Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?

Ashen · 25 Sept 2023, 14:41

@jonsger I would also be interested in helping fund VoLTE. The phone ecosystem situation in the US is downright dismal right now and without working VoLTE there's not really a way around it.

Could some kind of bounty be set up?

Keneda · 25 Sept 2023, 18:18

@Sunset said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

Could some kind of bounty be set up?

I guess it can, as that was done for Waydroid.

beyolf · 25 Sept 2023, 19:03

i will be more than happy to help in the development of VoLTE support in UT, if i can. So if someone is working or is planning to work on that , contact me if you want to split the development effort.

fairose · 25 Sept 2023, 19:14

I am also interested in supporting VoLTE-development with a donation. Is there any special equipment needed? Or something that needs to be done by a company? Or anything else that could be founded by the community? If someone working on VoLTE for UT is reading this maybe describing the current state and specific problems would be great.

wizardi3 · 26 Sept 2023, 12:49

@jonsger said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

Does someone know what happened to the work of Sysmocom for VoLTE on the Volla Phones: blog post and technical investigation report.

I'm currently running a Librem 5 with PureOS, which in theory has VoLTE support in the modem. But can't get it working with Deutsche Telekom (works with Vodafone DE). So I think for VoLTE we need a different solution in the long term, then relying on IoT modems with VoLTE support.

I would like to make a "kick-off" donation for "2.1 Open Source IMS Implementation" to the UBports Foundation. It's tax-deductible, so say something like 1.000€ So someone capable from Sysmocom or so can start working on it.

The carrier doesn't have to support a device(phone) just because the device conforms to its network. Purism Libtem 5 and PureOS are perfect examples. Purism offers what they call an AweSim that allows you to connect unsupported devices to their network details here https://puri.sm/products/librem-awesim/

Ashen · 29 Sept 2023, 03:30

What would be the best way to go about setting up such a bounty? Just a formal promise on the forum to donate a sum to the project and/or the feature developer, or via an external bounty site?

Keneda · 29 Sept 2023, 20:02

@Ashen
I would ask this to someone that was involved closely to the waydroid project, like @Stanwood .

stanwood · 29 Sept 2023, 22:11

@Ashen Yes, in 2021 we started a crowdfunding campaign on Gofundme, then on Whydonate to raise funds to pay for an independent developer to develop a better "Anbox" experience on Ubuntu Touch, that became the WayDroid* project..

The project was (against all odds) a success, but no magic wand...

This was a very exciting challenge, but also an obstacle course.

The ideal is to be 2 people leading the project: One coordinator with technical skills for operational follow-up, and one person with communication skills.

For WayDroid, the campaign lasted 5 months. Then the project was self-managed by its maintainer. (it still is today).

For technical developments on services such as VoWiFi or VoLTE on Ubuntu Touch, one of the biggest challenges would be to find one or more developers with specific technical skills.

I don't know what type of technician or competencies are required for this work. Certainly not a simple application developer on the SDK platform, but rather a specialist in both the Android runtime environment, the Linux Kernel, IMS technology as well as mobile network infrastructures, capable of retroengineering work, hacking code, etc...

The work will mainly consist of reconstituting OEM-specific firmware for integration into the Halium layer, I presume.
Another difficulty lies in the fact that each chipset manufacturer integrates proprietary and closed code (vendor blobs). So it's not a truly standard protocol.
You also need to understand how mobile operators filter handset IMEIs to activate the service in their database, and so on...
Technically, it's complicated. Perhaps easier with brands such as VollaPhone or Fairphone, who can potentially provide us with support (?)

So recruitment will be a key element of success. Donors expect results. Some can donate sums in excess of $1,000.

It is therefore essential to communicate regularly on the progress of the project, and to be totally transparent in the news you publish. You need to gain and maintain the trust of participants.

For instance, you can follow the history of the WayDroid project on this topic:

https://forums.ubports.com/topic/5907/open-ubuntu-touch-to-all-android-applications

You also need to be aware of the legal aspects, particularly taxes in certain European Union countries.

