Calling all carriers - it's time to connect to Wi-Fi

At some point, most cell phone users have been in the position of wanting to make a phone call but had no cellular coverage in order to do so. It is a frustrating reality for carriers and subscribers alike that this happens, but Wi-Fi calling is a service that aims to change that. As a resource that now permeates day to day modern life, Wi-Fi connectivity provides the complementary coverage for carriers to ensure their subscribers are able to make phone calls in places they require it the most. These calls can now be made over Wi-Fi connections as a straight alternative to 2G, 3G and VoLTE calls. The integrated nature of AT&T’s new Wi-Fi calling function is a great step up from the first wave of third party Wi-Fi calling apps, and the speed at which carriers have developed the service draws inevitable comparison with Internet service providers.

Not only does Wi-Fi calling improve subscribers’ mobile coverage, it also gives operators the chance to offload cellular capacity onto Wi-Fi networks, which in turn improves local cellular coverage for those that really need it. A further benefit comes in the form of lowered roaming costs, as using voice services abroad over Wi-Fi does not incur the traditionally high roaming fees.

However, merely launching the service is no longer enough. Carriers must consider whether they are able to improve and evolve their Wi-Fi calling service after launch – in a fast moving telecoms world, this is absolutely essential.

Standards are on the rise

Traditionally, the telecoms industry has long been one of painfully slow innovation. In contrast, Wi-Fi calling has been brought to market at an uncharacteristically fast pace. Consumer-focused marketing by companies like Apple, who launched the Wi-Fi calling capable iPhone 6 in 2014, has helped bring the service into the public consciousness. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines telecoms standards, and in 2012 specified how Wi-Fi access to the cellular network should work, two years before Apple’s handset launch. However, the standards had several alternatives, and not one direct approach of how Wi-Fi calling should be integrated into a carrier’s network. It did not cover, for example, call handover to a 2G or 3G network. Apple, as it so often does, led the way and naturally defined how Wi-Fi calling can be integrated onto a handset, but little has defined the network integration process.

Because of this, Wi-Fi calling has subverted the usual standardisation model. Instead of the standard specifying how services are accessed or how they behave, and then carriers rolling out network equipment to deliver the standardised service, Apple (along with T-Mobile in the US, the first carrier to launch the service) has helped to further invigorate market interest and drive the need for a shorter and less expensive route to market.

Whilst the usual comparison of mobile carriers to OTT providers is a tired, inaccurate one, the encouraging speed at which carriers are launching Wi-Fi calling hints at the growing possibility of mirroring the continual upgrade cycles of OTT services. This can be achieved through the flexibility and agility that software based solutions provide to carriers. They enable services to be incrementally developed, changed and improved over time.

Carriers must learn to embrace this continual adaptation and iteration if they want to evolve services effectively. Launching Wi-Fi calling is one thing, but it is doomed to age badly if carriers have not employed an open, flexible solution in the first place. It is no use having a fixed Wi-Fi calling service that cannot be changed to reflect evolving market demand. Technical improvements, customer requirement changes, usage variation and functionality upgrades are all feasibly necessary at any point in the life of a service, and will all prove very impractical without an open service solution.

This is because traditionally, service changes are only achieved via changes to physical telecom equipment. Any and all change requests have to be heavily vetted and even if accepted must then be laboriously added to the network by carriers’ network equipment providers at a hefty cost. This makes agile service innovation a pipe dream and discourages carriers from updating a service. Now carriers are turning to Wi-Fi calling solutions, it is vital they consider the ongoing flexibility and total cost of ownership, rather than erring towards the option with the lowest initial price. Any cost savings made by deciding to go down the route of fixed equipment-based solutions will fall short of the total saving delivered by an adaptable, software based Wi-Fi calling service that allows continual upgrades and improvements.

Breaking with tradition

The benefit of the agility awarded to carriers that introduce open, flexible Wi-Fi calling to their networks is plain to see. By completely owning the change process that was once controlled by various equipment vendors, carriers can move innovation in-house and collaborate faster with partner developers – all within a budget that is finally realistic and business-minded.

For those carriers that have not yet launched Wi-Fi calling, time is of the essence. A flexible Wi-Fi calling solution should be seen as an opportunity to differentiate against competition, speed up time to market and offer subscribers something unique. To keep the service relevant for years on end, careful consideration is needed at the first hurdle by selecting the most flexible solution. Incredible opportunity awaits carriers that acknowledge that an open Wi-Fi calling service is infinitely more sustainable than the traditional way the industry has, until now, gone about deploying new telecoms services.