Making calls without cellular coverage: Wi-Fi calling arrives in Italy, here’s how it works
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You know the annoyance of being in an area where the cell phone takes badly, for example in certain rooms of the house or areas of the office, but where the Wi-Fi works very well? And therefore being forced to ask the interlocutor to make calls via Wi-Fi with Whatsapp and in any case suffer the loss of incoming calls, which find the cell phone without signal? The solution to the problem has been available for years, it’s called Wi-Fi Calling, and only now does it actually arrive in Italy.
Tim and Wind 3 – and for now only them – have launched it in recent weeks, albeit with some limitations dictated by their marketing choices. Until now, only Vianova Mobile offered the service, but it is an operator that caters exclusively to business users.
What is Wi-Fi calling
“Wi-Fi calling” is a service that allows you to make and receive calls normally, but over a Wi-Fi connection instead of using a signal. The service is available on most Android and iOS devices and the user experience it is similar to that of any other phone call. Basically, the user enabled for this service continues to receive calls even if he is out of cell coverage; he makes phone calls in the usual way and with his own number. Not only that: if the cellular coverage is there but it’s bad, Wi-Fi calling also comes in handy and therefore improves the quality of the call. The advantage is clear compared to a call via Whatsapp, which does not protect us from losing calls or by the degradation of the quality of standard incoming calls (in the lift or in the garage, for example). It should be noted that some business users have so far solved this problem thanks to automatic call forwarding to VoIP numbers that use the internet connection (instead of the cellular one).
How does Wi-Fi calling work?
Wi-Fi calling works in a similar way to other Wi-Fi-enabled VoIP (Voice over IP) applications, such as Skype or WhatsApp, although there are important differences. Wi-Fi calling works by transmitting the same cellular data packets as Wi-Fi VoIP across a Wi-Fi and internet connection. From the internet, the data is then transmitted to the cellular network and then back to the interlocutor. The service is a more recent version of the Generic Access Network (GAN) protocol. What do you need to do to get Wi-Fi calling? To get Wi-Fi calling, you need a SIM with an operator that supports it and also a compatible smartphone. where you also need to install the latest system version (which includes this novelty). Once these two conditions have been met, Wi-Fi calling is activated automatically and is free, but the user can always disable it from the mobile settings. Unfortunately, there is another limitation in Italy. To date Tim and Wind 3 support Wi-Fi calling only for calls on their own Wi-Fi networks. In short, the user must be connected to a Tim or Wind 3 landline to use the respective service. It is a marketing choice, to encourage users to take both landlines and mobiles with the same operator. By itself Wi-Fi calling could technically work with all Wi-Fi networks.
The Vianova service is different, which requires the Vianova Phone app to be installed on your smartphone, but otherwise works with any Wi-Fi network. Last aspect to consider: Tim and Wind 3 have two lists of supported smartphones that are slightly different from each other and in any case continuously updated. Vodafone and Iliad have not yet launched the service, but their parent companies have done so in other countries. Free (the French Iliad) has already had it for a year in France, with no limit for the supported Wi-Fi network. There is hope of a similar move soon in Italy as well.
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