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O2 becomes the last major carrier to enable WiFi and 4G calling
It took a while, but O2 has become the last of the four major UK carriers to launch WiFi and 4G calling on its network. The company confirmed today that iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus owners can now make calls in "notspots" when a wireless connection is available, with other phones coming online "very soon."
Three finally rolls out app-free Wi-Fi calling in the UK
For years, Three has offered WiFi-enabled calls through an app called inTouch. While serviceable, the experience pales in comparison to the app-free versions offered by Vodafone and EE. After all, who wants an extra icon taking up your home screen or app drawer? Thankfully, Three now has a competitive service. If you're using a compatible device (LG G5, Samsung S6 and S6 edge, iPhone 5c, 5s, 6, 6s, SE and 7), you no longer need the app to call someone over the internet. That means you can talk when you're trapped in a pesky "notspot," or even on the London Underground. Three says more devices will be added over time -- Samsung's (soon to be replaced) S7 and S7 edge will be compatible next month, for instance.
You might be warned if your next flight allows WiFi calling
Between screaming babies, flatulent passengers and that guy ahead of you who insists on leaning all the way back, air travel can be pretty miserable. And that's before you think about the possibility of someone loudly making a call over WiFi during your flight. The Department of Transportation wants to address that last bit, though.
AT&T brings WiFi calling to Android phones
Hey, AT&T subscribers: you no longer need an iPhone to make calls over WiFi. The carrier has introduced WiFi calling for Android. If you have a supporting device (currently limited to the LG G4), a postpaid plan and HD Voice support, you can grab an update that lets you make calls over the internet when cell service just isn't an option. As on the iPhone, what you pay for a call only depends on who you're calling -- you can reach a US number at no extra charge while you're abroad. AT&T certainly isn't the first out of the gate with WiFi calling on Android, but this will definitely make a difference if you'd rather not switch networks just to get the improved coverage.
iOS 9.3 brings international WiFi calling to iPhones on AT&T
If you've been waiting for AT&T's WiFi calling service to start working outside the US, you may want to install iOS 9.3 on your iPhone right now. It won't only bring Night Shift to your device, but also the ability to call from other countries without incurring additional charges. So long as the feature has been toggled on in Settings, and you're connected to a WiFi connection, you can make or receive calls abroad even if you barely have coverage. If you dial an international number, though, you'll have to pay your plan's usual rates.
Vodafone brings WiFi calling to the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
Vodafone launched its seamless WiFi calling service in early autumn, opting for a native experience over the kind of apps O2 and Three use. For several months, only iPhone 6s and 6s Plus owners have actually been able to use the feature, but today the carrier announced it's added Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to the list of compatible handsets (as long as you got yours from Vodafone directly). While it's good news for a subset of customers, it also highlights the sluggish rate at which native WiFi calling is being made available across the network. In the three-plus months since switching on the service, Vodafone has managed to enable the feature on a grand total of four handsets.
Verizon's WiFi calling is available December 8th on two phones
Verizon didn't take too long to get the ball rolling on WiFi calling. The carrier has announced that it'll make the feature available to customers with Advanced Calling (read: voice over LTE) starting December 8th. Unfortunately, you'll have to be picky about your choice of phone at first -- it's only available on Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to start with, and Big Red won't have updates for more phones (including iPhones) until early next year. Still, it's hard to knock this too much -- between this and AT&T's recent addition of WiFi calling, you can now go to any major US carrier and expect to make online calls when your cellular signal has gone down the tubes.
Verizon asks for permission to offer WiFi calling
Earlier this month, AT&T applied to the FCC for permission to offer native WiFi calling and now just a few weeks later, Verizon is following suit. The network has delivered a request to Tom Wheeler and his crew in the hope that it will be allowed to offer the feature to its users. If regulators give an official thumbs-up, we wouldn't be surprised if the first crop of iOS 9-toting iPhone users don't get the offering pretty quickly. After all, AT&T contacted the FCC on October 6th and started rolling it out to customers on October 8th.