In the end, it was an incredible and memorable adventure for Rudi and me. (but not easy at all)

*WayDroid: A LXC container that enables to run Android applications on Linux distributions.

fairose · 2 Oct 2023, 16:51

Does anyone know where in the world I could currently use my UT-Device to make a call? In which countrys is VoLTE absolutely needed to make a call? In which countrys will 2G/3G be turned off in near future so that VoLTE will be the only option?
Is there a map or a table that shows the different available networks worldwide and maybe even planed dates for turning of 2G/3G?

Moem · 2 Oct 2023, 21:03

@fairose said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

Does anyone know where in the world I could currently use my UT-Device to make a call?

I believe that it works in most European countries. It certainly works fine for me here in the Netherlands.

GT · 5 Oct 2023, 07:42

@fairose That really depends on the country:

In Canada, to my knowledge, only the Rogers/Fido network works without VoLTE, because they still support 2G/GSM. The other networks don't.
In Germany, most networks seem to work as they still support GSM/2G. At least, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Telefonica...

wally · 6 Oct 2023, 04:13

For the record, GT, I use Public Mobile (same network as Koodo and Telus) in Canada with good results. My understanding is that networks here support 3G until end of 2025.
I've got fingers crossed for VoLTE on UT before then - voice calls over cellular are a must for me. If a bounty is the way to go, I'll gladly put some money behind it.

fairose, the anglo wiki pages for 2G and 3G have charts about phaseout dates by varying nations/providers. gsma.com/coverage has maps by nation.

GT · 6 Oct 2023, 16:23

Thanks @wally , my experience with Telus (in Canada) and UBPorts on Volla22 was not positive, unfortunately. With the Telus SIM, I could use mobile internet, but could not place/receive calls. I could receive SMS, but was not able to send them.

Dave · 10 Dec 2023, 08:31

Hi,

given the lack of VoLTE support on Volla phones, if I now buy a new phone for Ubuntu Touch, which one would have the highest chance to (eventually?) work with VoLTE?

Feels like it becomes increasingly more difficult to stay connected on a non-VoLTE phone nowadays.

Alternatively, has anybody tested how well Linphone works on Ubuntu Touch? Having a well-integrated SIP telephony solution may make the current situation more bearable: providers like sipgate.de even appear to allow one to receive calls for a mobile number just via their SIP network.

cheers,

Dave

jgalaxy · 12 Oct 2023, 08:58

I have a question please if UT switched to modemmanger instead of its telephony stack i guess its ofono could it fix the carrier problem and voLTE problem since modemmanager support (3g/4g/5g) and its more advanced than ofono

lduboeuf · 12 Oct 2023, 09:47

@jgalaxy said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

I have a question please if UT switched to modemmanger instead of its telephony stack i guess its ofono could it fix the carrier problem and voLTE problem since modemmanager support (3g/4g/5g) and its more advanced than ofono

Maybe last Q&A video can give you some answer: https://youtu.be/Z5bl5hTiAGo?t=2460

wizardi3 · 12 Oct 2023, 11:23

Read section 2.1 of the sysmocom
systems for mobile communications GmbH
Ubuntu Touch VoLTE Investigation, Revision V1 July 22, 2021 and then read about the Purism Librem 5 phone which uses PureOs. A significant involvement of the device manufacturer is required to implement VoLTE. After that is accomplished a carrier has to be willing to activate the phone. Purism gets over the last hurdle with its AweSim.

beyolf · 10 Dec 2023, 13:41

@jgalaxy
As far as I understand it, the problem is not ofono but that in order for VoLTE to work properly there a lot of IPC needed with the cellular module and that is proprietary so it's hard to figure out.

inrk · 15 Oct 2023, 21:46

I am also interested in the future of this. I have Visible Mobile (Verizon), and I can't get it to work. I'm guessing this is the reason

Moem · 15 Oct 2023, 21:59

@inrk said in Status of VoLTE (Voice over LTE 4G) implementation?:

I'm guessing this is the reason

I'm going to assume* you're in the US? Then: yes, it is.

*if people don't tell us where they are, they are usually in the US.