Taqua Supports Native Wi-Fi Calling on Over 750 Devices

Android owners who have difficulty placing calls indoors will no doubt welcome the news from IP communications supplier Taqua.

The company announced at the annual Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that its VoWiFi application supported over 750 Android models.

VoWiFi, better known as Wi-Fi calling, allows users to make cellular calls over a Wi-Fi connection. The frequencies that modern phones use for making calls don’t always work well inside of buildings. This depends on the distance from cell towers and the construction materials used, but it can turn a smartphone into a small glorified tablet.

Wi-Fi calling takes advantage of the ubiquity of Wi-Fi networks in homes and offices to allow users to still make calls when inside.

Of course, it’s possible to do this with existing VoIP apps, but it often requires a user getting a second number, which usually adds additional costs. Plus, services like Skype don’t allow users to make emergency calls to 911.

Taqua has added Wi-Fi calling capability to more than 750 devices from 35 different manufacturers.

That so many manufacturers ship Android devices, all of which have different versions of the mobile operating system, is a particular challenge for Taqua.

“Most people are only familiar with the major Android handset brands and models, but there are actually thousands of unique handset models in use around the world today, and only a few include native Wi-Fi calling support from the manufacturer,” said Ken Kolderup, chief marketing officer of Taqua. “We developed our VoWiFi App to address this exact challenge. With our App, operators deploying VoWiFi can immediately broaden availability of the service to their entire subscriber population using Android handsets.”

What makes Taqua’s app unique is that in addition to native support, it also extends Wi-Fi calling capability to any device running Android 4.0 or greater. This is great news for many existing Android owners who find themselves left behind in terms of updates when manufacturers and carriers have an incentive to make them upgrade.

Taqua’s VoWiFi app is available in the Google Play store.