Vodafone Australia has launched VoLTE field and lab trials, and plans to make the technology available to subscribers later this year.
The operator aims to become one of the first in Australia to launch VoLTE. Vodafone said its 4G network now covers 95% of Australia's metropolitan population.
Vodafone will be offering VoLTE-compatible handsets including the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4 and the Huawei Ascend X550.
“This is the next stage of our network evolution made possible through the introduction of our new core network,” Vodafone CTO Benoit Hanssen commented.. “We will continue to innovate and offer our customers a world-class mobile experience.”
Analysts expect VoLTE deployments to pick up steam in 2015 after a slow start, and note that APAC is leading the world in terms of VoLTE adoption.
GSA figures show that 80 operators in 42 countries are investing VoLTE while 14 operators in seven countries have debuted HD voice over LTE networks.