HD Mobile voice call, HD Voice, Next G network, High Definition Voice calling, Telstra HD Voice Call
Telstra has unveiled the mobile phone equivalent of switching from Standard Definition to High Definition Television with the launch of High Definition Voice calling across its entire Next G mobile network. The first major advance in mobile voice quality in 20 years, HD Voice delivers crystal clear voice quality and suppresses background noise on calls made between compatible phones on the Next G mobile network.
Customers calling between HD-compatible phones can access the higher quality calls at no extra cost.
Mike Wright, Executive Director, Telstra Networks & Access Technologies said “The difference between a standard and HD call is the voice equivalent of comparing a VHS with a blue-ray DVD, HD Voice calling sounds like you’re talking face to face, even if you are hundreds or thousands of kilometres apart.”
“Twenty years ago we couldn’t have dreamt mobile phones would become indispensable work and lifestyle tools. Handsets have improved dramatically over this time, but the quality of mobile phone calls hasn’t changed much since the 1990’s,” Mr Wright said.
“In addition to the clarity of the calls, the noise suppression features make your HD-compatible handset much more effective in noisy environments such as on the train, in crowded places or in heavy traffic.
“We are delighted that we have rolled this new technology out across our entire Next G mobile network footprint. This means that not only do Telstra mobile customers have access to the largest and fastest national mobile network, they also have access to the latest voice technology across the largest HD enabled network coverage footprint in the world. Telstra is proud that we continue to provide leading edge services for our customers built upon our world leading, IP based network that we have built in conjunction with our vendor partner Ericsson,” said Mr Wright.
HD Voice is made possible using state of the art technology known as Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate coding (WB-AMR). The wider dynamic range means over twice the range of voice frequencies are transmitted allowing customers to hear the full range of a person’s voice and makes it much clearer to distinguish between similar sounds like ‘S’ and ‘F’.
“HD-voice calls will require the caller and receiver to be using compatible handsets on the Telstra Next G mobile network for the full benefits of the technology. We expect our customers will really value HD Voice as another distinguishing feature of the Next G mobile network,” said Mr Wright.
HD Voice uses the WB-AMR (Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate) speech codec where as the existing network uses NB-AMR (Narrowband AMR or commonly called AMR).
WB-AMR uses the same network capacity to double the voice bandwidth (50 – 7000 Hz) compared to traditional mobile and fixed network calls which have only ever carried the lower range of voice frequencies (300 – 3400 Hz).
The Nokia 6720, E52, E72 and N8-00 and HTC Desire S all support HD Voice today.
The Sony Ericsson Neo-Xperia will be launched next month with HD Voice and Telstra expects a large percentage of new devices to be launch with HD Voice support in the coming year.
For customers with compatible handsets there is no additional cost for HD Voice on the Telstra Next G network, it is a value add for these customers. Just as Next G customers can enjoy Australia’s largest and fastest mobile network they can now take advantage of this new capability.
