GSA Mobile HD Voice Report 090311

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March 9, 2011

Mobile HD Voice: Global Update report

Mobile HD Voice service

using AMR Wideband

Mobile HD Voice based on AMR (AdaptiveMulti Rate) Wideband technology (W-AMR)enables high-quality voice calls in mobilenetworks and an improved user experience.It provides significantly higher voice qualityfor calls between mobile phones supportingthe feature, and can be implemented inGSM, WCDMA (UMTS) and LTE networks.The higher voice quality using HD Voiceimproves the call experience and allows

people to better share feelings, do businessand communicate information. HD Voicetransmits a broader spectrum of the humanvoice; therefore conversation is more naturaland is likened to speaking to the other partyin the same room. HD Voice also helpspeople hear better in noisy environments.

HD Voice helps operators to clearlydifferentiate their offerings and enable highquality services to voice dependent businesslike call center services, informationservices, emergency services, etc. HD Voice

is also ideal for conference calls and cancontribute to a reduction in business traveland raise productivity while reducing theenvironmental impact. Calls which areeasier to hear and understand reducefatigue typically associated with longconference calls. HD Voice changes that.

W-AMR speech technology is standardizedin 3GPP Release 5. The new speech-compression algorithm doubles voicebandwidth (507000 Hz) compared to thecurrent narrowband speech codec (300

3400 Hz) without extra radio or transmissionrequirements. According to 3GPP, 12.65kbit/s or higher coding bit-rates provide high-quality wideband audio (lower bit-rates of8.85 and 6.6 kbit/s are for temporary useduring adverse radio conditions or periods ofcell congestion). In subjective tests it wasshown that the HD Voice wideband codecproduces better results than the bestnarrow-band codec (12.2 kbit/s).

There is a strong business case for MobileHD Voice. Customers make more, or longer,

calls with HD Voice, while surveys confirmthat customers place a high value on HDVoice.

Figure 1: Comparative codec bandwidth envelopes

The maximum benefits from using HD Voice on a mobile HD-capablenetwork are realized or perceived when both calling and called partyuse HD Voice-capable phones. However, improvements in call qualityare also observed even when calling a non-HD Voice phone, due toimprovements in the acoustic performance and advanced noise

reduction capabilities present in most HD Voice phones.

The first commercial mobile HD Voice service launched in September2009. The momentum for introducing HD Voice is growing. HD Voiceservices are launched on 15 mobile networks in 14 countries acrossthe world: Armenia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, France, HongKong, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Moldova, Russia, Spain, and the UK.

Figure 2: Countries with mobile HD Voice commercial service (GSA March 9, 2011)


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Figure 3: Mobile HD Voice commercial launch schedule(GSA March 9, 2011)

HD Voice is being trialled or deployed by:

Figure 4: HD Voice trials and network deployments(GSA March 9, 2011)

Orange has announced that its entire mainland France 3G/3G+

network is HD Voice-compatible. In a press release* on November 23,2010 Orange also announced details of several additions to its rangeof HD Voice-compatible mobiles, which are identified by the "HDVoice" logo in the Orange catalog.

According to the results of a survey* by Orange: 96% of customers are satisfied with HD Voice calls

86% of testers say that compatibility with HD voice would be aselection criterion when purchasing a mobile in the future

76% of testers would be prepared to change mobiles to obtain HDVoice

* www.francetelecom.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/cp101123en2.jsp

Verizon Wireless demonstrated a range of Voice over LTE (VoLTE)and HD Voice capable user devices at this years Mobile WorldCongress in Barcelona. The initial devices well support [AMR-WB]are smart phones for sure, said Verizon Wireless Marjorie Hsu, VPTechnology Development. Other devices on the road map, wereworking through the form factor, we want to get the user experienceright.(Reported March 4, 2011: www.hdvoicenews.com)

Network aspects

Ordinarily the voice payload for transport in the core network is PCM-coded at 64 kbit/s according to ITU-T Rec. G.711. Narrowband AMR istranscoded to/from PCM which degrades voice quality, adding signalprocessing complexity. Analog PCM-based transport cannot be used

with W-AMR as G.711 only applies to narrowband voice. W-AMR mustbe based on one of two complementary 3GPP standards: tandem-freeoperation (TFO) or transcoder-free operation (TrFO).

Introduction of W-AMR into GSM systems requires TFO, which is partof 3GPP GERAN, which does not require substantial modification ofthe core network. W-AMR and TFO can also be introduced into UMTS.A better option however, is to use the recommended TrFO. Thecombination of TFO and TrFO enables W-AMR calls between all typesof 3GPP mobile devices (i.e. GSM/EDGE and UMTS/WCDMA-HSPA).

HD Voice ecosystem: wide choice of compatible phones

The mobile HD Voice eco-system is rapidly establishing. Alcatel, HTC,LG, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson have launched HD Voice-compatible phones.

Chipsets supporting HD Voice are confirmed by leading semiconductorcompanies.

