AT&T will roll out HD voice plans to users by the end of the year. The service will only work with supported hardware and will rely on LTE networks to make calls. Because of this, calls will be more clear and audible due to wide-band audio technology used in HD voice calls. Pricing and other plan terms have not yet been released, but we should hear more soon. You can probably expect a hefty price tag. AT&T’s Senior Vice President Kris Rinne announced HD voice today at the VentureBeat Mobile Summit in Sausalito.
AT&T’s sudden announcement of HD voice plans is almost definitely a response to T-Mobile’s announcement of HD voice last week. T-Mobile announced this service at the same time it announced its new LTE network and that it will be carrying the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4. We could also see other LTE carriers in the United States and elsewhere start to support this new form of calling in the near future.
Luckily for us iPhone users, the iPhone 5 already supports HD calling. Now it’s just a matter of waiting until carriers deem us worthy of such an update.
