Verizon Wireless has confirmed that it will be offering Wi-Fi calling by mid-2015 after previously dismissing the technology as needless. The carrier prides itself in the range and quality of its voice services so it saw no reason to pursue Wi-Fi calling.
Verizon CFO Fran Shammo made the confirmation at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference, saying the carrier will have to do some technological work for its network to support Wi-Fi calling. That may take time so the service isn't expected to launch until after a year.
Still, he has qualms about the service, noting that it will be difficult for Verizon to guarantee quality once a call goes on a Wi-Fi network. Since the carrier has built a reputation for offering superb call quality, the uncertainty that Wi-Fi calling brings may have been the main reason why Verizon took so long to launch its Voice-over-LTE service.
"We built our voice platform so extensively, there was never a need for us to tell our customers, ‘Oh, our network is not good enough so you need to go on Wi-Fi to complete your call,'" Shammo explained.
Verizon isn't alone in taking long to warm up to Wi-Fi calling though. Last week, Ralph de la Vega said that AT&T will be launching Wi-Fi calling as well in 2015 but the service will only complement 3G-based calling or Voice-over-LTE, reiterating that the carrier has "no burning desire" to use the service as a means of enhancing coverage.
T-Mobile, on the other hand, is taking a different route, fully embracing Wi-Fi calling by offering personal routers to improve Wi-Fi coverage in subscribers' homes. Additionally, the carrier is the first and only one to support the service on the new iPhone.
Sprint has already launched a Wi-Fi calling service as well last February, targeting Android smartphones in its network. It is also offering an "iPhone for life" promotion that reduces monthly payments for customers and lets them trade in their iPhones for a new model after 24 months. Under this promotion, a 16GB iPhone 6 costs $20 while an iPhone 6 Plus of the same capacity will cost $25 every month. Normal financing puts a 16GB iPhone 6 at $30 a month and the iPhone 6 Plus at $35.
Shammo, however, said that Verizon will not be leasing phones. The carrier has its own handset financing and early upgrade programs but majority of customers appear to still choose two-year contracts with subsidized handsets.
