Bell, Rogers, Telus complete video calling trials

Three major wireless providers in Canada have completed two-way video calling trials, Bell, Rogers and Telus announced on Wednesday. While video calling on cellphones is currently available from some providers in Canada, it requires both users are on the same network and use compatible handsets. As a result of the testing, the three providers hope to create the largest two-way video-calling community in North America.

Bell, Rogers and Telus all offer video calling handsets and all of them support the global open 3G-324M Video Telephony standard. There is no indication of when the service will actually launch at the three carriers, or what it will cost.

Video calling is a frequent option in Asia and Europe but has been relatively unknown in North America as most phones sold on the continent lack front video cameras and have been running on 3G networks that don't often have the bandwidth to handle two-way video.

By Electronista Staff