GSA’s Mobile HD Voice: Global Update report, published on October 3, 2011, confirms that almost half of EU member countries have commercially launched mobile HD Voice services, or are engaged in trials ahead of planned commercial introduction.

1. Mobile HD Voice: Global Update report
October 3, 2011
Mobile HD Voice service
using AMR Wideband
Mobile HD Voice based on AMR (Adaptive
Multi Rate) Wideband technology (W-AMR)
enables high-quality voice calls in mobile
networks and an improved user experience.
It provides significantly higher voice quality
for calls between mobile phones supporting
the feature, and can be implemented in
GSM, WCDMA (UMTS) and LTE networks.
The higher voice quality using HD Voice
improves the call experience and allows
people to better share feelings, do business
and communicate information. HD Voice
transmits a broader spectrum of the human
voice; therefore conversation is more natural
and is likened to speaking to the other party
in the same room. HD Voice also helps Comparative codec bandwidth envelopes
people hear better in noisy environments.
HD Voice helps operators to clearly The maximum benefits from using HD Voice on a compatible mobile
differentiate their offerings and enable high network are realized or perceived when both calling and called party
quality services to voice dependent business use HD Voice-capable phones. Improvements in call quality are also
like call center services, information observed even when calling a non-HD Voice phone, due to
services, emergency services, etc. HD Voice improvements in the acoustic performance and advanced noise
is also ideal for conference calls and can reduction capabilities present in most HD Voice phones.
contribute to a reduction in business travel
and raise productivity while reducing the
environmental impact. Calls which are Commercial HD Voice services launched on 32 mobile networks
easier to hear and understand reduce
fatigue typically associated with long HD Voice represents what is probably the greatest advance in voice on
conference calls. HD Voice changes that. mobile networks in decades. The pace of commercialization of mobile
HD Voice services is accelerating. From first service launch in 2009,
W-AMR speech technology is standardized HD Voice today is launched on 32 mobile networks in 29 countries:
in 3GPP Release 5. The new speech- Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia,
compression algorithm doubles voice Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Hong Kong, India, Italy,
bandwidth (50–7000 Hz) compared to the Kenya, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Moldova, Poland, Réunion, Romania,
current narrowband speech codec (300– Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, UK.
3400 Hz) without extra radio or transmission
requirements. According to 3GPP, 12.65
kbit/s or higher coding bit-rates provide high- 52 HD-Voice enabled mobile phones launched
quality wideband audio (lower bit-rates of
8.85 and 6.6 kbit/s are for temporary use Leading system vendors are supporting HD Voice in their mobile
during adverse radio conditions or periods of infrastructure solutions.
cell congestion). In subjective tests it was
shown that the HD Voice wideband codec 52 HD-Voice enabled mobile phones have been launched in the
produces better results than the best market. Most current products - including all Sony Ericsson Xperia
narrow-band codec (12.2 kbit/s). phones, are shipping with W-AMR activated as default. The list of 52
HD Voice mobile phones, based on research by GSA, is provided later
There is a strong business case for Mobile in this report.
HD Voice and the momentum for introducing
HD Voice is growing. Customers make more While initial W-AMR enabled phones were designed to support HD
or longer calls with HD Voice. Surveys Voice services on WCDMA-HSPA networks, phones are now being
confirm that customers place a high value delivered which support HD Voice on GSM networks.
on HD Voice.

