Optus and OPPO complete voice call over a 5G standalone network
Australia-based telco Optus in collaboration with Swedish telecom vendor Ericsson and Chinese consumer electronics maker OPPO, have doubled down on 5G advancements by successfully carrying out a voice call over a commercial 5G standalone network.
“5G standalone will allow Optus to unleash the full power of 5G through even greater data performance, faster connection times and lower latency,” Lambo Kanagaratnam, Optus Managing Director Networks, said.
Optus successfully demonstrated their first Evolved Packet System Fallback call which leads the way for what will become the next evolution in mobile calling, which is a voice call over a 5G.
Once it is launched commercially, this technology will enable 5G standalone services to customers on smartphones, providing Optus customers with exciting new experiences and more innovative options they love.
“The move to 5G standalone will open up a range of new connectivity opportunities for Optus customers, enabling the delivery of richer and more immersive user experiences for current and future 5G applications,” Martin Wiktorin, Ericssons Head of Global Customer Unit Singtel said.
“This is an exciting step in the 5G era and Ericsson is committed to helping Australians access the best in 5G technology,” he added.
In addition, the new achievement in Australia’s 5G story is standalone voice, using advanced technology to create an adaptive network that takes us even closer to delivering a full-service, future-proof 5G experience.
Optus is paving the way on 5G innovation and our passion to provide our customers with the best, authentic 5G experience has driven us to raise the bar on value and service, said Kanagaratnam.
The futures full 5G experience will be underpinned by 5G standalone and the investment today provides the rocket fuel for future fast connectivity that will soon benefit our customers. The success of this technology milestone is a leap towards full deployment of Optus 5G standalone architecture nationwide, and we are already working on enabling 5G standalone voice calls using Voice over New Radio.
How is this voice call used? It was conducted on Optus network using Evolved Packet System Fallback (EPS-FB), which utilized Ericsson Radio Access Network (RAN) technology, Ericsson cloud native dual-mode 5G Core for standalone networks, Ericsson Cloud IMS and Oppos Find X3 Pro 5G handset.
As network evolve, 5G standalone will enable future opportunities, including on-premises 5G and end-to-end network slicing allowing personalization and control for our customers. As connectivity becomes even more important, Optus is committed to evolving our technology and delivering exciting new experiences with increased network performance that transforms how our customers connect and communicate with each other.