AT&T to offer Wi-Fi calling in 2015

Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T's Mobile and Business Solutions group, announced on Friday in New York, that the carrier will go live with Wi-Fi Calling sometime next year. The announcement was made at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference.

Wi-Fi calling, will allow customers make calls and send texts over a Wi-Fi network, and is supported on the new Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus. AT&T will offer VoWiFi with seamless handoff in place, similar to T-Mobile's version. The AT&T executive sees Wi-Fi calling complementing its current voice options like VoLTE and 3G Voice.

"We're very focused on making sure it's a great experience for customers, but we see it as a complement, not a replacement. We feel good about a great nationwide network with unlimited talk and text."- Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T's Mobile and Business Solutions

Last week, T-Mobile announced their Wi-Fi unleashed initiative as part of Uncarrier 7.0 and promised that 100% of phones sold by the carrier will include the Wi-Fi calling feature. This means T-Mobile will be getting a head start on AT&T. 

Sprint has offered Wi-Fi calling, although its service is limited to a few Android models. Other carriers like Republic Wireless have their customers make calls over Wi-Fi where possible, using Sprint's cellular network to fill out gaps where there is no Wi-Fi available.

source - TechCrunch