WiFi Calling Finally in Egypt | What is it and how does it work?
In 2024, the telecommunications sector in Egypt witnessed important developments. The Ministry of Communications announced the launch of the eSIM service in Egypt before the end of this year. This new technology will allow users to activate digital SIM cards on their devices without the need for physical cards, which will provide more flexibility and ease.
According to informed sources, the main telecom companies in Egypt, Vodafone Egypt, Orange, E&E, and Telecom Egypt, announced that they are conducting technical tests to launch the Wi-Fi Calling service before the end of this year. This service will enable users to make phone calls over Wi-Fi networks instead of relying on the traditional cellular network.
Last year, telecom companies submitted their vision and proposals to a regulatory body to issue the regulatory and operational rules for this new service. The activation of the Wi-Fi calling service aims to address the network outage and weakness in many areas in Egypt. According to Asharq Bloomberg ; Wi-Fi calls will be at the prices of traditional calls.
What is WiFi calling?
The advent of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology has led telecom companies to quickly adopt this technology as part of their traditional services. VoIP technology allows phone calls to be made over the Internet instead of traditional telephone networks; it uses the Internet to transmit voice from the speaker to the recipient, which makes it possible to make voice and video calls. These calls can be made through many applications such as WhatsApp, Messenger, and Skype.
Because VoIP is cost-effective and reliable, VoIP carriers have developed a new competitive advantage called “Wi-Fi Calling,” which works on the user’s phone when connected to the internet. This technology works by routing the call through the service provider’s network or Wi-Fi, whichever is stronger during the call. If the network is weak during the call, it automatically switches to Wi-Fi.
In addition to Wi-Fi calling, there is another technology known as VoLTE (Voice over LTE). This technology is different from Wi-Fi calling in that it works over the 4G LTE network instead of relying on weaker networks like 2G and 3G.
VoLTE offers several advantages, such as higher voice quality and reduced waiting time for call establishment; it also allows users to multitask, as data can be used to browse the internet during calls with ease. However, this technology works entirely over the traditional calling network and does not use Wi-Fi.
Is this technology available on all phones?
Wi-Fi calling is available on most modern smartphones ; iPhones starting with the iPhone 6, Samsung phones starting with the Galaxy S7 series and A series, as well as many other devices from Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, and OnePlus.
To activate Wi-Fi calling, the exact steps vary slightly depending on the operating system of the phone, whether iOS or Android. But in general, the user can activate this service by going to the settings menu on the phone. From there, he looks for options such as Connections, Cellular, Network, or Internet; the names vary depending on the version of the system used. But regardless of the terminology used, there should be a clear option to turn Wi-Fi calling on and off.
There is no doubt that these decisions have a significant positive impact on the telecommunications sector; however, we look forward to seeing more advanced services in the future, which will enhance the quality and efficiency of services provided to citizens.