Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings' mobile division 3 Hong Kong has launched voice-over-Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) services over its network.
The operator will allow its customers to make voice calls over any Wi-Fi network in Hong Kong using designated handsets.
The service is available to 3 Hong Kong's LTE customers using most popular smartphone models, the company said.
Usage will be metered based on a similar rate to ordinary voice calls, and the operator has now introduced a value-added voice package providing 1,000 minutes of extra usage for HK$10 per month.
“Comprehensive network coverage is the pre-requisite for an excellent mobile communications service, which 3 Hong Kong has achieved,” HTHKH COO Jennifer Tan commented.
“This is especially the case since our 4G LTE launch, plus provision of more than 16,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, making us Hong Kong’s largest-scale Wi-Fi service provider.”
Tan said VoWi-Fi technology enables seamless handover too and from VoLTE, and also enhances the indoor voice-calling capabilities of the 3 Hong Kong mobile network.
Cisco predicted in February that VoWi-Fi airtime will exceed VoLTE by 2018, accounting for over 4 billion minutes of talk time.