Vodafone India will kick off its VoLTE services beginning January 2018 to take on both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

Vodafone said its VoLTE service, which will be free to its 4G subscribers, will be available in Mumbai, Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka, and Kolkata and will be expanded across the country in a short time. Vodafone is the third largest mobile Internet operator in India behind Reliance Jio and Airtel.

Airtel earlier said its VoLTE is already live in Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat.

VoLTE service from Reliance Jio is already available across the country.

Vodafone is currently in the process of combining its telecom business with rival Idea Cellular to become the largest telecom operator in India.

Vodafone said its VoLTE services will allow Vodafone SuperNet 4G customers to experience HD voice seamlessly.

“Vodafone is getting future ready with the advent of newer technologies and digital services. The launch of VoLTE will enhance customer experience with HD quality calling and offer our customers newer possibilities,” said Sunil Sood, managing director and chief executive officer of Vodafone India.

Vodafone has built network of ~140,000 sites that enable better call quality and mobile internet experience to its customers. The telecom operator said its cell sites in both rural and urban India will be a key differentiator for Vodafone in providing seamless connectivity and experience to its customers.

The top five wireless broadband service providers are Reliance Jio Infocomm with 145.96 million users, Bharti Airtel with 64.8 million, Vodafone India with 48.41 million, Idea Cellular with 31.03 million and Reliance Communications with 8.98 million as on 31st October, 2017.