2. Mobile HD Voice: Global Update report
October 3, 2011
According to the results of a survey:
 96% of customers are satisfied with HD Voice calls
 86% of testers say that compatibility with HD voice would be a selection
criterion when purchasing a mobile in the future
 76% of testers would be prepared to change mobiles to obtain HD Voice
*www.francetelecom.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/cp101123en2.jsp
Verizon Wireless demonstrated a range of Voice over LTE (VoLTE)
and HD Voice capable user devices at Mobile World Congress 2011
and plans to deploy commercial VoLTE service in 2012. “The initial
Countries with commercial mobile HD Voice service devices we‟ll support [AMR-WB] are smart phones for sure,” said
(GSA – October 3, 2011)
Verizon Wireless Marjorie Hsu, VP Technology Development. “Other
Operator Country HD Voice devices on the road map, we‟re working through the form factor, we
launch want to get the user experience right.” (Reported March 4, 2011 in
Orange Moldova Moldova 09.09.2009 www.hdvoicenews.com)
Orange France France 19.07.2010
Orange Armenia Armenia 24.02.2010 Network aspects
Orange UK UK 01.09.2010
SFR France 09.2010 Ordinarily the voice payload for transport in the core network is PCM-
Orange Spain Spain (Catalonia) 10.09.2010 coded at 64 kbit/s according to ITU-T Rec. G.711. Narrowband AMR is
Mobistar Belgium 16.09.2010
transcoded to/from PCM which degrades voice quality, adding signal
VIPNet Croatia 22.09.2010
Tata DoCoMo India 03.11.2010 processing complexity. Analog PCM-based transport cannot be used
Mobinil Egypt 09.11.2010 with W-AMR as G.711 only applies to narrowband voice. W-AMR must
Orange Luxembourg 08.12.2010 be based on one of two complementary 3GPP standards: tandem-free
Luxembourg operation (TFO) or transcoder-free operation (TrFO).
CSL Limited Hong Kong 12.2010
Turkcell Turkey 17.01.2011 Introduction of W-AMR into GSM systems requires TFO, which is part
Megafon (GSM & Russia 27.04.2010 of 3GPP GERAN, which does not require substantial modification of
HSPA networks) the core network. W-AMR and TFO can also be introduced into UMTS.
WIND Mobile Canada 18.07.2011 A better option however, is to use the recommended TrFO. The
TIM Italy 27.01.2011
combination of TFO and TrFO enables W-AMR calls between all types
Vodafone Turkey Turkey 01.04.2011
Orange Mauritius Mauritius 07.04.2011 of 3GPP mobile devices (i.e. GSM/EDGE and UMTS/WCDMA-HSPA).
Orange Réunion Réunion 2011
Orange Romania Romania 13.05.2011 HD Voice ecosystem: wide choice of compatible phones
3 UK UK 05.2011
Orange Dominican 06.2011 GSA confirms that 52 HD-Voice enabled mobile phones have been
Dominicana Reublic launched in the market by several leading manufacturers.
Mobiltel Bulgaria 14.06.2011
Telstra Australia 24.06.2011 Manufacturer HD Voice-enabled mobile phone
Orange Uganda Uganda 07.07.2011
T-Mobile/PTC Poland 17.08.2011 Alcatel OT-981A Tribe
(GSM & HSPA Glensound GS-MP1004 HD (for broadcasters)
networks) HTC ChaCha, Desire HD, Desire S, Sensation
Orange Kenya Kenya 25.08.2011 LG LG-A310 (Saffron)
T-Mobile Austria 29.08.2011 Nokia 6720 Classic, E52, E55, 5230, E72, X6, 6700 Slide, E5-00, X5-01,
Mobitel Slovenia 06.09.2011 X3 Touch and Type, X3-01 Touch and Type, X3-02 Touch and
VIP (GSM & Serbia 12.09.2011 Type, N8, C7-00, C6-01, C3-01, C5-03, C5-04, E7, E6, X7-00,
HSPA networks) Nokia 500, Nokia 600, Nokia 700, Nokia 701
Orange Switzerland 13.09.2011 Samsung Omnia 7 GT-18700, Omnia Pro B7350, Galaxy Ace S5830, Galaxy
Switzerland S II, Galaxy S Plus i900i
TDC Denmark 26.09.2011 Sony Ericsson Elm, Hazel (Quiksilver), X8, X10 Mini, Xperia Arc, Xperia Neo,
Table 1: 32 mobile HD Voice commercial launches Xperia Pro, Xperia Play, Xperia Mini, Xperia Mini Pro, Xperia Acro,
(GSA – October 3, 2011) Xperia Active, Xperia ray
ZTE F160, Skate (also rebranded as Monte Carlo)
Table 3: 52 mobile HD Voice-compatible phones (GSA – October 3, 2011)
A1 Telekom, Austria Launch mid-Oct „11 latest
Verizon Wireless, USA Deploying in LTE network Many phones are now delivered with HD Voice activated as default. All
TMN, Portugal Trialling Xperia phones are shipping with HD Voice turned on for 3G/WCDMA-
Du, UAE Trialled HSPA operation. Nokia recently launched new Symbian handsets; the
Table 2: HD Voice trials, network deployments Symbian Belle release brings HD Voice for GSM operators enabled by
(GSA – October 3, 2011) Nokia 600, Nokia 700, and Nokia 701 phones, and these products

3. Mobile HD Voice: Global Update report
October 3, 2011
have HD Voice (W-AMR) turned on as Many operators are working towards agreements to enable mobile HD
default for WCDMA and GSM modes. Nokia Voice calls to be handled across networks. Interoperability between
also has more affordable HD Voice products fixed and mobile networks for handling HD voice calls is also a priority.
