T-Mobile launches commercial Voice over 5G
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T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) has hit another tech milestone, launching commercial Voice over 5G service in two markets.
The company has turned on Voice Over New Radio in parts of Portland, Ore., and Salt Lake City, another advance on the road to stand-alone 5G.

It expects to continue the VoNR rollout to "many" additional areas this year.
Stand-alone 5G is important because it doesn't rely on the older LTE network for help, and carrying voice traffic means T-Mobile can keep devices always connected to 5G and enable applications that require that seamless connection, the company says.
"In the near-term, customers connected to VoNR will notice slightly faster call set-up times, meaning less delay between the time they dial a number and when the phone starts ringing," T-Mobile says. But more important, it enables advanced capability like network slicing, it says.
The technology is available in those two markets for customers with the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G, and will more to more markets and more smartphones this year, including the Galaxy S22.