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TELECOMS AND SOFTWARE NEWS
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High-definition voice won't bring higher revenues for operators
Jeremy Green
High-definition voice won't bring higher revenues for operators
High-definition voice is coming soon to a mobile network near you, bringing some nice benefits for users but little hope of extra money for operators.
HD voice is a real improvement in quality for mobile calls
Last week we enjoyed a demonstration of high-definition (HD) voice, courtesy of UK operator 3. We were pleasantly surprised by the experience. The quality of the call was markedly better, in a way that was instantly recognisable to a normal listener. The sound was clearer and more resonant, as well as just louder; it was more like a face-to-face conversation than a normal mobile or wireline voice call. The subjective experience is better because HD voice uses a newer (and better) codec than is used in a standard GSM or 3G call. Improvements in the processing power of chips, and in the codec software, mean that the Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB) codec barely uses any more bandwidth than the old GSM version (12.65kbps versus 12.2kbps), but it nevertheless samples across a much wider range of sound frequencies - down as far as 50Hz and up as high as 7kHz. This gives both better bass and better treble, reproducing the sounds that distinguish one consonant from another. For connoisseurs of voice quality, the AMR-WB codec is expected to achieve an MOS rating of 4, compared to the 3 or 3.1 that GSM delivers. Implementing HD voice is a relatively painless step for operators, though it may sort the 3G sheep from the 2G goats
HD voice is standards-based and requires neither untested technology nor major investment. The AMR-WB codec was standardised in 2001. Major chipset vendors are already able to build it into handsets. Implementation has no impact on the radio side; however, it's necessary that the core network handles HD calls differently. Specifically, calls must be carried as 'raw' IP traffic, without transcoding into TDM voice. This means some changes to the way signalling is handled, but again most infrastructure vendors have already made the required changes and will make this available to their operator customers via software licensing. For operators running 3G networks this is not a major investment, but HD will be a bigger challenge for those that still use 2G to service a substantial proportion of their user base or provide a substantial proportion of their coverage. This point is not lost on 3 UK, and is probably the reason for its decision to demonstrate HD call quality to us even though it has no plans to actually provide HD voice any time soon. Orange has already deployed HD voice on its network in Moldova, and has announced plans for trials in the UK. HD voice is of limited commercial significance
Initially, HD voice will be launched as an on-net service. Users will only experience the enhanced voice quality when both calling parties are on the same network and both have a device that supports HD voice. Calls to or from users on other mobile networks, or the fixed network, will not deliver any enhancement in voice quality. This means initially that higher-quality calls will be more of an occasional nice surprise than a basis for a chargeable premium service. It might be possible to define some sort of commercial proposition for enterprise customers that buy a fleet of HD-capable phones, but even here there are likely to be challenges, especially with fixed-to-mobile calls. Eventually, interoperability between mobile networks, and then between mobile and fixed networks, will be sorted out. There is already a working group of operators thrashing out the details, and an announcement is planned for Mobile World Congress. Even so, it will be hard to see how this capability, attractive though it is, could be turned into a chargeable service. The irony is that HD voice only really becomes useful to customers at the point where it no longer serves to differentiate between operators. There are two ways in which HD voice will make a difference, though. It will push along the steady progress of fixed-to-mobile substitution, because the perceived superior call quality of some wireline calls will disappear. And it will create the possibility for device vendors to differentiate themselves by using superior-quality audio components including noise cancelling technology in microphones to eliminate background noise, some of which will be more audible with a codec that more accurately reproduces more frequencies.
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