Nokia achieves milestone with world's first 'immersive' phone call

Espoo, Finland: In the era of smartphones, where artificial intelligence is revolutionising every facet, voice call quality has remained relatively unchanged. However, Nokia has made a significant technological breakthrough. The company has successfully conducted the world's first live immersive voice and audio call over a cellular network, marking a new milestone in communication technology.

This historic event was marked by a conversation between Nokia's President and CEO, Pekka Lundmark, and Stefan Lindström, Finland's Ambassador of Digitalization and New Technologies, utilising the pioneering Immersive Voice and Audio Services (IVAS) codec technology.

What is IVAS service? 

IVAS revolutionises traditional monophonic calls by providing real-time spatial audio, making interactions more natural and engaging. It enriches communication quality, offering a three-dimensional sound experience that elevates personal and professional interactions. The technology is set to enhance the metaverse and extended reality (XR) by enabling more lifelike interactions.

Stefan Lindström, Finnish Ambassador of Digitalization and New Technologies, said, "The live immersive voice and audio experience enabled by IVAS improves the richness and quality of the call, and the three-dimensional sound experience makes interaction more lifelike and engaging, bringing a wealth of new benefits to personal and professional communication. Immersive communications technology will also take XR and metaverse interaction to the next level." 

Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia, said: "This groundbreaking audio technology takes you to the caller’s environment creating a spatial and massively improved listening experience for voice and video calls, offering significant benefits for enterprise and industrial applications."

Nokia's IVAS technology is a significant leap forward in live voice calling, promising to transform how we connect with each other in the digital realm. The IVAS codec is expected to be included in the forthcoming 5G Advanced standard, ensuring widespread adoption and interoperability across devices and networks. This innovation underscores Nokia's commitment to advancing communication technologies and its leadership in the global standards development arena.