MVNO Republic Wireless said its ‘bonded calling’ technology can weave in cellular coverage when Wi-Fi connectivity lags
Wi-Fi-first mobile virtual network operator Republic Wireless unveiled a “bonded calling” technology it says can combine cellular and Wi-Fi signals in real time to improve service quality.
The carrier said the technology, which is part of its Adaptive Coverage technology platform, can patch in cellular connectivity when it detects “sub-optimal” Wi-Fi network conditions, resulting in “higher quality conversation” and extending indoor coverage. Republic noted in testing the technology has resulted in a 52% increase in Wi-Fi call quality and 209% increase in service quality at the edge of a Wi-Fi network.
“Until recently, we engineered for optimal voice quality on Wi-Fi in an ‘either – or’ scenario – either calls traveled over the Wi-Fi network assuming sufficient quality conditions or calls were automatically and seamlessly handed over to the cellular network. And any calls made on cellular network stayed on the cellular network,” explained David Morken, CEO and co-founder of Bandwidth and Republic Wireless, adding the technology can limit cellular data consumption in millisecond intervals “effectively ‘patching’ holes in the conversation and preventing these holes from being noticed.”
The technology, which is baked into Republic’s platform and available to all customers, builds on its previous work in supporting the handoff of voice calls between a cellular and Wi-Fi connection.
“We’ve long said two networks are better than one – Wi-Fi is a terrific network in optimal conditions as is cellular, but intelligently pair the two networks together and you have the best of both worlds,” Morken added.
Republic, which launched in late 2011, currently has an MVNO agreement with Sprint to handle cellular connections, but focuses its service offerings on Wi-Fi connectivity. A significant challenge for mobile operators offering Wi-Fi services to consumers has been the ability to maintain a connection when traveling between different connection methods. Typically a voice call is dropped when a device switches between a cellular connection and a Wi-Fi connection as the two networks are unable to “talk” to each other to facilitate a “soft” handoff.
Some companies have been able to offer the ability to have a voice call seamlessly switch between a Wi-Fi connection to a cellular connection as they are able to embed enough intelligence and have enough control over the cellular network to support the handoff. However, it’s been a bigger challenge to move a voice call seamlessly between a cellular connection to a Wi-Fi connection.
MVNO FreedomPop last year launched its Premium Voice technology that it said supports cellular-to-Wi-Fi handoffs. The MVNO said the software platform allows for a device to “seamlessly switch between VoIP and traditional cellular networks regardless of device type.”
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