In one sense, AT&T’s completion of a 5G voice call over C-band spectrum is unremarkable. One would expect voice calls on mobile networks to be unaffected by the spectrum over which the radio signals carrying the calls travel.
On the other hand, it shows in concrete detail how commercial equipment has to be certified before it can be deployed to support operations at scale.
Beyond that, it is further evidence that every mobile platform starting with 4G is designed primarily for support of data traffic, with voice essentially becoming “just another application” the network is designed to support. That is why many mobile operators initially preferred to handle voice on the 3G network, while the new 4G network handled data communications.
Over time, the voice over LTE standards and capabilities were introduced. In other words, voice over 5G will be IP voice, as 4G voice (VoLTE) was IP voice. At first, voice functions will often be supplied by a legacy network. Over time, the transition to IP voice is made, but only after mass market data has been the focus for some time.
In other words, the value of 4G was faster speeds, capacity and lower cost per bit. The value of 5G will be faster speeds, lower latency, higher device density and lower cost per bit. Voice is a necessary capability, but not a selling point.
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