Mobile operator EE has launched WiFi Calling, making calls and texts available in every WiFi-connected home and small office in the UK. The service does not reply on an app. It uses the phone’s normal dialler and contacts book to make calls, and the regular text button to send text messages.

WiFi Calling from EE will be available from launch on the Lumia 640 and from Friday on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. More devices will be added to the WiFi Calling range in the coming weeks, and by summer 2015 more than 5m EE pay monthly customers will have access to WiFi Calling.

Research carried out by ICM on behalf of EE in March 2015 found almost one in 10 people have one room or more in their home where they have no mobile connectivity, and this increases to 15 per cent for those living in rural and semi-rural areas. The study also found that a quarter of people in the UK work from home at least one day per week and 20 per cent of those lose mobile connectivity at some point during the day.

“Losing coverage at home is a major frustration, and WiFi Calling will make a real difference to millions of customers across the UK,” said EE CEO, Olaf Swantee. “Our customers want to be able to call and text no matter where they are, and they don’t want to have to think about which app they need to use or if their friends have a particular third party service.”