Orange says it'll be launching mobile high-definition voice services in France, Luxembourg and Spain later this year. It follows the launch of HD voice in Moldova in September 2009, followed by a December announcement that the service was coming to the UK. A three-month customer trial of Orange HD voice services will run from Spring in the UK.
HD Voice uses the Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband speech codec, which provides a speech bandwidth of 50-7000 Hz compared to conventional mobiles with a speech codec of 300-3400 Hz.
Olaf Swantee, senior executive vice president for Orange's global mobile business, said "As far as Orange is concerned, voice is not just a commodity. With mobile HD voice, we are delivering true customer innovation - one that will genuinely enrich and transform our customers' lives. By being the first to innovate and deliver a new mobile voice experience, we provide a compelling and differentiated proposition which sets Orange apart. High-definition voice is the future standard for mobile communication."