4G calling Abroad

[bdg0514]

Hi,

First off I just want to say that  EE roaming abroad has been great. I have been able to get amazing 5G coverage from TIM in italy. However, I've noticed that EE doesn't offer 4G calling or VoLTE abroad at the moment. With countries shutting down their 3G networks quickly will EE offer 4G calling abroad soon. since Ive been away my phone has dropped down to EDGE or GPRS for calls which is slow to connect or the call quality is poor.

Thanks!

[Chris_B]

@bdg0514   That’s down to the roaming network on how they route your call.    Are you a contract or PAYG customer?    

[bdg0514]

I'm on Contract. Tried other networks but only TIM connects. Iliad connects for 5 mins max then kicks me back to TIM. 

[bristolian]

EE offer VoLTE-roaming in the US for precisely this reason.

[bdg0514]

Oh so they'll do it on a country to country basis when each country shuts down 2G AND 3G then then they will offer 4G calling. That's the way i understand it anyway 

[DonDino1]

Actually no, it's up to EE to ensure they make agreements with each foreign network. I have not seen VoLTE anywhere I've ever travelled with EE, while (for example) my Greek SIM has VoLTE roaming in those same countries. EE is just dragging their heels really.

[DonDino1]

I just spoke with EE support who confirmed to me that EE does not offer VoLTE abroad, at all. 

[bristolian]

That EE CS person has told what's technically known as a porkie-pie. I hope that call was recorded.

VoLTE is required in the US for starters, as per my post above.

[bdg0514]

From what i was told it all depends on the roaming agreement they have with the networks abroad. Usa definitely have volte when roaming as all major 2G and 3G networks have been shut down. I also know that in certain countries certain networks work and certain networks kick back to 2G. They will end up moving us over to volte abroad when their roaming partners decide to shut down their 2G networks most likely. Also to note when i was in Italy earlier in the year although both TIM and Iliad kicked me down to 2G or 3G (Iliad still has 3G TIM doesn't) there was very little reduction in call quality compared to Volte so as long as i can call abroad I'm happy.

[bristolian]

Call quality is largely driven by the voice codecs used. EE use wideband codecs on IMS-layers (4G, 5G, WiFi), but only narrowband on 2G.

Some foreign networks may use wideband codecs on older radio layers, and this would make the difference less perceptible.