AT&T to join T-Mobile, Sprint in offering HD Voice


All Things D reports AT&T plans to roll out higher quality voice feature. The company has been expected to do something this year, but an AT&T VP this week made some public comments confirming a 2013 deployment.

The feature, which was introduced with the iPhone 5, uses higher data bandwidth to provide an improved voice quality. Probably the best comparison is a voice call quality of a phone vs Skype or FaceTime. Cellular voice data is highly compressed where IP-based solutions can utilize greater bandwidth and perhaps device hardware for better sounding audio.

Speaking on Monday, AT&T senior VP Kris Rinne said that the carrier will roll-out its own support for the technology later this year as it begins to route voice calling over its LTE network.


Last week T-Mobile announced it too will roll out HD Voice feature and Sprint has indicated it will do the same. Verizon hasn't made an announcement, but it may join the party next year.

All Things D