eli5 Why do internet calls such as WhatsApp sound clearer than normal cellular calls?
In: 34
The short answer is because they use more bandwidth, i.e more of the audio frequency range.
The longer answer is that the original phone standard came about in a time of more technical limitations, the bandwidth of the audio was from 300hz to 3000hz only, and that carried on to the first cell phones too but they later increased the upper limit to 6000hz.
Internet calls don’t need to have those bandwidth limitations. And they use more modern codecs to turn the audio into binary data, and more modern error correction techniques to fix any incorrect packets of data during the transmission process. Service providers also have the benefit of using their own standard and changing it as often as they like. Cellular standards move more slowly in comparison, and require lots of international cooperation to create or adjust.
Latest Answers