Singapore and Barcelona 24 February 2014 – Singtel, Asia’s leading communications group, in collaboration with Ericsson and Samsung, is set to unveil a new era of mobile voice communications with the launch of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services in Singapore in the coming months. 

Powered by Ericsson's state-of-the-art VoLTE solution, the service will allow customers to enjoy conversations that are significantly clearer than conventional mobile voice services. VoLTE delivers a broader range of audio frequencies, resulting in richer and more true-to-life sound with significantly reduced background noise. 

In addition, calls will be connected in less than two seconds compared with five to ten seconds on 3G networks. Customers will have the flexibility to make calls and use 4G mobile data services at the same time without compromising 4G data connectivity speeds. 

Singtel's VoLTE service will be the first of its kind to be equipped with Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC) capability. This automatically switches ongoing calls without interruption to the 3G network if users lose connection to the 4G network. 

Mr Paul O’Sullivan, Singtel’s CEO, Group Consumer, said: "Singtel is committed to being at the forefront of innovation and offering the most advanced mobile services in the market. VoLTE opens the doors to a whole new world of next-generation communications and interactive video services. We will work with Ericsson and Samsung to develop these cutting-edge services that will transform the way our customers live, work and play."

Mr Arun Bansal, Ericsson Head for Southeast Asia and Oceania, said: “Singtel’s latest Voice over LTE offering places them at the forefront of technology innovations in the industry.  We are pleased to provide a highly capable solution for Singtel, and be their partner once again in bringing the most advanced communication services to Singapore.”

Singtel will work with Samsung to introduce a range of VoLTE-compatible smartphones to Singapore, such as the next highly anticipated Galaxy S device. The Samsung Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 will also receive a firmware upgrade in the coming months to support the service.

Mr Moon Soo Kim, President & CEO, Samsung Asia Pte Ltd, said: “Samsung welcomes Singtel’s launch of VoLTE in Singapore, and is delighted to have a part in making it possible for consumers to enjoy the best call quality on their Samsung Galaxy smartphones. As consumers are demanding more of their smart devices and Samsung continues to deliver the latest LTE technology, such collaborations ensure that consumers are getting the best out of their smartphones.”