Negotiating excess: what annoys Russians when making calls in messengers
Russians have started to pay more and more attention to the quality of voice communication in messengers - they are annoyed by long dial-up times, voice transmission delays, words "swallowed" by services, and many other things, according to a survey of their users conducted by Spektr. These parameters largely depend on the cellular operators through whose networks subscribers of online services make calls, the analysts found out. About what mobile companies' subscribers find it more convenient to call via popular messengers, - in the material of "Izvestia".
How subscribers evaluate the quality of voice in messengers
The level of comfort when communicating in messengers, as well as the quality of communication in these services depends not only on their developers, but also on telecom operators. This was found out in a survey of more than 1.5 thousand Russian cellular subscribers, conducted in the IV quarter of 2024, analytical company Spektr. The desire of subscribers to change SIM cards depends on how messengers work on a particular network, the authors of the study found. This is especially noticeable among young people (18-24 years old) and older audience (55-64 years old), who more often think about changing the operator when communication deteriorates. At the same time, subscribers aged 25-54 are more focused on the level of tariffs, convenience of mobile applications and network coverage: the quality of voice communication in messengers plays a secondary role for them, Spektr adds.
In October last year, the participants of the survey were residents of cities with a population of 100 thousand and more residents aged 18-64 years, follows from the materials of Spektr, which was familiarized by "Izvestia". Respondents were asked to tell about the experience of using the most popular messengers in Russia - Telegram, WhatsApp (owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia), Skype and "VK Messenger".
"WhatsApp is the main messenger for communicating with friends and family (82%), as well as for group chats (81%). However, about half of users also choose Telegram for these purposes (50% and 45% respectively). When it comes to news and information, Telegram comes first - 81% of Russians use it. For working communications with colleagues or clients, both WhatsApp (69%) and Telegram (48%) are popular," the study noted.
At the same time, the quality of voice communication via these services is not all smooth for Russian subscribers, its authors admit. The main problems identified by respondents are the long connection process (this is particularly complained about by Telegram users on Beeline and Megafon networks), as well as the loss of fragments of speech (mentioned by representatives of the same operators) and delayed voice transmission.
As for specific messengers, according to the results of the study, when using Telegram, MTS is the leader in terms of connection speed and minimal speech delay. "The best results in terms of speech integrity are shown by Beeline - fewer missed fragments," the analysts say. In their opinion, MTS is also the leader in terms of minimum delay in Skype. At the same time, according to respondents, the most frequent problems with this messenger are faced by subscribers of "Megafon": they have complaints about the connection speed, mention the loss of fragments of speech and interference.
In the "VK Messenger" MTS leads in terms of speech clarity and the absence of interference, Spektr reports. From its materials it follows that in general to call on the most popular messengers (WhatsApp and Telegram) is most comfortable for MTS subscribers. "The most stable voice communication is provided by WhatsApp and Telegram on the MTS network..... At the same time, Beeline has difficulties with WhatsApp, Telegram and VK Messenger, while Megafon is inferior to Viber (blocked in Russia. - Ed.) and Skype in terms of the quality of voice calls. The main problems are related to the loss of fragments of speech, delays in voice transmission and background noise," the document says.
Messengers continue to gain popularity as the main method of voice communication, and telecom operators are actively developing infrastructure to ensure a stable connection, noted in Spektr. For users, this means that the choice of operator matters not only for mobile connectivity, but also for the quality of calls over the Internet, its analysts believe.
Why voice traffic is growing in online services
The choice of mobile operator is influenced by a whole set of qualitative and quantitative characteristics, MTS believes.
- These are coverage and signal continuity, data transmission speed, quality of voice calls, including in messengers, attractive tariffs, availability of ecosystem services and loyalty programs, quality of service in retail and online channels, - listed in the press service of the operator.
According to Spektr research, every second Russian uses messengers for voice calls at least five times a week. One of the main reasons for this popularity is savings: many cellular tariffs include free traffic for messengers, it said. No need to look for Wi-Fi or pay for long-distance calls, friends and colleagues are already in messengers, which means it's easier to call directly through the app, its authors list.
The number of calls in messengers is growing rapidly, says Vladimir Zykov, director of the Association of Professional Users of Social Networks and Messengers.
- This is a worldwide trend, people want to make free calls without spending money on cellular operators' fees," he says. - Plus it makes voice communication more accessible. Somewhere there is Wi-Fi, but mobile communication does not work, somewhere its voice component is lame - and messengers in such situations solve communication problems.
It is difficult to assess how the quality of calls in messengers is affected by this or that operator, but with a high degree of probability we can assume that telecom operators have the ability to prioritize traffic of different types, including from such services, he believes.
- MTS is constantly expanding coverage and network capacity to increase the speed of mobile Internet and reduce network delays, - MTS emphasizes. - All this has a positive impact on the quality of communication, including in messengers.
According to Vladimir Zykov, operators are well aware that messengers are becoming a separate life institution for Russians, just as cellular communication became a couple of decades ago. Therefore, they are trying in every possible way to attract their users - for example, by offering unlimited access to messengers. For operators, the function of Internet providers is now more and more important than the role of voice service providers.
Calls in messengers are gaining popularity also because many of their users share the opinion that such communication is safer than traditional phone calls, and it is more difficult to listen in, says Alexey Slukin, an independent expert and author of the Telegram channel Telekommunalka. Messengers do allow you to save money, primarily on long-distance and international calls, he agrees. Communication in principle is moving to applications - it is convenient for a person to simply press a button and switch to an audio or video call while corresponding with his interlocutor, he believes.
Technically, it is difficult to confirm that the quality of voice communication in messengers differs on different cellular networks, but the results of surveys show that there is indeed a difference, says Alexei Slukin. When transmitting streaming data, including voice, it is not so much the speed in the network that is important, but its maintenance at a constant level, the coherence of the network, the absence of delays, says the expert: calls through messengers are just the case.
Now calls via messengers are almost more popular than phone calls via operator networks - the style of communication has changed, says Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group. People communicate in messengers - and where they correspond, it is easier to call back, he notes. The quality of voice communication differs from operator to operator, but in general, the quality of cellular telephone communication is still higher: mobile operators do not skimp on the infrastructure necessary for comfortable communication between subscribers, the expert concludes.
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