Mobile operators investing billions of dollars in 5G networks cannot assume that newer technology automatically delivers better voice performance. Global network testing shows that mature Voice over LTE (VoLTE) networks can still outperform newer Voice over New Radio (VoNR) deployments, with operator optimization emerging as a bigger performance differentiator than the generation of mobile technology.
Testing across Seoul, London, Malaysia, New York, Singapore, Lisbon, Luanda and Manila reveals substantial differences in call setup performance between operators. The strongest networks connect calls in around one second, while operators dependent on legacy fallback technologies can take four to five seconds or longer, Ookla report on VoLTE vs VoNR Performance indicated.
Globally, VoLTE recorded a call setup time of 1.87 seconds, slightly faster than 1.96 seconds for VoNR. The results indicate that the transition to 5G standalone networks does not automatically improve the voice experience.
Instead, operators including LG U+, SK Telecom, Singtel, EE and Three demonstrate that network engineering, IMS optimization, radio coverage and signaling efficiency determine how quickly customers can establish calls.
LG U+ and SK Telecom Lead Global Voice Performance
South Korean operators demonstrate what mature VoLTE optimization can achieve.
In Seoul, LG U+ recorded a call setup time of 0.73 seconds, the fastest performance among the operators covered in the testing. SK Telecom followed with a 0.99-second.
Both operators also delivered tight performance consistency and very high compliance with the two-second call setup benchmark.
LG U+’s result is particularly significant because it shows that a mature 4G voice network can outperform newer VoNR deployments. Its 0.73-second was more than 25 percent faster than the second-fastest operator and 32 percent faster than the third-fastest operator in the comparison.
SK Telecom was also particularly strong against the two-second benchmark, with 98.5 percent of calls connecting within two seconds.
The results highlight an important consideration for operators planning their 5G network strategy: deploying VoNR is not necessarily the quickest route to improving customer voice experience.
Singtel Shows the Potential of Optimized VoNR
While VoLTE dominates several of the best-performing networks, Singtel demonstrates what operators can achieve when VoNR is properly optimized.
Singtel recorded a 1.07-second VoNR call setup time in Singapore, compared with 1.22 seconds on its VoLTE network.
More than 90 percent of Singtel’s VoNR calls met the two-second target. Its VoNR performance ranked among the top three voice results across all technologies covered by the study and was the fastest outside South Korea.
The result provides evidence that the theoretical benefits of VoNR can translate into better customer experience when operators combine 5G standalone coverage with optimized IMS, radio and signaling infrastructure.
VoNR allows operators to keep voice traffic entirely within the 5G standalone architecture, avoiding the additional network transitions associated with fallback to LTE.
For operators expanding their 5G standalone deployments, Singtel provides an important benchmark for native 5G voice performance.
YES Delivers Strong VoNR Performance in Malaysia
Malaysia’s YES was another strong VoNR performer.
YES achieved a 1.60-second VoNR call setup time, approximately 26 percent faster than its 2.17-second VoLTE performance.
The operator ranked as the third-fastest VoNR performer in the testing, behind Singtel and South Korea’s KT.
The Malaysian result is notable because the measurements covered the country rather than a single metropolitan market. Nationwide testing can introduce additional variability because networks need to maintain performance across urban areas, highways and less densely populated locations.
Malaysia also has a relatively mature VoLTE environment, with VoLTE penetration estimated at around 92 percent of mobile connections in 2025.
EE and Three Show Strength of Mature UK VoLTE Networks
UK operators EE and Three delivered some of the strongest voice performance outside Asia despite relying on VoLTE rather than VoNR for the measured results.
EE achieved a 1.37-second call setup time, while Three recorded 1.41 seconds.
More than 93 percent of calls on both networks were completed within the two-second target.
The UK had VoLTE penetration of approximately 93 percent of connections, providing operators with a large and mature base for network optimization.
Portugal’s MEO also performed strongly, recording a 1.67-second VoLTE .
These results suggest operators can continue extracting significant performance improvements from their existing 4G LTE networks while gradually introducing 5G standalone voice.
VoNR Performance Remains Uneven Between Operators
Not every VoNR deployment delivers an improvement.
StarHub in Singapore recorded a respectable 1.82-second on VoNR, but this was around 32 percent slower than its VoLTE performance.
More importantly, StarHub’s slowest calls showed substantial variability. Its VoNR 95th-percentile call setup time reached 6.33 seconds, while only 57 percent of VoNR calls met the two-second target.
