In a significant leap for telecommunications, Nokia has unveiled a groundbreaking advancement in phone call technology, revolutionizing how people experience voice communication.
On Monday, Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark successfully demonstrated the company’s new “immersive audio and video” technology, marking a historic moment for the industry.
The innovative technology enhances call quality by incorporating three-dimensional sound, offering a lifelike interaction experience that surpasses the current monophonic audio used in smartphones. “We have shown what the future of voice calls looks like,” stated Lundmark, who also witnessed the first 2G call in 1991.
Jenni Lukander, President of Nokia Technologies, emphasized the transformative nature of this development, describing it as the most significant advancement in live voice calling since the advent of monophonic telephony. “This technology brings a new dimension to voice calls, allowing callers to hear sound as if they were physically present with the other person,” she explained.
The inaugural call was made to Stefan Lindström, Finland’s Ambassador of Digitalisation and New Technologies, using a standard smartphone over a public 5G network. This demonstrates the technology’s immediate applicability and potential for widespread use. According to Lukander, the new immersive audio and video standard is set to be integrated into products by network providers, chipset manufacturers, and handset makers.
Jyri Huopaniemi, head of audio research at Nokia Technologies, highlighted the versatility of the technology, particularly for conference calls. “Participants’ voices can be spatially separated, enhancing clarity and making meetings more effective,” he said.
The majority of modern smartphones, equipped with at least two microphones, can support this technology, which transmits the spatial characteristics of a call in real time. This innovation is part of the upcoming 5G Advanced standard, and Nokia is positioning itself to capitalize on licensing opportunities as the technology becomes more widely adopted in the coming years.
Nokia’s achievement not only sets a new benchmark for voice call quality but also opens doors for enhanced applications in extended reality and the metaverse, promising a richer and more immersive communication experience for both personal and professional interactions.
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