. Nepal Telecom has special offers to the early adopters of VoLTE services.
The operator is also promising VoLTE users faster call set-up, HD video calling, and improved battery life. Customers who activate the service are being offered 100 VoLTE voice minutes free of charge for 28 days.
With the new 4G project, Nepal Telecom had planned to bring VoLTE on a massive scale across the country. And they are now launching the service after detailed testing. So, with the 4G expansion, new areas (with 4G only network) where there is no other telco service will also have this advanced feature.
Nepal Telecom has also invited smartphone companies to perform VoLTE tests on their handsets. Nepal Telcom 4G supports two bands i.e. band 3 (1800MHz) and Band 20(800MHz). So, after testing VoLTE along with other features of NTC’s 4G LTE network, they can provide it to the public.
According to local media reports, another leading telco, Ncell may also bring the VoLTE service shortly.
