AT&T Begins Rolling Out WiFi Calling Feature

Well, it turns out it's not taking long at all for AT&T to start taking advantage of its just-received FCC waiver. The carrier seems to have begun activating its WiFi calling feature for customers with eligible plans. While most of the reports of successful activations seem to be coming from iPhone users running iOS 9, it appears to be somewhat random in terms of location within the country. One user from Utah, for example, was able to turn on WiFi calling, but others in New York haven't yet.

iPhone users on AT&T can check to see if the feature is available going to the Phone section in the Settings app, and trying to turn on the option for WiFi Calling. If successful, they will then need to go through a few more steps, including entering an address to be used in the case of emergency calls to 911.

The set-up process is similar for those who used the iOS 9 beta over the summer, as AT&T had WiFi calling temporarily available during that time. The feature is similar to Apple's own FaceTime app, allowing calls to be made over a WiFi connection, as opposed to cellular.

Just recently, AT&T complained to the FCC about rivals T-Mobile and Sprint offering WiFi calling without technically getting approval from the government agency. AT&T had chosen to submit the formal request to the FCC, but a response was long held up, and the carrier felt that while it was playing by the rules, it was left a disadvantage to its competitors. The FCC granted the necessary waiver to AT&T just this week, and now it seems the carrier is wasting no time in making WiFi calling available.

VIA MacRumors