Eir wants to shake up mobile market with new Wi-Fi Calling service

17 May 2017

Image: GaudiLab/Shutterstock

New Wi-Fi service is a potential money-saver for Eir and Meteor customers.

Wi-Fi Calling is the newest innovation to emerge from Eir, enabling users to make and receive calls and texts over Wi-Fi even without a cellular signal.

The free service, which is the result of 12 months of R&D work, will be available to 144,000 Eir and Meteor customers from today (17 May).

‘This service brings a greatly improved customer experience, enabling the peace of mind to make calls from wherever it suits’
– SINEAD MORRISSEY

The service enables customers to tap into a mobile signal by using any Wi-Fi connection or public hotspot without extra cost, and call and messages costs will be deducted as if they were at home.

This could be a solution for mobile users roaming overseas, and also for people who live or work in buildings where mobile network coverage is poor.

Wireless ambition

Wi-Fi Calling is available to contract customers on select plans and handsets, starting initially with Samsung Galaxy S6, S7 and S8 devices as well as Apple iPhone 5C, 6, SE and 7 devices. The technology is built into the handset as a feature that can be turned on or off.

This follows the launch earlier this year of high-definition voice services.

“Our Wi-Fi Calling service is a progressive leap forward in our ambition to bring seamless connectivity to our customers – and a trailblazing moment for Eir as the first operator in Ireland to introduce the service,” said Sinead Morrissey, head of mobile product at Eir.

“This service brings a greatly improved customer experience, enabling the peace of mind to make calls from wherever it suits. Eir has invested substantially in our network and today, our customers can reap the positive benefits of the strength of our network.”

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com