While pale green, white and a blend of orange plus Grey decor ruled the press room, in our midst was the official launch of Smile Telecom’s voice over LTE (VoLTE) service dubbed SmileVoice and Smile Unlimited to the echelons of Uganda. The Smile Voice service allows one to make both voice & video calls plus SMSs over Smile’s 4G network (Provided one has a VoLTE compatible handset) using the 072 prefix anywhere in the world. But unlike traditional circuit switched 2G & 3G calls, Smile only charges you for the data consumed using a megabytes per second standard. This means Smile’s Internet bundle will apply to both voice & data, something unheard of in Uganda’s telecom sector where the two have been mutually exclusive. It’s more like viber, Whatsapp and messenger calls with audio, video and SMS ingredients.
We recently delved into Smile Voice and Unlimited launch across Africa given Smile operates in a host of African countries like Nigeria & Tanzania with DRC in the pipeline but today’s launch makes it official here in Uganda. Smile promises customers who activate SmileVoice to get free minutes and SMSs valid for 30 days to call anyone in Uganda. Most of you must be asking how does Smile Voice work?
How to use SmileVoice
Step 1: Register with Smile Communications by providing your personal details since it’s a regulatory requirement to have all telco customers registered by the Uganda Communications Commission.
You avail your email address to Smile to which they send you your smile number and activation code after issuing you with a smile SIM card.
Step 2: Download the Smile Voice app via the Playstore for folks on Android while iOS users can get it from the App Store. (A smile representative stressed that it will work across smartphones and tablet form factors and a few PCs)
Step 3: Launch the Smile Voice app and fill in your number, activation code, select your host country and tap login. And ahem, you’re good to go.
Smile promises crystal clear calls between the caller and the receiver provided both ride on smiles 4G broad band but the service also works for calls outside of Smiles network. This means you can call other networks like MTN, Airtel, UTL among others.
Smile concluded by announcing its extended coverage now covering 15 major towns in Uganda including Wakiso, Mukono, Mbarara, Masaka, Masindi, Fort Portal, Kabale, Gulu, Lira, Soroti, Mbale, Jinja, Tororo, Entebbe and Kampala.
 service dubbed SmileVoice and Smile Unlimited to the echelons of Uganda.){kind=link}