Benefits of VoLTE/RCS to
Carriers and Subscribers
Quan Choi
Sr. Manager
Product Strategy
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What is RCS?
• Rich Communication Services (RCS), provides Mobile
Network Operators with a means of transitioning circuit
services (voice and SMS) into an all-IP and LTE world
• Latest version of RCS is Release 5.1, bringing in support
for IP Voice, IP Video, and Location Sharing
• Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is an RCS service
• Enabled by an IMS platform
Content Sharing
Chat
Enhanced Address
Book
•Video sharing
• picture sharing
•File transfer
•Location sharing
•1:1 chat
•Group chat
•Picture/ Portrait
•Link
•Status text
•Availability
•Location
Information
•Time zone
Voice and Video
Messaging
•VoLTE (with lower
latency)
•HD Voice
•IP Video Call
•Video Conferencing
•Video
Messaging/Video
VM
•SMS
• MMS
IMS platform
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Challenges in Implementing VoLTE
Emergency services
SRVCC
Service Continuity
Complexity
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Emergency/Regulatory Services
E911 over VoLTE network
CMAS over LTE
Wireless Prioritized Services
on LTE
CALEA for lawful intercept
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• AT&T and T-Mobile
• Launched with
eSRVCC
• Call remains
connected when
mobile moves out of
VoLTE network
• Network and chipset
support
commercially
available
3GPP2
3GPP
Voice Call Continuity
• Verizon depends on
complete
nationwide LTE
coverage
• Call will drop when
device moves out of
home VoLTE
network
• Very costly for
network support and
no device support
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Service Continuity
• AT&T Fine Print
– “The following features/services are currently
incompatible with HD Voice service: prepaid
service, Smart Limits, Ringback Tones, and
OfficeDirect and OfficeReach (for business
customers).”
• Other services that may differ between IMS
and legacy network
– Conference calling (number of connections could
vary)
– Video calling and conferencing
– Other enhanced messaging services
– Simultaneous voice and LTE
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Why not VoIP over LTE?
• Call quality unaffected by congestion
QoS and GBR
Discontinuous Reception
(DRX)
Robust Header Compression
(RoHC) for RTP profile
Semi-Persistent Scheduling
(SPS)
Transmission Time Interval
(TTI) Bundling
• Battery life savings
• Maximized eNodeB resource utilization
• Reduced latency
• Less error
• Optimizes for fixed interval transmissions, such as VoLTE
• Reduced signaling overhead
• Optimizes cell edge coverage on the uplink
• Reduces signaling overhead
• Reduces error and latency
Features on the device and RAN
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VoLTE Status on Tier-1 Carriers in North America
• VoLTE Launched
nationwide in
September 2014
• Supported on GS5, LG
G2, and iPhone 6
• Part of their Advanced
Calling 1.0, with VoLTE
and video calling
(except on the iPhone)
• No SRVCC
• Move off of CDMA
ASAP
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• VoLTE launch in May
23, 2014 with HD Voice
3 in limited market with
one device
• Support SRVCC
• Video calling support
likely to follow Verizon
in 2014.
• Other RCS feature,
such as enhanced
messaging to follow
• Expect VoLTE launch
in 2015, market by
market
• Currently support HD
voice through 1xadvanced
• VoLTE launch in May
22, 2014, with HD
voice, completed
national deployment in
July – Currently, four
devices supported
• Support SRVCC
• Very limited
deployment
• RCS support via Jibe in
2014
• They will likely continue
to support “Joyn-like”
RCS services, but will
deploy full RCS
services such as video
and enhanced
messaging
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Benefits to Carriers
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Improve current
offerings
• Better voice experience to drive usage
• Text and MMS improvements
New offerings
• Compete with competitors as they start offering
the new RCS features
• Opportunity to offer new products that can
increase ARPU
• New revenue streams with APIs into RCS
services (Think WebRTC)
Drive data
usage
• Video services and content sharing will use more
data
• Increase the perceived value of the data services
Compete with
OTT
• Better experience with LTE network support
• Ease of use, communicate via phone number
• Trusted and reliable, offered by the user’s service
provider
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Customer Benefits
Better voice experience
• HD Voice
• Quicker call setup time
• Simultaneous voice and LTE
Enriched Services using
existing phone number
• Video calling and enhanced messaging
• Ease of use, communicate via phone
number
• Reliable and supported by the carrier
No change to billing
• Voice and SMS charged in the same
way
• Other services, such as video and
enhanced messaging charged as data
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Real Benefits to Carriers
Lower OpEx and CapEx through a
single network
Offer competitive services and products
to reduce churn
Reduce the risk associated with
drastically reduced pool of CDMA
carriers
Achieve device cost savings from
eliminating CDMA royalties and larger,
more uniform device ecosystem
Open up more potential roaming
partners
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End state for VoLTE
Interoperable
services for
VoLTE/RCS
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• Similar to when carriers had to encourage
adoption of SMS/MMS
• End-to-end inter-carrier HD voice and RCS
Refarm spectrum
from legacy
networks
• Reuse spectrum currently used for circuit
• Carrier aggregation to increase LTE capacity
• Take advantage of LTE’s spectral efficiency
Build up new
services on IMS
for new offerings
• Tighter partnerships with developers to create new
products that take advantage of carrier assets
• Converged communication services
Extend beyond
cellular networks
through IMS
• Voice over WiFi that offer telecommunication over
multiple devices using the user’s number
• Multi-device telephony services
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Thank You
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