On StarHub’s VoLTE network, nearly 80 percent of calls met the two-second benchmark and the 95th percentile was considerably lower at 2.38 seconds.
KT in South Korea also recorded VoNR performance that was around 13 percent slower than its VoLTE result.
The findings demonstrate why speeds alone do not provide a complete picture of operator voice performance. Customers notice the calls that take five or six seconds to connect, even when most calls connect quickly.
M1 Highlights Importance of Network Consistency
M1’s Singapore performance presents another example of the challenges operators face during voice-network transitions.
Its VoNR of 3.62 seconds represented a 43.5 percent improvement over its VoLTE of 6.41 seconds.
However, the result primarily reflects weak VoLTE performance rather than industry-leading VoNR performance.
The network also displayed significant variation in VoNR call setup times, suggesting that improving consistency remains an important optimization opportunity.
This illustrates why operators need to monitor not only call setup times but also the slowest five percent of calls.
Boost Mobile Outperforms T-Mobile in New York VoNR Test
The U.S. results also show meaningful operator differences.
Boost Mobile recorded a 1.81-second VoNR call setup time in New York, compared with 2.34 seconds for T-Mobile.
Boost benefited from the greenfield Open RAN-based 5G standalone architecture originally deployed by DISH Network.
The comparison demonstrates one potential advantage of newer network architectures: operators building standalone infrastructure without extensive legacy dependencies can optimize around native 5G services from the beginning.
However, the broader international results show that greenfield architecture alone does not guarantee superior performance.
Globe Leads Voice Performance in Manila
Testing conducted in Manila during the first half of 2026 provides a useful comparison of operators in a market where VoLTE adoption is still developing.
Globe Telecom delivered the fastest call setup performance with a of 1.65 seconds and a 95th percentile of 2.86 seconds.
Almost all Globe originating voice samples — 99.85 percent — used VoLTE.
Globe’s 1.65-second result compares favorably with operators in substantially more mature VoLTE markets and was slightly faster than Portugal’s MEO at 1.67 seconds.
Smart, PLDT’s mobile operation, recorded a 2.30-second . However, its 95th percentile reached 7.23 seconds, indicating considerably higher variability.
Approximately 99.94 percent of Smart’s voice traffic in the testing used VoLTE.
DITO Pays a Performance Penalty for EPS Fallback
DITO Telecommunity showed how network architecture can affect customer voice experience.
Approximately 89 percent of DITO’s originating voice samples used EPS fallback, with devices moving from 5G to 4G to complete calls. Only around 11 percent were handled natively on VoLTE.
DITO recorded a 4.59-second call setup time, while its 95th percentile reached 5.99 seconds.
The operator has built a 5G standalone core but has not commercialized VoNR. Consequently, devices connected to its 5G SA network need to return to LTE for voice calls.
The performance gap illustrates the importance of coordinating mobile network modernization with voice-service evolution.
Africell vs Unitel Shows Cost of Legacy Voice
The largest performance penalty emerges when operators continue depending on circuit-switched fallback.
Across the testing, CSFB produced a 4.48-second call setup time, compared with 1.87 seconds for VoLTE.
The CSFB 95th percentile reached 10.75 seconds, while 5.5 percent of calls took more than 10 seconds. By comparison, only 0.49 percent of VoLTE calls exceeded 10 seconds.
Luanda provides a clear operator comparison.
Africell, which relied on CSFB, recorded a 4.97-second and achieved zero percent compliance with the two-second target.
Unitel Angola, using VoLTE, performed substantially better with a 2.49-second and 55 percent of calls connecting within two seconds.
Operator Optimization Matters More Than VoLTE vs VoNR
The global results challenge the assumption that VoNR should automatically outperform VoLTE.
The best-performing networks demonstrate three different paths. LG U+ and SK Telecom show the potential of deeply optimized VoLTE networks. Singtel and YES demonstrate the performance gains possible from optimized VoNR. Globe Telecom shows that operators in less mature VoLTE markets can still deliver competitive voice performance with effective network engineering.
For operators, the strategic priority should therefore be voice-network performance rather than technology branding.
VoNR has long-term advantages because it allows voice and data to operate natively on the 5G standalone architecture, reduces dependence on LTE and supports eventual legacy-network retirement. But launching VoNR before coverage, IMS infrastructure, signaling and mobility procedures are sufficiently optimized can produce worse results than mature VoLTE.
The operator performance data makes the message clear: a well-optimized VoLTE network can still beat a poorly optimized VoNR network, while mature VoNR can deliver some of the fastest voice experiences available today.
