Washington, D.C– TeleGeography, a global telecommunications market research and consulting firm, has revealed that international call traffic declined by 7% in 2020. The downhill trend continues from 2015 after just a slight increase in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
The TeleGeography Report and Database analyzes how COVID-19, the OTT effect and wholesale carriers have contributed to the decline of voice traffic. Despite a small rise in traffic once restrictions were implemented, the overall 2020 data matched that of previous years. Carriers’ traffic fell by 9% in 2017, 4% in 2018, and by a further 6% in 2019.
One area the pandemic may have impacted is the mobile-originated share of international traffic, which dropped for the first time ever from 62.4% in 2019 to 62.0% in 2020.
“This new research shows that the pandemic has not had a huge impact on overall call traffic, despite a brief increase in international call volumes in early 2020. In fact, over half of the operators saw a jump in call volumes in March, but nearly a third still saw a drop in traffic compared to the year before,” said Patrick Christian, Principal Analyst at TeleGeography.
This new research also examines the expansion of the wholesale market, prompted by the increase of traffic to mobile phones in emerging markets driving up demand for wholesale growth. It found wholesale carriers terminated more than 70% of international traffic in 2020. More specifically, wholesale carriers terminated over 85% of traffic to Sub-Saharan Africa and South America, and in contrast, wholesale carriers terminated only 54% of traffic to western Europe.
“When the final numbers came in, only one carrier out of 24 reported that traffic levels were higher by the end of the year and global traffic had continued to drop at an even faster rate than in 2019. It’s also possible we could have seen an even bigger drop without the early COVID-effect surge,” said Anahí Rebatta, Senior Analyst at TeleGeography.
The TeleGeography Report and Database provides comprehensive voice traffic data and analysis. It features international voice traffic data for 61 countries and over 1,000 routes, with expert analysis on the impact of consumer VoIP (OTT) services, trends in retail and wholesale prices and revenues, as well as retail, wholesale, and interconnection rates.
-Ends-
About TeleGeography
TeleGeography is a telecommunications market research and consulting firm that conducts in-depth research, compiles large data sets, and clearly presents this information in online reports and databases. Since 1989, their telecom intel has provided guidance to thousands of clients, including service providers, equipment makers, investors, and governments.
© Press Release 2022
Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.
The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.