AT&T's WiFi calling feature is now available
It's been just a few days since the FCC granted AT&T's waiver request that allowed the company to finally turn on its WiFi calling feature, and now WiFi calling is officially live. AT&T confirmed as much in a blog on its site, and it works just as you'd expect. Right now, only an iPhone with iOS 9 will work, but as long as you're on a WiFi connection, your phone will route calls through that connection if you cellular signal is bad. It's a feature that T-Mobile and Sprint have provided for a while now, but regardless it's good news for a select group of customers on the USA's second-biggest wireless network. We're hoping that other phones besides the iPhone soon, but if you are among that select group of compatible customers, you can give it a try now.
AT&T's WiFi calling nears launch as FCC grants its waiver request
AT&T has received a waiver for its long-awaited WiFi calling feature from the FCC after it was delayed (yet again) by the lack of options for deaf users. It was already made available on a beta version of iOS 9 sometime ago, but it couldn't be launched alongside the platform, since the FCC requires services like it to support teletypewriter (TTY) for the hearing-impaired. The newer technology that the carrier wants to use with it called real-time text (RTT) won't be available until 2016. In a statement posted on the company's website, senior executive vice president Jim Cicconi said that while they're all grateful their request was granted, they're still wondering why T-Mobile and Sprint were allowed to offer WiFi calling without a proper waiver from the commission.
AT&T says competitors launched WiFi calling without FCC clearance
While Sprint and T-Mobile have already flipped the switch on WiFi calling for the iPhone, AT&T continues to wait it out on the sidelines. And now we may know why. As reported by The Verge, the carrier recently sent a letter to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler accusing competitors of launching the feature without legitimate approval from the government agency. AT&T's Legal Senior Vice President, James Ciccioni, claims Sprint and T-Mobile started offering WiFi calling even though the FCC hadn't granted a support waiver for teletypewriter communications, also known as TTY -- which are typically required for providing accessibility services.
Vodafone launches app-free WiFi calling
Following EE, O2 and Three, Vodafone is finally ready to launch its own WiFi calling service. It's rolling out nationwide over the next few weeks and will be available to anyone with a Vodafone Red, Red Value or Red+ plan -- provided you have a compatible device, that is. So if your home is trapped in a "not-spot," or you frequently use the London Underground, people can still get a hold of you -- avoiding a string of missed call notifications when you next stumble upon some coverage. Like EE, Vodafone's service will kick in automatically and doesn't require a separate app. Once your account is activated -- presumably Vodafone will send you some sort of alert -- it's just a matter of enabling it in your phone's settings. Our main concern now is device compatibility. Vodafone says it'll be supported on "a number of leading smartphones," which hopefully means more than a select few.
Your iPhone can make WiFi calls on Sprint
Using an iPhone on Sprint? Good news: you just got WiFi calling. If you install both the iOS 8.3 update and a matching carrier profile rolling out this week, any iPhone from the 5c on up can make voice calls on Big Yellow using a WiFi hotspot. As on other devices (and T-Mobile, or EE in the UK), this is all about giving you calls in basements, big offices and other places where you might get flaky reception. The upgrade won't help you much if Sprint's coverage is less than stellar in between the access points you use, but at least you won't risk missing an important chat because you're stuck in a cellular dead zone. Photo by Will Lipman.
EE's WiFi calling service now works on iPhones after iOS update
Remember the other day when we said EE's seamless WiFi calling feature was launching on April 10th? Well, there's been a slight change of plan, as the service is available right now on compatible iPhones (the 5s, 5c, 6 and 6 Plus). WiFi calling was originally supposed to launch alongside the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge in a couple of days, and we had no concrete details of when Apple devices might be joining the fray. That's changed today with the release of iOS 8.3, however, which adds support for EE's WiFi calling feature, among other things.
