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Is it true that carriers are increasingly switching to calling over WiFi? I understand the new iPhones have this feature, with switchover happening automatical
by 10165 9y ago
Is it true that carriers are increasingly switching to calling over WiFi? I understand the new iPhones have this feature, with switchover happening automatically.
Did the popularity of Facetime, WhatsApp, etc. have anything to do with this? I have seen claims from carriers that WiFi calling "improves coverage".
At some stage, will anyone question what is the point of the cellular network? Especially in urban areas.
What is the difference between
a. a "smartphone" and
b. a portable, pocket-sized computer with rechargeable battery where the user chooses what to install and can remove any pre-installed software, where user gets a choice of 1. using pre-installed software and default settings or 2. using her own bootloader, kernel and userland, and where the user can easily open the case and tinker.
Does a computer need to have any association with the company selling internet access? Today's "phones" are manufactured for carriers (who are often ISP's, too), not for users. The carriers in turn sell these customized "phones" to users.
- voltagex_ 9y agoThere's a few things at play here: * https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT203032 https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT203032 WiFi Calling, which is (AFAIK) prioritised VoIP. Helps offload some calls from the provider's network which may help in congested areas * https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT203124 https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT203124 VoLTE. Voice over LTE, rather than GSM (?) channels. Highly prioritised VoIP over LTE data. Should improve call quality via better voice codecs. Seems to simplify tower equipment for the telcos - Telstra in Australia has some "4G Only" towers in a few places where "standard" voice calling is unavailable. VoLTE isn't particularly widely available here. Really happy to be corrected here - this is interesting stuff.
- djsumdog 9y agoSprint's older WiMax systems (4G), when enabled, would put all calls over IP (starting with the HTC Evo 4G). It ate through battery though.