Australia's Optus has launched a new Wi-Fi calling app allowing customers to make and receive calls using their existing mobile number.
The WiFi Talk app is available to Optus' prepaid and postpaid customers with compatible Android or iOS handsets.
It can be used over the Wi-Fi of any provider's broadband connection, but Optus recommends a minimum connection speed of 100Mbps.
Calls and texts will be charged at customers' existing mobile rates and added to the existing phone bill. Customers will be able to place and receive calls to any mobile phone or landline in the world.
Optus is billing the app as a way to stay connected in indoor areas with limited mobile coverage, such as shopping centers or homes at the edges of mobile coverage.
Optus vice president of customer experience and delivery Amanda Hutton said the launch of the app is the first of multiple initiatives planned for the company in the Wi-Fi calling space.
“This application is really the first from an Australian telecommunications provider, designed to help our customers stay connected, even if they find themselves in an area with limited mobile coverage,” she said.
Optus last week revealed plans to follow parent company SingTel by switching off its 2G network in April 2017.