EE to launch its seamless WiFi calling feature on April 10th
EE's been talking about adding WiFi calling to its list of customer conveniences since last summer, and though slightly delayed, the feature is now ready for prime time. Well, almost, as WiFi calling will officially launch on April 10th, coinciding with the release of Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. These flagships, alongside Microsoft's Lumia 640, will be the first phones capable of using the feature, though it'll become available to a slew of compatible handsets "in the coming weeks." You may be wondering why so few devices are supported at launch, and the answer lies in how EE has implemented WiFi calling on its network. Where O2 and Three have created smartphone apps that let their customers make calls over WiFi, EE's solution is completely seamless. No intermediary app is needed, meaning you'll be able to make and receive calls and texts over WiFi as you would normally, using your phone's regular dialer and messaging app. Provided you're a pay-monthly customer, that is, since the feature's not available to pay-as-you-goers.
Freewheel is Cablevision's WiFi calling service for thrifty New Yorkers
In large metropolitan areas that are covered with WiFi, you might start to wonder why you pay for a cellular service at all. It's this germ of an idea that has inspired Cablevision to announce Freewheel: a WiFi-based phone service that offers unlimited talk, text and data with no annual contract. The catch, if you hadn't already guessed, is that you'll only be able to use those minutes and MBs while you're in range of the nearest WiFi hotspot.
TalkTalk app lets customers use their landline package on a smartphone
Now that everyone and their dog has a mobile, landlines are less communication tool, more compulsory conduit for getting broadband at home. Free weekend calls and other concessions that come with landlines are usually wasted, but just as BT and Virgin Media did last year, TalkTalk has today announced a new app that lets its customers use their landline minutes and perks on their mobiles. The Talk2Go app, which has been knocking around the Android and iOS app stores for the past month, allows anyone with a TalkTalk landline to make calls over 3G, 4G and WiFi. Users may find it the cheaper calling option, depending on their home phone plan, or at least take comfort in knowing conversations aren't eating into their precious mobile minutes allowance. And because it can handle calls over WiFi like Three's inTouch or O2's TU Go apps, you don't need a mobile signal as long as you're in range of a hotspot.
Verizon isn't getting WiFi calling until next year, either
AT&T isn't the only carrier not getting WiFi calling until 2015 -- a certain red-branded network's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus won't, either. Speaking at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference, Verizon's CFO Fran Shammo said that his company has some back-end work to finish up before the feature goes live. This is something he predicts should happen around halfway through next year. What's more, he said that WiFi calling was never a top priority, either, as spotted by FierceWireless.
AT&T won't activate WiFi calling until next year
Apple made a pretty big deal about WiFi calling at its event this week, but if you preordered an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus running on AT&T today, you won't be able to use it right out of the box. That feature, according to LightReading, won't be available until next year. The carrier's Ralph de la Vega says the delay is because he wants to make sure that actually using the tech is a good experience for customers and doesn't result in annoyances like, say, dropped calls when switching from WiFi to mobile data. T-Mobile believes it's sidestepping that by giving every customer a router that prioritizes voice calls -- something that AT&T apparently doesn't need to do because it doesn't share the magenta network's coverage issues. De la Vega says he sees the tech not as a replacement for voice over LTE and 3G, but a complement. Shots fired?
Why T-Mobile wants to give you a wireless router for free
If you're a T-Mobile customer, your company just gave you a very unexpected gift at yesterday's UnCarrier event: a wireless router. Yes, a fully functioning, magenta-branded, ASUS-built router, which can do essentially everything your current router can do -- and if yours is old, this will likely do even more. The device, which would cost roughly $200 if you purchased it on Amazon without T-Mobile's tweaks, only requires a $25 deposit, which gets returned to you once you're done using it. The company is going all-in on its commitment to providing every subscriber and every carrier-branded smartphone with free WiFi calling, and the router -- called the T-Mobile Personal CellSpot -- is the icing on the cake. But, you may ask, why is this a thing that's happening in the year 2014, especially when most of us already have access to a router (and thus, WiFi calling) nearly everywhere we go?
