"My eyes can’t believe my ears!" That’s the reaction I often get when people first experience truly immersive audio. At MWC Barcelona 2025, I’ll be at the Nokia stand, 3B20, with my colleagues showcasing the cutting-edge technology that transforms your phone into a 3D soundscape, where voices and ambient sounds are precisely positioned around you. You have to hear it to believe it. But don’t just take my word for it—come experience it yourself. Better yet, join us at Nokia in piloting and showcasing the possibilities of this cutting-edge immersive voice technology for your own business! 

It's all about collaboration

At the heart of this breakthrough lies the new IVAS (Immersive Voice and Audio Services) codec. The IVAS codec technology enables live spatial audio across devices connected over a 5G Advanced cellular network like smartphones or tablets, bringing people together for real-life interaction with three-dimensional sound.  

This technology bridges the gap between caller and listener, transforming voice and video calls into immersive, more engaging, and context-rich experiences. It is the biggest leap forward in the live voice calling experience since the introduction of monophonic telephony audio used in smartphones today. IVAS has been developed by a consortium of 13 companies and included in Release 18 by the global telecommunications standards organization 3GPP.   

We at Nokia have contributed major parts of the technology to the standard and were able to successfully demonstrate the IVAS technology in a real-time call by our CEO Pekka Lundmark over a public 5G network last summer.  

However, while Nokia has played a major role in the technical development and implementation, the achievement is really a testament to the power of partnerships in driving technological progress.  

Make no mistake. For truly immersive spatial audio to become mainstream in mobile networks, collaboration and industry-wide standards are essential. We need all hands on board!  

Introducing MASA 

At the core of the next-generation voice call technology is the MASA (Metadata-Assisted Spatial Audio) format.  

MASA is a parametric spatial audio format designed specifically for challenging device form factors, such as mobile phones. It is an integral part of the 3GPP IVAS standard and supports efficient spatial audio capture, transmission, and rendering. Nokia’s Immersive Voice Client software can produce MASA format from device’s built-in microphones. The MASA format ensures that spatial audio data can accurately be encoded by the IVAS codec using only two channels of audio and spatial metadata, making it highly efficient way to capture spatial audio experiences in real time. 

With IVAS codec, it is possible transmit also audio objects, such as voices of individuals speakers, with the MASA-formatted spatial audio. This Object MASA (OMASA) takes spatial audio a step further by allowing real-time adjustment of voice and ambient sound balance during calls. OMASA enables real-time mixing of object-based and spatial audio, ensuring an optimized, immersive, and interactive listening experience. As the very first company to demonstrate OMASA, Nokia is redefining how voice and ambient sound interact, creating truly lifelike conversations in a three-dimensional soundscape. 

In short, MASA powers spatial audio capture and transmission, while OMASA enables real-time audio control, delivering an immersive and user-friendly voice experience. Together, these technologies make conversations more engaging, intuitive, and effective, whether in personal calls, enterprise collaboration, or mission-critical environments. 

Want to hear more? Join us! 

How will spatial audio redefine the way we communicate in the next decade? What new experiences will emerge when voice interactions become as immersive as face-to-face conversations? 

At Nokia, we believe the future of voice isn’t just about hearing—it’s about experiencing. We’ve laid the foundation for a new era of lifelike, interactive, and spatially rich communication. But the real potential lies in how you choose to leverage it. 

We’re inviting innovators, developers, and industry leaders to help shape this transformation. Whether you’re a device manufacturer, operator, or service provider, now is the time to explore, experiment, and integrate immersive voice into the next generation of applications. The future has never sounded this good.