WiFi calling seems to be the big buzz these days, and why shouldn’t it be as it only seeks to enhance the experience that consumers have when making and receiving calls and texts. No carrier has coverage everywhere, T-Mobile customers know this all too well, yet since the inception of WiFi calling coverage has only increased and it has gotten better and better in the past few years. Verizon will be hopping on the WiFi calling bandwagon sometime in the future, although a recent statement from Verizon Wireless executive points to the reality that they won’t be planning to implement it until sometime next year.
Verizon doesn’t see an urgent need for the WiFi calling feature within their network or on their devices, which might be true as they do indeed have a very strong network when it comes to coverage and voice quality. They plan on introducing WiFi calling in the middle of 2015 though, so a lot could change between now and then and perhaps a need for the feature to be included will present itself in the time subscribers have to wait. VZW CFO Fran Shammo stated that they don’t feel the need to have WiFi calling just yet because they have extensively built out their network and voice platform to provide a high quality calling experience. He seems to take a jab at T-Mobile by mentioning that “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.” Although he didn’t directly mention T-Mobile at all in the statement, it’s clear where the reference is directed.
Although Verizon does see the benefits of WiFi calling which is obvious since they’re planning to implement it at some point, Verizon has built a reputation around and prides itself on excellent voice coverage as well as voice quality, and they feel that introducing WiFi calling at this time would mean that they just can’t ensure the same level of voice quality that they stand behind now with their 3G/4G and VoLTE networks. Customers likely won’t mind too much, minus the ones that have poor coverage and could benefit from the WiFi calling now as opposed to later.