LTE: France: Bouygues Telecom VoLTE to launch in 2015. Ericsson selected.

Francisco De Jesùs.

In the latest of a rash of VoLTE announcements, French carrier Bouygues Telecom said it would start carrying the first voice and video calls over LTE later this year with a view to commercial launch of the service in 2015.

Bouygues talked up the benefits of the service such as HD (high definition) voice, which is significantly clearer than conventional voice, along with shorter call set-up times and enriched IP-based communication services such as video calling.

Swedish vendor Ericsson has been selected to provide key components of the IMS solution for VoLTE including the Multimedia Telephony Application Server, Session Border Gateway, Home Subscriber Server and User Profile Gateway, as well as software upgrades to the installed base of Ericsson LTE radio access network and Ericsson Evolved Packet Core.

Ericsson has also been chosen to complete the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network integration in its multi-vendor environment and thereby guarantee network reliability and service quality for Bouygues.

Jean-Paul Arzel, head of the networks division at Bouygues, said: “Bouygues Telecom is proving the capabilities of its 4G/LTE network to support the latest advanced technologies and services. Commercial service roll-out is scheduled for 2015 and our network will be carrying the first voice and video calls over LTE later this year.”

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Telefonica and Bouygues Telecom announced strategic partnership

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Europe and Latin American operator group Telefonica announced an alliance with French number three Bouygues Telecom, which is set to join the Telefonica Partners Program. In a statement, the Spain-based group said that it will work with Bouygues to offer improved roaming services, and to provide services to large corporate accounts, including multinationals. 

Bouygues will also gain access to Telefonica Global Services, its global procurement business, and the two will also cooperate on devices. The agreement also includes “the possibility of extending the cooperation into other areas.”

Telefonica has highlighted growth through a community of partners and alliances as part of its future strategy, alongside organic growth and “selected acquisitions” to bolster its position in key markets. 

It said that its Partners Program is “based on the experience of its current industrial partnerships with China Telecom and Telecom Italia.” Bouygues stands to benefit through access to a large, international telecoms group partner – its key rivals in its home market are France Telecom/Orange, and media group Vivendi’s SFR.