The quality of voice transmission is still in good quality, the average connection time in general is consistently fast, the number of unsuccessful connections is fixed lower, with VoLTE* network technology, voice communication services in the mobile network are of excellent quality. The Public Services Regulatory Commission (SPRK) explains the trends in the quality of domestic voice communications service in 2022 in the electronic communications network of “Tet”, “BITE Latvija”, “Latvijas Mobilais Telefons” and “Tele2”.
Electronic communications merchants must annually provide information to PUK about the services they provide, filling out a declaration with the predicted quality values that the merchant is able to provide in the electronic communications network as a whole and what quality users can expect. In order to monitor the maintenance of quality at an appropriate level, PUK for merchants whose number of end users exceeds 20 thousand regularly conducts service quality measurements, checking compliance with the specified declared values. The measurement results reflect the average values of parameters characterizing the quality of communication – connection time, speech transmission quality and the number of failed connections.
“In general, it can be concluded that the quality values declared by the operators themselves correspond to the average quality measurements of the domestic voice communication service performed by PUK. Operators still ensure high quality of provided voice communication services, as well as good audibility and intelligibility of the conversation. At the same time, taking into account the technological development of mobile operators’ networks, with the development of VoLTE communication network technology in Latvia, a significant improvement in the quality of voice communication service in the mobile network can be observed, compared to 2G or 3G generation network technologies,” says Ivars Tauniņš, director of the Department of Electronic Communications and Posts of the Public Telecommunications Union of Latvia.
I. Tauniņš also points out that in cases where the availability of the service in a mobile operator’s network is difficult or the quality of the voice communication service is low in a certain location, the voice communication service provided by other mobile operators is most often available. Therefore, in most cases, end users are provided with the opportunity to choose the most suitable service provider.
The average connection time with VoLTE technology is up to two times faster
Connection time is a parameter measured in seconds and defines the period of time from the moment the called number is sent to the moment when a call control signal, a busy signal or an answer is detected.
Evaluating the results of the connection time measurements, practically constant values of the average connection time (between 0.65 and 0.70 seconds) were found in the “Tet” fixed network (regardless of the measurement location and combination of measurements). On the other hand, in the networks of mobile operators, depending on the place of residence, when measuring in different places of residence and in combinations of measurements, different average connection time values were observed (between 2.81 and 5.14 seconds).
In places where voice communication service is available in the mobile network of “BITE Latvija” and “Latvijas Mobilais Telefons” and the connection is made using VoLTE technology, the average connection time is up to two times faster compared to cases where the connection is made without VoLTE, i.e. using 2G or 3G generation network technologies.
However, in general, the measurement results in the networks of all four operators show consistently fast average connection times over a period of several years. This means that the caller experiences little time delay between dialing the number and receiving an answer tone.
The average voice transmission quality with VoLTE technology is excellent
The quality of the speech transmission reflects the audibility and intelligibility of the conversation provided by the operators, which is evaluated on a five-point scale (from poor to excellent), the highest numerical rating represents an excellent quality of communication.
In cases where the voice communication service is available using 2G or 3G generation network technology, the quality of speech transmission is good (3.18-3.39 points) in at least 75% of cases in the networks of all mobile operators. However, different average speech transmission quality values were observed when measuring in different populated areas and in measurement combinations with 2G or 3G generation technology.
Using VoLTE technology, the quality of voice transmission is excellent in more than 90% of cases – four points and above. In addition, when performing measurements in different populated areas and combinations of measurements, both BITE Latvija and “Latvijas Mobilais Telefons” mobile network show excellent speech transmission quality, regardless of the measurement location.
In general, in the “Tet” fixed network (regardless of the network technology and the combination of settlement/measurements), end users are mostly provided with the opportunity to communicate with each other in excellent quality, while in the networks of mobile operators, using 2G or 3G generation network technologies, in good quality. In cases where VoLTE technology is available in the mobile network of the voice communication service, users have the opportunity to communicate in excellent quality, clearly hearing and perceiving the conversation.
The number of unsuccessful connections is fixed lower
The number of failed connections is a parameter that defines the ratio of the number of failed connections to the total number of connection attempts as a percentage. The lower the value of this parameter, the lower the probability that the connection will fail when using the voice service.
“BITE Latvija” and “Tele2” mobile network recorded a lower number of unsuccessful connections (“BITE Latvija” – 0.019% and “Tele2” – 0.027%) compared to the year before. The number of unsuccessful connections in the “Latvijas Mobilais Telefons” mobile network has remained at the same level for several years in a row – 0.027%. On the other hand, the failed connections were not observed in the “Tet” fixed network. Most often, in the networks of all mobile operators, unsuccessful connections are fixed when making or receiving a call from less populated areas.
You can get acquainted with the summary of the quality report for 2022 In the interactive infographic published on the PUC website. Voice communications service quality declarations of electronic communications merchants are also available on the PUK website.
