While Verizon Wireless initially had plans to launch Wi-Fi Calling in the middle part of 2015, that didn’t turn out to be the case. Fortunately, the wait is almost over.
The Big Red carrier has confirmed that it has been granted permission from the FCC regarding its waiver to launch Wi-Fi Calling to its subscribers. The waiver was necessary, much in the same way that AT&t’s was, to delay a teletypewriter (TTY) for the deaf and those hard-of-hearing until December 31, 2017. Instead of the TTY service, Verizon will utilize a real-time text (RTT) service instead.
Wi-Fi Calling will allow Verizon customers to use a Wi-Fi connection to make phone calls and answer texts, which will be a big boost for those who might live in areas where service is not that great, or be traveling to areas where network strength might dwindle.
However, while Verizon has been given the green light to launch the service, there are still no definitive dates penned in from the carrier. On its website it has effectively confirmed that it plans on launching Wi-Fi Calling “soon,” but nothing has been finalized just yet. When AT&T received permission for its waiver, though, the functionality was turned on in a matter of days, so one can hope that Verizon will follow in those steps.
[via FCC]
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