Jio and Airtel launch free Wi-Fi Calling: What is it? How to get it?

Airtel and Jio have rolled out Wi-Fi calling option for both prepaid and postpaid connections.

Airtel launched the feature in the first week of December. Initially, it was only available in Delhi NCR region. Now, as Airtel notes on its website, the Wi-Fi calling feature is available in Delhi NCR, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, UP(West), Maharashtra, Mumbai, Kolkata, UP (East), Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

On the other hand, Jio started rolling out the Wi-Fi calling feature from January 7 and the process will be completed by January 16. Jio doesn't specify any particular location.

The key questions then are: What is Wi-Fi calling? How to get it? Let's answer.

Both Airtel and Jio already offer VoLTE calls where calls are made using data connectivity rather than through GSM network. The Wi-Fi calling is an addition to this technology which allows users to make calls using Wi-Fi data - if the phone is connected to a strong Wi-Fi network - instead of LTE data.

Wi-Fi calling is free. You don't have to pay anything in extra. However, not all phones support this feature. If your phone supports Wi-Fi calling, yet it doesn’t show the option in settings, you will need to update your phone's software.