After testing it for a couple of months, Airtel has recently launched Wi-Fi calling for its subscribers. For now, Wi-Fi calling is going to work only on Airtel Xstream Fiber and on select smartphones.
In yet another industry first, Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest integrated telecommunications company, recently launched its voice over Wi-Fi service – ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’. The technology is designed to enhance voice calling experience for Airtel smartphone customers, especially when they are indoors. With this service, customers with Wi-Fi at home or office will get excellent signal quality indoors.
Airtel and Reliance Jio both were testing Wi-Fi calling for their subscribers. Airtel is now rolling out Wi-Fi calling for its prepaid and postpaid subscribers across India as part of the general availability of the feature. The Wi-Fi calling will let Airtel users make use of the Wi-Fi network in their homes to make calls using VoIP, instead of relying on cellular connectivity. This seems like a good feature, although the limit, for now, is that the feature is going to work only with Wi-Fi powered by Airtel Xstream Fiber and on select smartphones.
There will be no extra charge for calls made over ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ and the application consumes minimal data. The service is currently available to Airtel customers in Delhi NCR and will be gradually rolled out across India.
Airtel Wi-Fi Calling Features
This enables Airtel smartphone customers to switch seamlessly from LTE to Wi-Fi-based calling when they are inside their homes/offices. Customers can make voice calls from Airtel Wi-Fi Calling at no extra charge. Currently, this service is exclusively available in Delhi/NCR. Airtel has mentioned that it will be rolled out across the country in the coming days.
Randeep Sekhon, Chief Technology Officer, Bharti Airtel said,
As a customer obsessed brand, we are constantly working on improving customer experience based on their feedback. Seamless indoor coverage has been a key ask from mobile customers but getting permissions for site installations has always been a big challenge for mobile operators, particularly in top metros. ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’ is another pioneering technology intervention from Airtel and will go a long way in making the voice calling experience more seamless.
How to Activate Airtel Wi-Fi Calling
- Airtel Wi-Fi Calling does not require any app and can be configured on the smartphone
- Check smartphone compatibility on airtel.in/wifi-calling
- Upgrade device operating software to the latest version that supports Wi-Fi Calling*
- Go to Settings on your mobile phone and Switch On Wi-Fi Calling
- Keep VoLTE switched on as well for a seamless experience
Supported smartphones For Airtel Wi-Fi Calling
- Apple: All iPhone series starting 6s and above
- Xiaomi: Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro & POCO F1
- Samsung: J6, A10s, On6, M30s
- OnePlus: All models of OnePlus 7 Series
Having said that, Airtel is working with all leading smartphone brands to roll out compatibility with ‘Airtel Wi-Fi Calling’.
Supported Broadband for Airtel Wi-Fi Calling
The service is currently compatible with Airtel Xstream Fiber home broadband and will soon be compatible with all broadband services and Wi-Fi hotspots.
It is important to note that Airtel is not the only telecom provider working on Wi-Fi calling feature for its subscribers. Jio is also working on a similar feature and is expected to bring that to its users soon.
