At T Says It Will Turn On Hd Voice Wideband Audio Support Later This Year

At the VentureBeat Mobile Summit today, AT&T Senior Vice President Kris Rinne said that the United States carrier will support HD voice (wideband audio) later this year, as noted by AllThingsD. HD Voice is a new phone technology that uses more frequencies so cell phone calls sound clearer.

Apple’s iPhone 5 launched with hardware support for the feature last fall, but only around 20 carriers, all international, support it.

T-Mobile, which will begin carrying the iPhone later this month, will become the first U.S. carrier to support it. Seth Weintraub, who attended the T-Mobile iPhone 5 launch event, wrote up some hands-on thoughts regarding the HD Voice/Wideband audio quality:

Sprint and Verizon Wireless, the other two major U.S. iPhone carriers, are yet to announce plans for an HD Voice rollout. (Image via gdgt).