Safaricom offers video call option

L-R - Wilson Mwangi Techno Mobile Operations Manager,Mark Misumi Business HMD Global,Charles Kimari Kioge Head Of Department Internet & Mobile Samsung,Charles Wanjohi Director Consumer Safaricom & David Warui Huawei Accounts Manager this is when Safaricom launched voice and video calls over its 4G networkpopularly known as Voicer Over LTE(VOLTE). [Wilberforce Okwiri/Standard]

Safaricom customers will now be able to make video calls after the mobile service provider launched new calling features on its 4G network.

 The service, popularly known as Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and Video over LTE (ViLTE), became available countrywide yesterday to subscribers with a VoLTE-supporting 4G device and a 4G-enabled SIM card at no additional cost.

"We are proud to introduce the latest calling technology across the country which will enable Kenyans to make voice and video calls over 4G,” said Safaricom Chief Customer Officer Sylvia Mulinge at the launch in Nairobi.

VoLTE offers a richer calling experience and high definition calls due to the ability of 4G networks to support a higher data capacity that can carry up to three times more data per call compared with 3G networks and six times more compared with 2G.

VoLTE also eliminates background noise and other distortions that are characteristic of older networks.

Between 2014 and 2018, the contribution of voice to Safaricom’s service revenue has shrunk from 60 per cent to 36 per cent as M-Pesa and data rake in more revenues. The launch of the new service is part of the firm’s bid to maximise on earnings.

Last week, the company launched a reverse call feature, allowing subscribers without airtime to make voice calls to others within the same network.