Airtel Wi-Fi Calling Service Expands to New Cities, Now Works With Any Broadband

Airtel Wi-Fi calling service, which was launched last month to let users switch to attend voice calls over Wi-Fi, has been expanded to a list of cities. The service that was so far limited to Airtel Xstream Fiber home broadband is now also accessible through any Wi-Fi network. Airtel rival and one of the popular telecom operators in India, Reliance Jio, also launched its Wi-Fi calling service on Wednesday to help its subscribers connect to a Wi-Fi to make voice as well as video calls.

As per the changes reflect on the Airtel website, the Wi-Fi calling service by the telco has been expanded to new cities. The service is now available in Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, UP (East), and UP (West). This is in addition to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Tamil Nadu. Moreover, the service was initially launched in Delhi NCR.

The other major change that has come into place for the Airtel Wi-Fi calling service is its availability for all Wi-Fi networks, as reported by FoneArena. Airtel has confirmed on its site that the service is no longer limited to its native broadband service. This means that you'll be able to leverage the service and make voice calls at a cellular-dark zone of a building or in a remote area where cellular networks aren't available directly using any Wi-Fi network or a broadband service other than Airtel Xstream Fiber broadband.

Airtel at the time of officially launching its Wi-Fi calling service last month did mention that it is working with other companies to add support for all broadband services and hotspots. However, it was up until now limited for customers using Airtel Xstream Fiber home broadband. This isn't notably the case with the Jio Wi-Fi calling service that debuted earlier this week with support for all broadband services.

You don't need to activate a specific tariff or install an app to use the Airtel Wi-Fi calling service on your smartphone. The service, however, is limited to select models. Nevertheless, Airtel has expanded the list of compatible phones to widen the reach of its offering.

You can check the compatibility of your smartphone by taking a look at the list provided below.

Updated list of phones supporting Airtel Wi-Fi calling:

• Apple: iPhone XR, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro
• OnePlus: OnePlus 6, OnePlus 6T, OnePlus 7, OnePlus 7 Pro, OnePlus 7T, OnePlus 7T Pro
• Samsung: Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, Galaxy S10e, Galaxy M20, Samsung Galaxy J6, Samsung Galaxy On 6, Samsung Galaxy M30s, Samsung Galaxy A10s, Samsung Galaxy A50s, Samsung Galaxy Note 9
• Xiaomi: Poco F1, Redmi K20, Redmi K20 Pro, Redmi 7A, Redmi Note 7 Pro, Redmi Y3, Redmi 7

Jio countered Airtel by announcing that its Wi-Fi calling service is supported by over 150 handset models. Having said that, Airtel emerged as the first telco to bring Wi-Fi calling support in India.

Airtel’s latest offer: Free Netflix, Amazon Prime subscription to V-Fiber users

Airtel on Thursday announced new benefits for its V-Fiber home broadband customers. Part of its ongoing ‘Airtel Thanks’ programme, Airtel is offering free subscription to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Zee5 for limited time to its V-Fiber users. The latest offer is available for V-Fiber customers with broadband plans of Rs 1,099 and above.

The benefits include three months subscription gift for Netflix, one year Amazon Prime membership, access to premium content from ZEE5 and Airtel TV among others, said the compay. “Customers, based on their plans, will be eligible for exclusive benefits from top brands,” it said.

Airtel says its V-Fiber customers will also be eligible for additional discounts of up to 15% when opting for the annual rental package and 7.5% with the 6 months rental package.

Rs 1,099 plan: Airtel V-Fiber customers will get 100Mbps of data speed, 300 GB/month with rollover, 500 GB one time bonus data, three months of Netflix, one year Amazon Prime, full access to Zee5 and full access to Airtel TV premium.

Rs 1,599 plan: Airtel is offering 300Mbps of data speed, 600GB/month with rollover, 1,000 GB one time bonus data, three months of Netflix, one year Amazon Prime, full access to Zee5 and full access to Airtel TV premium.

Rs 1,999 plan: Airtel is offering 100Mbps of data speed, unlimited data, three months of Netflix, one year Amazon Prime, full access to Zee5 and full access to Airtel TV premium.