Huawei and China Mobile have demonstrated the 3GPP-approved Enhanced Voice Services (EVP) standard for HD voice calling at Mobile World Congress Shanghai.
The EVP codec allows mobile phone users to experience full HD voice calling over a 4G network which, according to Huawei, performs “just as if you are speaking face to face”.
The vendor said the standard extends audio bandwidth to more than double that currently achievable though methods presently being used by operators for HD voice calling.
The current approach by operators for HD voice involves implementing Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) 7kHz audio bandwidth in conjunction with VoLTE, as recommended by the GSMA.
With EVS, audio bandwidth can be extended to super wideband 16KHz or even full band 20KHz, resulting in clearer audio that more closely replicates the original sound, Huawei said.
The vendor claimed cell capacity can also be improved “100 percent or more” using EVS thanks to better anti-jitter and packet loss concealment, which guarantees high voice quality even at the cell edge.
It added the coding technology would help “transform the quality of voice communication services.”
The EVS standard, submitted by Huawei and 11 partner companies in August last year, was approved by 3GPP the following September.
Tian Wang, Director of Huawei Media Lab, said: “4G mobile communications can deliver greater capacity, shorter latency, and together with the introduction of EVS Full HD Voice, will lead to a brand-new voice user experience that will popularise these new generation networks.”
Huawei is currently working with China Mobile to help launch the operator’s VoLTE network.