Wifi Calling - good news

[matthewfc]

Hey folks,

I submitted a ticket asking about setting up wifi calling yesterday, and got a bit of good news in the response. No indication exactly when yet, but it sounds like it's coming...

"Unfortunately for the moment wi-fi calling isn't implemented with us, but it will in the nearby future, I can't say when exactly, but the moment it's active you'll be notified. 🙂

Andu"

That'll make such a difference for me as I routinely use my phone in areas with poor cell service, or often no cell service whatsoever on any network, so wifi calling is really important for me to be able to receive calls, texts, 2fa codes, etc.

Just thought I'd share the good news as there's been a number of threads about this previously. I'll believe it for sure when it happens, but I'm optimistic.

[matthewfc]

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@will13am wrote:

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A lesser discussed item is RCS which you could call WiFi texting.  The iOS users in the crowd will get access to the feature later in the year when a new OS update rolls out.  Android users have had the feature for some time now.  

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I'm an iOS user, and I'm fairly sure I was able to send SMS over wifi using wifi calling on rogers previously. I don't think it's an android-only feature. I know for sure I've received SMS over wifi when connected that way, because I've used it to get a 2FA code with no cell service at all.

[will13am]

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@LitlLdy wrote:

@matthewfc , thank you for sharing this. Customers like me can definitely benefit from Wi-Fi calling. Even when I am at home my cellular signal isn’t always good. The town I live in doesn’t have any Telus towers here & there’s only one Bell tower which I connect to for Public Mobile. Rogers has 2 towers here.

Some CS_Agents don’t always provide correct information but I trust Andu when he says something. 🙂

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Telus and Bell have tower sharing agreements for most of Canada.  

[LitlLdy]

@matthewfc , thank you for sharing this. Customers like me can definitely benefit from Wi-Fi calling. Even when I am at home my cellular signal isn’t always good. The town I live in doesn’t have any Telus towers here & there’s only one Bell tower which I connect to for Public Mobile. Rogers has 2 towers here.

Some CS_Agents don’t always provide correct information but I trust Andu when he says something. 🙂

[slusagm]

true @umnikke8, I think most Canadian mobile companies limited the Wifi calling within Canada

[slusagm]

Good news for us @matthewfc 

I learned that the lower tier companies don't give Wifi calling.  But PM was the first one to offer 5G out of tier 3, maybe they will be the first to offer Wifi calling.  That really help for people with poor network connection

[will13am]

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@hairbag1 wrote:

@will13am 

so basement dwellers and others with degraded cell signal /  poor cell reception will appreciate the wifi calling feature. Good on PM to add this benefit.

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A lesser discussed item is RCS which you could call WiFi texting.  The iOS users in the crowd will get access to the feature later in the year when a new OS update rolls out.  Android users have had the feature for some time now.  

[matthewfc]

Yeah, I hope they don't, but it being georestricted does seem likely, since that's what Koodo does. I'm of the opinion that the CRTC should prohibit artificial restrictions on wifi calling. Back when I was on rogers, I had wifi calling enabled, and then paid for wifi on a flight, and I actually received an incoming call, so technically it can work anywhere if they don't artificially restrict it. Regardless, it would still be very useful for me personally, as my primary use for it is areas close to home with no cell service, rather than travel. And when I do travel most of the time it's to the USA where I have unlimited roaming on PM anyway. If they're smart and technically able to do it, they'd at least allow USA wifi calling for people with unlimited USA plans (since that could actually save them money.) For folks who do want to use it travelling, from what I've read it's a little finicky but possible to do on Koodo, by disabling location services and activating a VPN before enabling wifi calling.

[matthewfc]

It won't change much for most users, especially not in big urban areas. For those of us who live in rural areas like me, it means being able to make and receive calls where there is a wifi connection available, but no (or very marginal) connection to the Telus cell network. I visit friends who have wireline internet and wifi, but no connection to any cell towers on any network (not even for SOS calls), and it's very useful in situations like that. It can be useful for folks in concrete walled basement apartments too sometimes, even in urban areas, if they don't have a good connection to the cell network at home.

[hTideGnow]

hi @matthewfc 

 A reply from Audu should be reliable.  thanks for the good news. 

[hairbag1]

@will13am 

so basement dwellers and others with degraded cell signal /  poor cell reception will appreciate the wifi calling feature. Good on PM to add this benefit.

[will13am]

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@golfball wrote:

This is not the first time 2024 has been mentioned for Wi-Fi calling. Earlier this year someone said CS had mentioned summer 2024, and that it'll be available in Canada only.

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The Koodo site informs what we can reasonably expect when WiFi calling rolls out.  There is nothing stopping me from dreaming big.  Public Mobile did get 5G before Koodo.  

[will13am]

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@hairbag1 wrote:

@will13am 

for us un-informed...can you explain how wifi calling will benefit the masses.

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The Koodo site explains how WiFi calling extends talk and text capabilities when the mobile network connection is weak.  So pretty much WiFi operates as an extension of the mobile network.  I am guessing this feature is useful for maybe 5% of the customer base.

https://www.koodomobile.com/en/help/wifi-calling

[hairbag1]

@will13am 

for us un-informed...can you explain how wifi calling will benefit the masses.

[golfball]

This is not the first time 2024 has been mentioned for Wi-Fi calling. Earlier this year someone said CS had mentioned summer 2024, and that it'll be available in Canada only.

[umnikke8]

I'd highly suspect it will be limited to Canada only.

[will13am]

@matthewfc , thank you very much for the good news.  I had a good feeling that we would eventually have WiFi calling on this service, possibly some time in 2024.  Getting confirmation that my spidey senses is correct is definitely great news.  Let's hope that it is not geo restricted as well.   😁