LG U+ launches Voice over LTE services with Ericsson

• LG U+ users in South Korea to benefit from voice over LTE services
• With voice over LTE technology, the operator can also offer enhanced telecom grade services such as HD voice, video calling, chat and presence

LG U+ users in South Korea get access to voice over LTE (VoLTE) services. This is thanks to a decision made by South Korean operator LG U+, in partnership with Ericsson's (NASDAQ: ERIC) majority-owned subsidiary LG-Ericsson, to make subscribers in South Korea benefit from commercial VoLTE (GSMA IR.92) services.

The demand for LTE data services in South Korea has increased rapidly ever since LG U+ became the first operator in the country to launch LTE commercially on July 1, 2011. As of August 2012, LG U+ has confirmed that LGU+ is the second largest LTE provider in South Korea, serving 3.1 million of LTE subscribers.

Joo sik Choi, Senior Vice President of Service Creation, LG U+ says: "Improving the user experience for our subscribers is always our top priority. Ericsson's global leadership in LTE technology and experience in building an end-to-end LTE network infrastructure helped ensure the success of the nationwide launch of this service."

Johan Wibergh, Head of Business Unit Networks at Ericsson, says: "With the new VoLTE technology, LG U+ will be able to offer its subscribers better voice quality and an improved user experience. The new VoLTE services will sharpen LG U+'s competitive edge considerably and will provide the foundation for further enriching their communication services offering."

Originally, 4G/LTE technology was developed for data communication only. The 4G/LTE technology has now evolved to embrace Rich Communication Services as well, making it a full telecommunication grade technology. VoLTE is a technology that allows voice calls to be made over an LTE network at the same time as users can access high-speed mobile broadband services and rich communication services. Up until now, in order to handle voice calls, CDMA-LTE devices required simultaneous radio operation on both CDMA and LTE, which is inherently inefficient and does not allow for a fully integrated rich communications offering. 

Ericsson has supplied an end-to-end VoLTE network to LG U+, including LTE-RAN, Evolved Packet Core, and IMS Telephony Application Server.

NOTES TO EDITORS

LTE Media Kit: www.ericsson.com/thecompany/press/mediakits/lte

What is Voice over LTE (VoLTE)? www.ericsson.com/res/thecompany/docs/corpinfo/volte_backgrounder.pdf

Download high-resolution photos and broadcast-quality video at www.ericsson.com/press

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