Eastlink, a leading telecom operator in Canada, has selected Ericsson as the lead core network supplier for voice over LTE (VoLTE).

Eastlink’s investment in VoLTE will lay the foundation for Wi-Fi calling and 5G services in the future.

As part of the 4G strategy, Eastlink’s engineers will be deploying the Ericsson Fast VoLTE solution, a virtual IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) solution that facilitates deployment and scaling. Eastlink’s wireless customers will gain as it supports HD voice and other telecom services over LTE and Wi-Fi access networks.

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Lee Bragg, chief executive officer of Eastlink, said: “We make investment in our people, our networks, our services, and in advanced technologies.”

Graham Osborne, head of Ericsson Canada, says telecom operators are looking for cost-effective solutions to manage the mobile traffic and demand for enhanced services.

Eastlink will work with Ericsson to deploy a geo-redundant and 5G-ready core network, ensuring reliable services. The project team from Ericsson will also modernize customer and front-end databases, such as the Home Location Register and Home Subscriber Service. The network upgrade is expected to be completed during the second half of 2018.

Ericsson VoLTE solution includes products such as virtual Mobile Telephony Application Server, virtual Session Border Controller, virtual Call Session Control Function, virtual Message Resource Function and virtual IPWorks.