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Voice over WiFi (VoWi-Fi)

What is Voice over Wi-Fi?

Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) uses IEEE 802.11 wireless LANs (WLANs) to transport Voice over IP (VoIP) traffic. This is counter to its alternatives, predominantly Voice over LTE (VoLTE). VoLTE is a way to route voice traffic over the 4G LTE networks carriers use to transmit data.
Last year, some Indian Telecom companies launched VoWi-Fi services that largely went unnoticed. This service aimed at customers' struggling with connection quality and call drops. While Voice over LTE (VoLTE) was made famous by Reliance Jio for high definition calls with rich audio quality, looking at heavy traffic and poor connection ranges almost all major telecom companies rolled out Voice over Wi-Fi feature to help out users at places where signal strength is weak and those suffering from call drops.

How does Voice over Wi-Fi work?

To understand VoWiFi, it is important to understand how VoLTE works. VoLTE uses data flows to deliver better call quality than the circuit lines. It also uses lesser bandwidth than some unoptimised Voice over IP (VoIP) services. VoWiFi calling improves upon this by allowing a more optimised packet transfer than most social calling apps. As the service is dependent on WiFi, it also dilutes the issue of network strength.
A Skype call or a WhatsApp call will use more data compared to VoWIFI calling. But using WIFI calling one can call a landline or a feature phone using a VoWIFI technology, whereas the third-party app-based voice call does not work that way.
When a smartphone supports Wi-Fi calling feature and is connected to a WiFi network, even if there is no mobile network, one will be able to make and take calls just like a Skype or Whatsapp call.

Networks in India that support VoWi-Fi calling

The first network in India to support VoWiFi was BSNL, which offered this under a plan called “Wings”. But BSNL was charging a service fee for accessing this service by its customers. This was followed by Reliance Jio and Bharati Airtel offering services for free. Vodafone Idea is yet to launch the service.

How to enable Wi-Fi calling in Android smartphones?

Most phones are now shipped with VoLTE support and VoWiFi (WiFi Calling) feature. Even some of the entry-level smartphones that have VoLTE features have VoWiFi facilities. If you are unable to find this feature, update your phone to the latest version and try finding it.

Steps for enabling WiFi calling feature:

Step 1: Go to Settings
Step 2: Search for Wi-Fi Calling
Step 3: Enable the switch
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