Globe Leads Manila in VoLTE Call Setup Speeds as 5G Voice Adoption Evolves

The quality of mobile voice calls is increasingly defined not only by audio clarity but also by how quickly a call connects. According to Ookla data, Globe Telecom leads operators in Manila with a median Voice over LTE (VoLTE) call setup time of just 1.65 seconds, delivering a fast, responsive calling experience.

In comparison, DITO relies heavily on Evolved Packet System (EPS) fallback, where devices transition from 5G to 4G LTE to establish a voice call. This results in a considerably slower median call setup time of 4.59 seconds.

The difference matters because users perceive call setup delays differently depending on how long they are. Psychological research indicates that calls connecting in under two seconds can feel almost instantaneous, while delays exceeding four seconds can create uncertainty and anxiety. Across operators, compliance with the two-second target varies dramatically, ranging from 98.5% to just 0.1% of calls.

Globally, VoLTE remains highly competitive with newer Voice over New Radio (VoNR) technology. VoLTE delivers a global median call setup time of 1.87 seconds, compared with 1.96 seconds for VoNR. VoLTE also has a slightly higher percentage of calls meeting the target setup time, showing that established LTE voice infrastructure remains highly capable.

VoNR nevertheless represents an important step in the evolution of 5G voice services. However, the performance advantage is not universal. Of the eight operators tested, only six connected calls faster using VoNR than VoLTE. Furthermore, the slowest five percent of VoNR calls can experience substantially longer setup times, potentially because of coverage gaps, paging delays, or other network conditions.

The biggest delays occur when devices are forced to use Circuit-Switched Fallback (CSFB) to legacy 3G or 2G networks. CSFB produces a median call setup time of 4.48 seconds, making it approximately 2.4 times slower than VoLTE. More concerning, 5.5% of CSFB calls take longer than 10 seconds to connect.

The findings highlight an important reality in the transition to 5G: newer technology does not automatically guarantee a faster user experience. Network coverage, voice architecture, device behavior, and fallback mechanisms all play critical roles.

For operators, improving voice performance means more than deploying 5G—it means ensuring users can connect quickly and consistently, regardless of network conditions.