The US cellular carrier network Verizon is turning on Wi-Fi calling for devices on its network next week, with Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge owners will be the first to get it.
Additional devices — including iPhones — will be updated to support the service “early next year.” Verizon is the last of the big four US carriers to flip the switch on Wi-Fi calling, perhaps in part because it waited until it could get an official waiver from the FCC to do it.
The carrier is positioning Wi-Fi calling as part of its “Advanced Calling” feature, which is the branding the carrier is applying to both VoLTE HD Voice calls and its own video calling service.
What’s less clear is whether Verizon handsets will default to using Wi-Fi if it’s available or if it will only resort to a Wi-Fi network “When a customer uses Advanced Calling on our 4G LTE network and travels outside of coverage,” as Verizon’s implies.
