One of the major mobile operators in France displays a high rate of disruptions in the quality of communications.
Choosing a mobile and internet operator is most often based on offer and price criteria, but also on the quality of the network, download speed and stability of communications. While many elements are easy to assess, such as the speed offered or the quality of the 4G or 5G connection for telephones, others are more difficult to assess, such as the quality of a telephone call.
Each year, Arcep (Telecoms Regulatory Authority) presents a report on the network coverage and quality of telecommunications of mobile and internet operators in France. This year, for the first time, it attempted to evaluate the “quality of voice calls” with new indicators. Voice quality measurements were carried out via an instant messaging application (Over the top – OTT application).
The share of calls made with “perfect quality” with each operator was thus able to be established. This is the call rate sustained for two minutes without any “audible disturbance”. If the majority of operators surveyed are doing rather well in all areas of France with nearly 82% for Bouygues, 86% for SFR and even 92% of calls without disruption for Orange, this is far from being the case for Free. Only 54% of calls made via the operator could be continued without disruption during the two minutes of testing.
What does this mean in practice? If you make calls from or to a smartphone with a Free operator, almost half of your conversations (46%) are likely to experience cuts, noise, disruptions and other problems that will prevent you from hearing your interlocutor perfectly. . It is even possible that your call ends abruptly if the Free network is not sufficient to cover your call.
The figure is all the more worrying because it does not only correspond to rural areas, but to the entire French territory. This fairly clear delay of the operator in the Arcep data is also found in other analyses, such as the quality of calls in national trains, RER and metros, where the quality of the Free Mobile network shows a delay by compared to its competitors.
In terms of “successful communication”, the four operators, on the other hand, offer a very good level of connectivity with a success rate of 97% for Orange, 95% for SFR, 94% for Bouygues Telecom and 93% for Free Mobile, further indicates Arcep.
The operator launched by Xavier Niel more than 15 years ago is still established as one of the cheapest on the current market, but remains engaged in the relay antenna war with its competitors. It has intended to stand out for several months now by placing itself in first position in the number of antennas and therefore 5G coverage.
