Guidelines to Wi-Fi Calling
Besides providing consumers with economical alternatives to phone plans, the main attraction of networks that assimilates Wi-Fi technology such as Republic Wireless and Project Fi of Google is that they will seamlessly switch a user’s phone service between cellular and Wi-Fi whenever needed. W-Fi- calling is not new and apps like Google Hangouts, Skype, Facebook Messenger as well as WhatsApp tend to make is easy in using the phone to make calls and sent text through the internet and skip mobile networks.
Carriers have also been adopting Wi-Fi calling and whether it is due to bolstering their network coverage or in improving user experience, most of the networks tend to have their phones with this service. To guide the user in Wi-Fi calling, it is essential to be aware of what purpose you could use it for and the following could be helpful to the user:
- Instead of utilising the network connection of your carrier, you could make voice calls through a Wi-Fi systemwhichwould mean utilising a Wi-Fi connection one may have set up at home or any Wi-Fi hotspot that may be on while you are out, like a cafe or library. It is like a phone call and one could use a regular phone number.
- Wi-Fi calling is particularly useful while in an area with weak carrier coverage. For instance while travelling to the countryside or while in a building with marked reception. With Wi-Fi one could call a friend even in a dingy, underground bar having a Wi-Fi connection.
- There are several services comprising of Skype, WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook Messenger which tends to provide under the umbrella term VoIP for voice over Internet Protocol in making calls with Wi-Fi or a data connection. Carrier-branded Wi-Fi calling is not the same. It is installed directly in the phone’s dialer so that one would not need to fire up an app or connect to a service when needed. You could also set it as a default way of placing a call or if one tends to lose the phone signal it would automatically switch to Wi-Fi calling.
- Since the services tends to be built-in which also means that one would not need to add contacts to a service as one would do with Skype. You would have to access to your prevailing phone book where your friends could receive your Wi-Fi call without the need of downloading a third-party app. Carrier Wi-Fi calling is easy to set up, with no contacts to be added.
- The four main US carriers namely T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T and Verizon provides built-in Wi-Fi calling. Republic Wireless and Google Project Fi offers Wi-Fi calling only on certain phones. The former tends to carry nine Android handsets where only three phones tend to work on the latter. Sprint’s network provides support to Republic Wireless if the link seems to be inaccessible while Google tends to use T-Mobile, Sprint and U.S. Cellular.
- Calling over Wi-Fi could be out of your regular minute allowance based on your carrier as well as your phone plan. Ensure to read the policies of your carrier to check if any of their possible limitations and charges is linked to your condition. Should you be short of minutes, utilising services such as Skype or WhatsApp could be beneficial in preventing any additional expenses.