Nokia Nokia Sony Ericsson Samsung ST-Ericsson

5230 E7-00 Elm Omnia 7 GT-18700 M5730

6720c E8 Hazel (aka Quiksilver) Omnia Pro B7350

C3-01 Touch &Type

N7 X8

C6-01 N8 X10 Mini Alcatel Broadcom

C7 X6 Xperia Arc OT-981A Tribe BCM2157

E5 Xperia Neo

E52 Xperia Pro

E55 HTC LG

E72 Desire HD LG-A310X3-02 Touch &Type

Figure 5: Mobile HD Voice devices (GSA March 9, 2011)

September 9,

2009

Orange Moldova launched the

worlds first commercial mobile HDVoice service, and introduced theNokia 6720c

July 19, 2010 Orange France launched HDVoice service offering Nokia E72,Nokia 5230, Sony EricssonQuiksilver (Hazel)

June 24, 2010 Orange Armenia launched HDVoice service offering the Nokia6720c phone

September 1,2010

Orange UK launched HD Voiceservice with variants of Nokia 5230,Nokia X6, Nokia E5, SamsungOmnia Pro phones

September 2010 SFR launched HD Voice in France

September 10,2010

Orange Spain launched HD Voicein Catalonia with Nokia 5230 & X6phones

September 16,2010

Mobistarlaunched HD Voice inBelgium

September 22,2010

Vipnet, Croatia announced HDVoice support in the network inearly October and sale of devicesin November 2010

November 3,2010

Tata DOCOMO launched HD Voicein India

November 9,2010

Mobinil, Egypt launched HD Voice

November 10,2010

Megafon announced launch of HDVoice in Russia with Nokia N8, C7and C6-01

December 8,2010

Orange Luxembourg launchedHD Voice nationwide

December 2010 CSL Limited upgraded their entirenetwork for HD Voice and launchedin December 2010

January 18,2010

WIND Mobile launched HD Voicein Canada (this is the first launch inthe Americas)

January 27,2011

TIM announced launch of HD Voiceservice in February 2011 in themajor Italian cities

Service launch target 2011 Telstra, Australia

Service launch target 2011 Orange DominicanRepublic

Service launch target 2011 Orange Switzerland

HD Voice will be activatedin the network during 1H

2011

3, UK

Service launch July 2011 A1 Telekom Austria

Trialling TMN, Portugal

Deploying in LTE network Verizon Wireless

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Nokia N8, C6, C7 and E7 are shipping with

HD Voice activated as default. Nokia C3 andX3 have recently been shipping with HDVoice activated. Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc,Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro devices all shipwith HD Voice activated. All new SonyEricsson Android phones are expected tohave HD Voice activated as default.

Figure 6: Chart of Mobile HD Voice-compatible devices(GSA March 9, 2011)

Log in to the GAMBoD tool to check the list of HDVoice-enabled HSPA devices www.gsacom.com/gambod

GAMBOD is available only by GSA memberorganizations and our website registered userscategorized as being from network operatorswww.gsacom.com/gambod

Hear HD Voice for yourself!

Several network operators provide audiofiles to demonstrate how calls using HDVoice sound compared to non-HD Voicecalling. Some examples with links areprovided here for you to listen to and hear

for yourself how HD Voice represents whatis probably the greatest advance in voice onmobile networks in decades!

A1 Telekom Austria

Standard mobile call: http://newsroom.a1telekom.at/celum/1720/download/A1_Alt_audio.wavHD Voice call: http://newsroom.a1telekom.at/celum/1721/download/A1_Neu_HD.wav

SFRwww.sfr.fr/innovation/2010-08/voix-hd.jsp#=kIRo

Orangehttp://www.orange.com/hdvoice

Martin Stanford (Sky News) using HD Voicewww.youtube.com/watch?v=bwVPkt6vwEw&feature=player_embedded

Join the discussion become a member of the GSA LinkedIN group:www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2313721

Here you will findGSAs HD Voice (W-AMR) subgroupwww.linkedin.com/groups?=&gid=3032759

More HD Voice resources:

Figure 2 (world map) and Figure 6 (devices) are available as PDF files viathe links on www.gsacom.com and also as JPEG files atwww.gsacom.com/news/statistics.php4

http://www.ericsson.com/article/hd-voice_1103876834_c

Tutorial on HD Voice AMR Wideband Technologywww.ericsson.com/ourportfolio/ericsson-academy/hd-voice

http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/portfolio/products/gsm/mobile-hd-voice-a-windfall-gain-in-user-experience

http://conversations.nokia.com/2011/01/07/what-is-hd-voice/

About GSA: GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) representsGSM/EDGE/WCDMA-HSPA/LTE suppliers, providing reports, facts, analysisand information explaining market developments and trends. GSA-organizedseminars facilitate enhanced dialog between operators, members anddeveloper communities www.gsacom.com

Member organizations: Aeroflex AnyDATA Inc Ericsson inCode mimoOn MindTree Ltd Nokia Nokia Siemens Networks Qualcomm SonyEricsson SpiderCloud Wireless ST-NXP Wireless Talking Eye TelcordiaTechnologies Velocent Systems

Information for this report was obtained wholly by the Global mobile SuppliersAssociation (GSA), referencing information exchanges between GSA and mobilenetwork operators, GSA and member organizations and other vendors, and publicannouncements. Errors and omissions excepted.

New HD Voice network commitments, deployments, service launches and HD-Voice capable device launches will be included in future updates of this report.

Updates are welcome to [email protected]

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GSA Mobile HD Voice Report 090311

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