SK Telecom, LG U+ launch long-awaited VoLTE today

Mobile carriers SK Telecom and LG U+ said yesterday they will launch Voice over Long-Term Evolution, or VoLTE, service today.

VoLTE promises crystal-clear voice quality on calls over the fourth-generation network with a bandwidth that is 2.2 times than 3-G.

SK Telecom said it will begin selling Samsung Electronics’ “HD Voice” Galaxy S3 smartphone today and offer an upgrade over the Internet for the LTE-enabled Galaxy S3 by the end of this month.

LG U+, the third player, said it will offer two VoLTE-enabled smartphones - LG Electronics’ Optimus LTE 2 and the Galaxy S3. The carrier said upgrade for existing users of the two handsets will be available this month.

Both carriers said they will charge same monthly fees for the VoLTE as for LTE service.

KT, the second-largest carrier, said it will launch the service in early October.