Verizon is preparing to launch Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) by the end of 2013, and it will bring a some big changes for the carrier and its customers. VoLTE will allow Verizon to route all voice calls and text messages over the carrier’s new 4G LTE network, instead of its legacy 3G CDMA network.
Speaking at Deutsche Bank’s Media, Internet, and Telecom conference, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said the carrier plans to switch to full LTE handsets sometime in 2014.
“We will ultimately get to voice over LTE, probably end of this year, beginning of next year. Then if you look out into late 2014 then you start to think of things like, okay, so now I can start to take the CDMA chip out of the phone and just have a pure LTE handset.”
Shammo expects subsidies to go down as the carrier makes this move from 3G/4G hybrid phones to pure 4G phones. Dropping the CDMA chip from smartphones will help the carrier lower its subsidy cost, and competition in the market will lead to lower smartphone prices for consumers. For additional information, you can watch the original webcast using this link.
[Via Fierce Wireless]