Telia has launched voice over LTE (VoLTE) for its customers in Norway.
The Sweden-based operator’s Norwegian subsidiary is marketing the technology as ‘4G Tale’.
Customers in Norway can now use the internet and make calls at the same time over an LTE data connection. Telia also talked up the improved audio, shorter connection times, lower battery consumption, and better coverage the technology affords.
Jon Christian Hillestad, Chief Technology Officer at Telia Norway, said: “With a sufficient number of mobile phones that support the VoLTE technology available, the timing to launch 4G Tale is perfect. The coverage, speed and quality in the 4G network makes it fully equipped to maximise the potential of new technologies.”
Customers with compatible handsets will have calls automatically diverted over the company’s LTE network, running in the 800MHz, 1800MHz and 2600 MHz frequency bands.
The operator has 2.3 million mobile customers in Norway; its LTE network extends to 98 percent of the population, it said.
Telia launched VoLTE in Estonia in July.
Research house IHS predicts more than 300 million consumers will be using VoLTE services by the end the year.