As wireless access networks evolve towards an all-IP architecture, the principles of operations of communication services (specifically voice services), which have hitherto been circuit switched are being revisited. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been identified as a solution and is potentially capable of completely replacing existing phone networks. However, as opposed to circuit switching technology, the call quality obtained via packet switching through IP has not been encouraging due to certain issues. The increasing demands on data rates, mobility, coverage and better service quality, led to the evolution in Radio Access Technologies (RATs) to an era of last-mile fourth generation (4G) access technologies among which is Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE is an all-IP network initially meant for carrying data only, while carriers would be able to support voice traffic either by utilizing 2G or 3G systems or by using VoIP. This paper seeks to describe all options for providing VoIP services as a method of voice transfer over the LTE network. Keywords: 4G, Circuit switching, Convergence, LTE, Packet switching, RAT, VoIP.
展开▼
