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HD voice at a cost

Nicola Mawson
By Nicola Mawson, Contributor.
Johannesburg, 25 Sept 2014
Consumers will demand the better call quality that comes with HD voice.
Consumers will demand the better call quality that comes with HD voice.

Although SA is one of 75 countries to offer HD voice - after MTN went live with the service last month - questions are being raised as to whether the technology will do anything to improve call quality; a seemingly constant bugbear for mobile users.

This week, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association said 75 countries now offer the service - a 30% increase year-on-year. Locally, MTN said towards the end of August that it was the first local operator to unveil adaptive multi-rate wideband technology - more commonly referred to as high-definition (HD) voice - with the service being available across its network. Vodacom is trialling the technology, but has yet to announce a go-live date.

MTN's GM of radio optimisation and planning, Krishna Chetty, notes the service provides a superior audio experience. "Conversations on HD voice will sound as natural and clear as if you are talking to someone in the same room. HD voice reduces fatigue and makes for more intelligible conversations. It enables clear conversations on many smartphone devices and gives users an optimal user experience which has, until now, been the sole preserve of fixed-line networks."

Chetty said the experience of changing from ordinary voice to HD voice is comparable to switching from standard-definition to high-definition television. Vodacom spokesman Richard Boorman says the technology, which makes use of a wider frequency range, has been tested in every province, although the company has not set a date on which to take the service live.

Pointless

However, to benefit from the superior quality, both parties to a conversation have to be on an enabled device. Boorman notes there are about 350 handsets available that are compatible, although these tend to be more higher-end devices.

World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck adds the models of phone supporting HD voice represent a high proportion of South African smartphone users and a reasonably high proportion of feature phone users. "If it enhances call quality, then it can only be a good thing for consumers."

HD service is available in:

Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, R'eunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, UK, Ukraine and US.
Source: GSA

Independent telecoms researcher Samantha Perry says, however, the service will have a bigger impact on networks because they will carry more information. She adds operators will now start using more spectrum that they do not have. "On the grounds that it will offer more quality is a great idea, but the networks are overloaded as it is...We will get there eventually, but at what cost?"

Ovum analyst Richard Hurst concurs, noting operators will have to plough more money into their networks to support what is a dwindling revenue stream. He says cellular providers have no choice but to invest in voice, to try and offset the decline, and consumers will want better quality calls, but this needs to be balanced against how much revenue will be brought in. "This begs the question: where is the business case?"

Hurst adds, if the service uses more spectrum, any improvement in call quality will be negated, and this takes operators back to the "age-old crying issue" of needing more frequency. Much-needed space in 2.6GHz and 800MHz has yet to be made available by government after the process stalled under former minister Dina Pule.

Cell C was unable to comment on whether it is planning to launch the service, and Telkom Mobile did not respond to a request for comment.

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