Ericsson, AT&T and Qualcomm demonstrate VoLTE call for Internet of Things

• Successful demonstration of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) on Cat-M1/LTE-M technology using Qualcomm Technologies' MDM9206 LTE modem and Ericsson's radio and core network
• The new technology enables regular voice services for Internet of Things (IoT) applications on Cat-M1/LTE-M -enabled IoT devices
• AT&T plans to extend the technology into its mobile network to enhance existing and new IoT use cases requiring voice services

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), AT&T and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., are the first to announce the performance of a successful Voice over LTE (VoLTE) call for Internet of Things (IoT) on existing mobile network infrastructure with new software activation and new modem device that supports CAT-M1/LTE-M technology.  

The demonstration used Qualcomm Technologies' MDM9206 LTE modem, designed to support Cat-M1/ LTE-M, as well as Ericsson LTE Radio Access Network, Ericsson IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Ericsson Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and Ericsson User Data Management network infrastructure and new software. The demonstration shows that the technology is mature and ready for commercial deployment in operator networks.

"AT&T is proud to participate alongside Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies to advance VoLTE support over Cat-M1/LTE-M," says Chris Penrose, President, IoT Solutions, AT&T. "The ability to support voice services is an important feature to many verticals within our IoT portfolio, including our customers in the alarm and security industry, automotive, wearables and connected health markets."

Extending mobile voice service capabilities to IoT devices opens up opportunities to expand enterprise services to areas such as security alarm panels, remote first aid kits, wearables, digital locks, disposable security garments, and other types of IoT-enabled applications and services.

This means that IoT devices using VoLTE on Cat-M1/LTE-M will allow enterprises to make voice calls, extending the capabilities of operators' mobile networks by tapping into the extensive and innovative IoT device ecosystem.

Cat-M1/LTE-M -enabled IoT devices have advantages including low cost, low power consumption, deep coverage, massive connections and high reliability of transmission. Combined with existing leading LTE coverage and voice communication capabilities, operators can deploy a range of applications in smart cities, logistics, utilities, medicine, transport, mining, agriculture, manufacturing and many more.