Phone Calls

Introduction

Do you remember the days when every phone call came with a price tag - when we counted minutes, and international calls meant carefully watching the clock? Those days are long gone.

Today, the way we connect with each other has changed dramatically. Instead of dialing a number through the traditional voice network, consumers are increasingly choosing Over-The-Top (OTT) communication apps like WhatsApp, Zoom, Viber, Instagram, and many others.

And the numbers prove it.

The Scale of the Study

We analyzed over 2.4 billion calls globally in the last year to understand if they were OTT or regular calls.

The experience varies:

• In Indonesia, Macau, and Taiwan, nearly 90% of all calls captured are OTT calls.
• In Indonesia, 36.51% of those OTT calls happen over WiFi—meaning a majority are still carried by mobile networks.
• In the US, around 30% of calls are OTT and almost half of it is placed over WiFi.
• In Brazil, that figure jumps to 64%, with 60% of OTT calls taking place over WiFi.
• In Canada, 25% of calls are OTT.

In some countries, the OTT calls are still kept to a minimum. For example, in Egypt, Nigeria and Poland, over-the-top calls are close to 10% of all calls.

In Europe, France and Austria about 18% of OTT calls, the same pace as Australia. Germany and the UK have a significantly larger portion of their calls being OTT with around 30% each.

The chart below highlights the 30 countries with the largest share of OTT calls.

This is a clear sign: the way consumers make calls has fundamentally shifted. Traditional voice calls are no longer the default in some countries. OTT apps provide global reach, often at no extra cost, and in many markets, they now dominate consumer behavior.

But this shift raises important questions for mobile operators.

Historically, operators invested heavily in voice networks because that’s what customers paid for. Today, however, most of those same calls are riding on data networks—whether over WiFi or mobile broadband. And unlike the past, operators aren’t charging per minute.

So how should operators think about their investments?

Network Quality Matters More Than Ever

Whether a call is made through WhatsApp or the traditional dialer, consumers expect crystal-clear connections. Poor OTT call performance reflects just as badly on the operator as it does on the app.

Voice Still Has a Role

Emergency calls, business continuity, and reliability mean that traditional voice remains important. Operators must ensure that standard calls are dependable even as OTT usage grows.

Data is the New Voice

The network is still at the heart of the experience. Operators that continue to invest in resilient, high-capacity mobile and fixed networks will be the ones enabling the future of communication.

The bottom line? Consumers don’t distinguish between a “voice call” and an “OTT call.”

They just want the call to work. Operators who understand this shift - and plan their investments accordingly - will be the ones who stay relevant in the next era of connectivity.