back to article Hey 4G bods: We need to make 'phonecalls' with our 'voices', too

It’s well documented that voice is little more than an afterthought on 4G. That’s now being addressed, says Paul Gowans from network tech specialist JDSU, but it will be some time before you can reliably pick up a 4G phone and make a call to another one. JDSU runs services for all kinds of networks, not just mobile. It does …

COMMENTS

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  1. 's water music
    Joke

    voice calls still a thing?

    who knew?

    :-)

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There's 3 ways to do voice on 4G and obviously any mobile network is always going to do the cheapest/quickest way to roll out 4G.

    1. seacook

      Maybe a 4th!!

      Edit your config to disable 4G and run 3G. Gain a whole bunch of battery life back along with consistent cell coverage.

  3. Adrian 4

    Really ?

    Voice means carrier-controlled numbers, lockin, roaming charges. Data means your contact is not your phone, but your cloud address. Let direct voice die, and carrier power dies with it.

    1. Tom 35

      Re: Really ?

      At least in Canada you can keep your number when you switch as I did last year. Even makes it easier as when you port your number it cancels the old account automatically.

      Data roaming is outrageous here. Voice just a rip-off so no advantage there.

      1. Charles 9

        Re: Really ?

        It's guaranteed by law in the US as well, last I checked. As long as the changeover follows certain procedures, you can port your number from carrier to carrier.

        1. Adrian 4

          Re: Really ?

          I'm not talking about number portability. I'm talking about dropping in a local SIM and using the local data rates instead of roaming. The only barrier to that is that you lose your contact number - but if your contact point is a cloud voip, you don't care.

        2. Tom 13

          Re: guaranteed by law

          Well there's theory and then there's practice. In theory you can do it. In practice, not so much.

          Roomie tried when we moved. The additional costs associated with porting the number and the service made it unfeasible. A couple years later a friend's mom tried a VOIP plan on her DSL. It was crap and she asked to be changed back. Following two weeks of problems she gave up and accepted a new number. Mind you, she didn't physically move like we did, just switched carriers twice in less than a one month period.

  4. M7S

    "Most systems currently expect the call to drop, which means you’ll have to redial."

    Not exactly convenient or safe if I'm driving, having started a call and gone to handsfree before I set off (before anyone starts).

    Particularly irritating if its my controller trying to direct me to a patient or I'm giving the hospital an update on what I've got.

    1. Richard Jones 1
      WTF?

      Re: "Most systems currently expect the call to drop, which means you’ll have to redial."

      I use an 8 year old Nokia with hands free , well once touch and speak dialling. Sadly the modern crap phones cannot do that, so I do not 'do' modern feature lacking crap phones.

      The industry need to work out how to go forward not backwards.

      Richard

      1. Charles 9

        Re: "Most systems currently expect the call to drop, which means you’ll have to redial."

        I'm the other way with touch and speak dialing: probably because it MISSED half the time.

        BTW, I thought most Android phones with Google Voice Search understand a "Call" command?

        1. Richard Jones 1

          Re: "Most systems currently expect the call to drop, which means you’ll have to redial."

          I do not need any of the other crap, web, music, email, instant mail - that takes an hour to arrive! and why do I have to say call and then wonder what the phone will think I want. One touch, speak the word I have assigned to the called party and go ahead. I want easy and what I want. I did use a touch phone for three days, (two of them in hospital). The half dozen touches, prods or whatever produced the right number less than half the time.

          With voice I get a near instant result, every time.

          1. Charles 9

            Re: "Most systems currently expect the call to drop, which means you’ll have to redial."

            Guess we'll have to agree to disagree, because my experience was the exact opposite of yours. My N95 missed half the time while the Android rarely missed. Meanwhile, I'm used to saying "Call" because I once had a *1G* phone that allowed voice calling. Flip open the phone and it asked, "Who would you like to call?" Android's a touch more complicated than that these days, but then again I also use the extra functionality, too.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    IMS was supposed to have been sorted for 3G, but didn't seem to get that far. 4G requires VoIP to operate, but operators are still playing catch up with IMS... surprised? Not really.

  6. Vociferous

    Telephone calls?

    How do you post those to Facebook???

  7. Maryland, USA

    This article was well-written

    It was so well-written that when I glanced at the byline I fully expected to see the name Ray-something or something Ray, the chap who usually writes the RF-related articles in which an abstract concept is clearly explained. Simon Rockman, eh? That's another name I'll gladly look for. Paul

  8. Yugguy

    Ah yes, the failure of the wonderful smart "phone" to actually be a phone.

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