Airtel moves to improve call quality with HD voice service

Bharti Airtel has moved to improve its network voice quality by launching a mobile phone-based feature that helps reduce background noise while making a call.

The feature - mobile HD voice will be available in all Bharti Airtel operations in Africa and enables high-quality voice calls because it reduces background noise often heard on a regular call.

The move comes on the background of a Communications Commission of Kenya’s 2011/2012 Quality of Service report that indicated Airtel did not meet the set network quality threshold set by the regulator.

In a media release Tuesday, the Indian-based firm said its customers on 3G networks will experience a significant improvement in their voice communications as the new service will enable them to hear better in noisy environments.

“HD voice is the most significant improvement in voice communications in the past two decades. Mobile HD voice offers crystal clear audio quality and will enhance user experience on Airtel mobile networks.

“Surveys confirm that customers place a high value on HD Voice”, Andre Beyers, the Chief Marketing Officer, Airtel Africa said. “The new service will enrich end-user experience for Airtel subscribers”.

To enjoy the maximum benefits of this new technology, both the calling and the called party need an HD-Voice compatible mobile phone.

However, improvements in call quality are also perceived when using an HD voice-enabled phone to call a non-HD Voice phone.

Mobile HD Voice based on AMR (Adaptive Multi Rate) Wideband technology (W-AMR) operates with nine different bit rates, providing high-quality voice calls.

Compared to the current narrowband speech codec, the W-AMR speech-compression algorithm doubles voice bandwidth and produces better results.

After years of trials, HD Voice services were launched in 2009 and they are now available in 35 countries around the world.

According to the results of a recent survey, 96 per cent of customers are satisfied with HD Voice calls, hence the rapid pace of commercialisation of the services across the globe.

According to CCK’s 2011/2012 Quality of Service (QoS) report Airtel Kenya and Safaricom Ltd were not compliant as they met five (5) and four (4) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), respectively.

READ: Telcos face heavy penalties for poor service

The Quality of Service KPIs include completed call rate, call set up success rate, call drop rate, and call set up time. Others are call block rate, handover success rate and signal strength. The KPIs were adopted in 2008/2009 after an elaborate and all-inclusive process.

Essar Telecom (yu) and Telkom Kenya (Orange) recorded a compliance of 87.5percent after meeting seven (7) out of eight (8) KPIs.

The set minimum QoS compliance level is 80 per cent.

These performance results are used to assess the level of compliance in the current period and to determine if appropriate remedial measures have been taken by operators as directed based on the assessment results of the preceding period.

Operators who fail to meet the set minimum QoS standards are penalised in line with the provisions of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, CAP 411A.

"All in all, operators need to step up their efforts as consumers continue to demand better services and as they continue to understand and demand their rights as consumers," concludes the report.