Deutsche Telekom (DT), in collaboration with its partners Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung and Xiaomi, has announced the accomplishment of the world’s first ever Voice over 5G New Radio (VoNR) call in an end-to-end multi-vendor environment. During an innovation test in Warsaw, Poland, the partners tested the capabilities of a 5G Standalone (SA) network with voice and 5G data sessions in parallel.
The network setup integrated the Ericsson 5G Core and Nokia’s IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). Calls were terminated on commercial terminals from the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G, Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G and 5G smartphone form factor tester supplied by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 780G and 888 5G mobile platforms with Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF Systems.
By taking advantage of cloud-native 5G SA networks, operators will be able to provide high-quality voice services without relying on LTE as an anchor. Because of the high transmission quality of 5G technology, VoNR incorporation will give customers the ability to use voice and data services at the same time. It is anticipated that VoNR will be a vital component in many of the 5G-enabled data services, from improvements to the voice quality of existing services to new services related to inclusive video conferencing and augmented or virtual reality.
Marc Erhardt, Head of Cloud and Network Services in the Customer Team Deutsche Telekom, Nokia, said: “5G strategies must include a plan for embedding voice into 5G services, and the IMS core will be key for this. Our participation in this successful trial is the latest validation reflecting the strong capabilities of the Nokia IP Multimedia Subsystem and Telephony Application Server.”
Jan Karlsson, Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Services, Ericsson, commented: “The end-to-end 5G voice over NR going live with the first call in Deutsche Telekom network demonstrates the strength of our cloud native 5G Core network for standalone 5G networks.”