e.g. Nokia X3 and C3, launched in 1H 2011. In order to offer "seamless" HD Voice for its customers, Orange has
The Symbian Belle software update will be announced the major steps that the company is taking:
available later for other phones in the Nokia
range to operate in GSM HD Voice; N8, E6,  in 2012/2013, HD Voice interoperability between Orange
E7, C6-01, C7, and X7. countries and also between the fixed and mobile networks in a
given country
Log in to GSA’s GAMBoD tool
to review the list and features of  in 2013, interoperability between the various operators, based
HD Voice-enabled HSPA on common standards, such as CAT-IQ 2.0 for fixed HD Voice
phones www.gsacom.com/gambod or WB-AMR for mobile HD Voice
 Orange is looking into launching HD Voice on the 2G
networks, which would make it possible to offer this service to
even more customers
Join the discussion – become a member of the GSA LinkedIN group:
www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2313721
Here you will find GSA’s HD Voice (W-AMR) subgroup
www.linkedin.com/groups?=&gid=3032759
More HD Voice resources:
Maps and charts relating to mobile HD Voice are available as PDF files via the links on
www.gsacom.com and also as JPEG files at www.gsacom.com/news/statistics.php4
Note: GAMBOD is available only to GSA member
organizations and GSA website registered users whom
we have categorized as being from network operators Tutorial on HD Voice AMR Wideband Technology
www.ericsson.com/article/hd-voice_1103876834_c
New HD Voice logo launched www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/portfolio/products/gsm/mobile-hd-voice-a-
The industry supports a single windfall-gain-in-user-experience
logo that has the potential to
become a universally recognized symbol to About GSA: GSA (the Global mobile Suppliers Association) represents
easily identify mobile HD Voice enabled GSM/EDGE/WCDMA-HSPA/LTE suppliers, providing reports, facts, analysis
devices and services. Some leading and information explaining market developments and trends. GSA-organized
operators are now using the new logo. All seminars facilitate enhanced dialog between operators, members and
details about the logo, how to become a developer communities www.gsacom.com
licensee and points of contact are provided
Member organizations:
on the GSM Association‟s (GSMA) website
www.gsmworld.com/hdvoice Aeroflex • AnyDATA Inc • Bytemobile • Ericsson • Huawei • inCode • mimoOn •
Nokia • Nokia Siemens Networks • Qualcomm • Renesas Mobile • Sony
Hear HD Voice for yourself! Ericsson • SpiderCloud Wireless • ST-Ericsson • Talking Eye • Telcordia
Technologies • Velocent Systems
Some examples are provided via these links for
you to hear for yourself how HD Voice represents
what is probably the greatest advance in voice on Information for this report was obtained wholly by GSA (Global mobile Suppliers
mobile networks in decades! Association – www.gsacom.com), referencing information exchanges with key contacts
A1 Telekom Austria: in mobile network operators, in GSA member organizations, with other industry
Standard mobile call: specialists, and public announcements.
http://newsroom.a1telekom.at/celum/1720/download/A1_Alt_audio.wav
HD Voice call: Errors and omissions excepted.
http://newsroom.a1telekom.at/celum/1721/download/A1_Neu_HD.wav
SFR: www.sfr.fr/innovation/2010-08/voix-hd.jsp#=kIRo Updates are welcome to info@gsacom.com
Orange: www.orange.com/hdvoice
Martin Stanford (Sky News presenter)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwVPkt6vwEw&feature=player_embedded