New Zealand’s third largest mobile operator, 2degrees, has introduced new services allowing customers to call and message from their mobile phones using a Wi-Fi connection, even when they are outside a mobile coverage area.
The company says, with the introduction of Wi-Fi Calling or Voice over Wi-Fi, it is making it easier for customers to stay connected.
According to 2degrees, its mobile network covers 98.5% of places people live and work in New Zealand, but the country’s terrain does create challenging coverage areas, where signals can be weak in places like valleys or gullies, as well as at the edge of a base station’s range.
The mobile operator says maintaining strong cellular coverage inside homes and office buildings can often be problematic due to building materials that impact signal propagation.
{loadposition peter}2degrees says at the heart of its Wi-Fi Calling service is Metaswitch’s cloud native communications software — including Rhino TAS, Clearwater virtual IMS Core, Perimeta virtual Session Border Controller and Service Assurance Server — and the Virtualised ePDG from Metaswitch partner, Affirmed Networks.
“Our combined cloud native solutions not only provide the foundation for 2degrees next-generation services, like Wi-Fi Calling, but also deliver the benefits of virtual network functions (VNFs) that are inherently designed for cloud environments,” the company says in a statement.
“Our combined cloud native solutions not only provide the foundation for 2degrees next-generation services, like Wi-Fi Calling, but also deliver the benefits of virtual network functions (VNFs) that are inherently designed for cloud environments. 2degrees is the latest mobile operator to recognise the value of cloud native communication software in helping to achieve service innovations that enhance their customers experience, as well as increase their own efficiency.”