Leading UK network Three today launched embedded Wi-Fi, letting iOS and Android device owners make use of Wi-Fi networks for calls and texts when they don't have mobile signal.
This will enable Three subscribers to make calls and send texts in areas where mobile signal is limited or non-existent.
Earlier this month, Three launched a campaign to ensure that mobile spectrum ownership in the country is limited to 30%. According to a consortium led by Three and including the likes of TalkTalk, CityFibre, Federation of Communication Services, Gamma and Relish, this would ensure that all networks would be able to compete on an equal footing. With more air share, Three would be able to invest more on mobile coverage which it cannot at present due to EE and Vodafone together owning around 75% of UK's airwaves.
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To ensure that its subscribers do not suffer from lack of mobile signal in places where the network offers limited or no coverage, Three today launched embedded Wi-Fi, a unique way to let people make calls and send texts over Wi-Fi networks when they do not get mobile signal. To avail this service, users will need to activate Wi-Fi Calling in their device' settings.
Three's embedded Wi-Fi will work on both Android and iOS devices running the latest version of their respective operating systems. The service is compatible with iOS devices like 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Compatible Android phones include LG G5, Samsung S6, Samsung S6 edge and Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will be compatible from mid-February.
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A study commissioned by the National Infrastructure Commission in 2016 revealed that Britain ranks 54th in the world in terms of 4G mobile coverage and that 4G coverage here is worse than Romania, Albania, Panama and Peru. Rival network EE has pledged to super fast 4G coverage to 99.8 per cent of the population in the next four years.
EE has also enabled Voice over LTE in cities like London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Leeds and Newcastle and is building 750 new sites across the country to plug 'not-spots' in areas where 4G services are already active. EE has also recently switched on it's 800 MHz frequency 4G signal to increase it's 4G coverage to 75% of the country's landmass, a feat no other network can claim at the moment.