Digital Service Provider granted license allowing provision of voice over data services – a first for Zambia.
Vodafone Zambia is set to launch 4G voice services (Voice over LTE – VoLTE) commercially within the next three months under a newly acquired license from the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA).
CEO, Lars Stork commented: “We have consciously built in support for VoLTE in our 4G network and the tests we have conducted have shown tremendous results.
“VoLTE is the next generation technology for transporting voice traffic as an IP data stream in LTE. Today our LTE network is solely used for data traffic, however our vision and strategy is to offer best in class data and now also voice over data on our 4G network,” Mr. Stork continued.
He went on to highlight how the opportunities for a superior and seamless user experience of voice integrated in 4G LTE are significant.
“Services and applications have been developed and we will continue to innovate to be the leading digital service provider in the country. Not only does VoLTE enable a high definition (HD) voice and data experience simultaneously for our customers, but the technology is also more cost efficient giving them more value, prolongs the battery life of their smartphones, and has a much faster call setup time,” he said.
According to London-based market research and consulting firm, Hot Telecom, global VoLTE users are expected to grow to 2.3 billion by 2020.
“We are convinced that 4G data and 4G voice is the future of how we communicate. Vodafone is fully committed to transforming Zambia’s communication landscape with a clear vision of becoming the #1 digital service provider in the country. We will continue to invest in our network to allow for greater access to this revolutionary service; and in our people to ensure this vision becomes a reality,” added Mr Stork.
Vodafone launched its operations in Zambia on June 9, 2016, initially with 4G TD-LTE high-speed data services. The recent acquisition of a Voice over IP license with endorsement from the Zambia ICT Authority (ZICTA) allows the operator to provide a range of its world-class data services including voice, video, messaging, and fixed communications.
The rollout of the service also sets the stage for future enhancements through Rich Communications Services (RCS), which enable things including large file transfer, more robust group messaging, and more location sharing.
Just remembered that Vodafone were denied license because of its connections with Mr Kavindele who had differences with the late Mwanawasa. By the way why is it Kavindele is not PhD like the other money men of the Republic of Zambia?
They never applied for voice get your facts right they already had the VoLTE licence and this is the route they wanted to take. You just have to politicise this one as well. Really mind boggling you are
Nomba ine confused!! Why is it that only an African is wearing an identy around his name? Why not Abasungu??
meant Identity
dontcare – because Africans like to show off like they do with car keys…I never wear such tags and fobs I put them in my pocket.
Shameless read properly. I’m not talking about the current situation. I’m talking about something that happened more than 15 years ago.
They never applied!!!! That is what their CEO has just said,even ZICTA said the same sometime back Why complicate issues.
@Ndanje khakis… kindly note that its not Vodafone Zambia that has/ had connections with Kavindele but Vodacom S.A who wanted to enter Zambian Market back then! within the boundaries of Zambia these are two distinctive Firms that operatives independently.
@giggs exactly! In any case Kavindele is in the ICT space with Iconnect!
So they think people will use their VoLTE and do away with Whatsup and Facetime…they are having a real laugh…in Zambia I move around with a vodafone mifi in my pocket to make international calls and local calls via whatsup and Facetime
What a racket! They brought people together to tell them they can make phone calls off an internet connection? Lol. Okay, carry on. Nothing here.
They think they can re-invent the wheel and their competitors will just sit back, admire and watch them…really laughable…their are just so many VoIP apps there is nothing revolutionary about it not even in Zambia.
That’s a good news to hear
Please understand that before there was no licence to allow providing a service that enables calls through the internet. Now its licenced thats why this is news. It is true that the PF government have made mistakes but its also true that the development agenda for this nation is quite at the faster pace compared to the previous governments. If President Lungu can put more effort in curbing corruption especially among civil servants in the procurement channels, Zambia will become a force to recon with.
Are you drunk?
who’s gonna use voip (voice over ip) in Zambia?. maybe a few businesses may benefit. I think for an ordinary Zambian it’s cheaper to continue using whatever you’re currently using.
the features they are pushing are an exaggeration. call quality is only as good as the network. and it’s a lie that it prolongs battery life
there are so many apps out there now that, most of them free!.
I was laughing with a zambian friend of mine how expensive it was calling back home some 20-25 years ago. before such a phone call, I’d have my points written down and go through them real quick. when the bill came it was still so freaking high for a student. man things have changed! lol
People got very wealthy of Phonecards …imagine buying a £5 card and it states that there is 180mins on it to call Zambia only for the line to cut after 30 mins and the customer service complaints line is manned by some Pakistani woman in some kitchen who doesn’t know what you are talking about.
@ jay jay lmao. I remember those days
when I first came here, there were no phone cards, we just used to use the land line to call home. then phone cards came along.
I stopped buying $5 cards, it’s buy a whole butch of $2.50 and call each individual with one card
after putting in the pin # when you start the call would say you’ve 80 minutes… 5 minutes into the phone conversation you’d hear a msg, you’ve 1 minute left. wtf! lol
You are really bored and assume that everyone on the blog would know were you are………”when I first came here, there were no phone cards, we just used to use the land line to call home. then phone cards came along.”
Welcome Vodacom. The cheapest in Afrca.
Lol not in Zed!
THAT’S GOOD
Well come vodafone we was waiting for you gogogo Zambia with the no. 4th net work
I thank there will be a competition and improvement in terms of services. Well come Vodafone
Strange that as soon as Vodafone enter the market, the cartel of existing networks that was keeping prices for data artificially high suddenly halved their data bundle prices.
Not sure what is so exciting about this tech. Why would I bother with this when I’m able to call outside Zambia using either whatsapp or Skype? I’m also able to call landlines and cell phone numbers worldwide using Skype when I purchase credit and have a dedicated Skype contact number.