Vodafone is delivering customers even better-quality voice calls now we have completed yet another New Zealand first, enabling Enhanced Voice Services (EVS, also known as HD+ calling) on our VoLTE and VoWiFi network for some Samsung and OPPO users.

The benefits of EVS include enhanced voice quality, better call resiliency during less-than-ideal network conditions (such as freak weather events) and improved network capacity. Also, as part of our continued upgrades, VoLTE call connections on devices will now take less than two seconds to connect on average, which to a customer can feel like an almost-instantaneous connection.

Tony Baird, Vodafone’s Chief Technology Officer is excited about this upgrade to our network. “Vodafone scoring yet another NZ first in the network space is so exciting as we continue to prove our customer-obsessed focus bringing them continual upgrades, builds and new technology. We’re also pumped as our customers get to reap the benefits of crisp, reliable calls.

“With EVS, VoLTE and Wifi Calling live, we’re enabling better quality and more reliable voice calling for so many customers. Many more devices will become EVS capable in the coming months, as Vodafone continues to be ahead of the curve for New Zealanders wanting the latest in mobile tech.”

These results come as Vodafone was named “Best in Test” by independent network auditing service umlaut in March 2022. After significant investments in Vodafone’s network over the past few years, umlaut officially announced that Vodafone has the best network across New Zealand, outperforming both Spark and 2 Degrees. During extensive drive testing of approximately 6,700 kilometres across New Zealand Vodafone scored 240/300, whereas Spark and 2 Degrees each scored 201/300.

According to the Commerce Commission’s Telecommunications Monitoring Report 2021, New Zealanders spend on average 171 minutes a month on voice calls, so having reliable connections with great quality audio continues to be vital for our day-to-day lives. EVS represents yet another advancement in voice technology, enabling Vodafone customers to experience remarkable technology as they chat on the phone to their hearts content.

A huge congratulations and thank you to the team that worked on this improvement. For more information about what devices are already capable of Wifi calling, please follow this link: https://www.vodafone.co.nz/our-networks/wifi-calling/

See related: One NZ is best mobile network - 2023.