LTE Standard Solution for Voice and SMS Services Gets Official

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The fact that various carriers and cell phone manufacturers are going to embrace LTE as the future 4G technology is not a secret anymore. But Long Term Evolution needs standards in order for consumers to make a smooth transition from 3G to 4G and have a great voice and data experience no matter what network they will be using.

A bunch of carriers and cell phone manufacturers have announced a profile for future LTE voice and SMS services. Called the One Voice initiative, the profile defines the “optimal set of existing 3GPP-specified functionalities” which are going to be used by carriers and manufacturers in future LTE voice solutions.

The chosen common profile was the IP Multimedia Subsystem or IMS, which is expected to offer “service quality, reliability and availability when moving from existing circuit switched telephony services to IP-based LTE services.” A standard is needed in order to make future communication as smooth as possible and allow customer to use voice and SMS services even when roaming in different international LTE networks.

A standard LTE technical profile is also needed by manufacturers which are to supply future LTE handsets and various devices to international wireless communications operators. That way it will be a lot easier for a cell phone maker to make a phone that could be used in various markets around the world without needing specific customization for certain carriers.

Here are the carriers and manufacturers that have gathered together for the One Voice initiative: AT&T, Orange, Telefonica, TeliaSonera, Verizon, Vodafone, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Sony Ericsson. Can we expect them to offer a lot of LTE devices in the near future? You’ll be surprised to find out that your carrier is not on the list above. A particular name that comes to mind is T-Mobile but I am sure that the new voice and SMS LTE profile will be adopted by more carriers out there as soon as they are ready to deploy and start using LTE.