Prepare for the Future of Voice: Ookla's Standards for AI Calling at MWC 2026

Preparing for AI Calling: Ookla's Vision for Voice Quality Standards at MWC 2026

At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026 held in Barcelona, Mark Giles, the Industry Research and Analysis Director for Ookla, presented a compelling overview of the advancements in voice connectivity. His address, titled "Experience-Driven Voice Core Network with Ookla RootMetrics," delved into the new frameworks for assessing voice quality, underlining the significance of both HD-Voice and AI-Calling experiences.

In his presentation, Giles emphasized the need for operators to enhance their voice networks through experiential evaluations, aiming ultimately to boost user satisfaction. With the rise of digital platforms and communication methods, the evaluation criteria for voice experiences must evolve to remain relevant.

Key Areas of Growth

According to Giles, voice services are making strides in three main areas:
1. Emerging User Segments: The advent of live-streamers and digital avatars is generating new opportunities for voice interaction.
2. Innovative Smart Devices: The proliferation of AI-powered devices, including voice assistants and smart glasses, is reshaping how users interact via voice.
3. New Usage Patterns: A shift towards AI applications and remote interactions is fundamentally changing user engagement with voice services.

These advancements contribute to an enhanced audio experience, promoting improved resolutions, accessibility, interactivity, and the integration of AI. However, to accommodate these changes, the voice experience evaluation framework requires significant updates.

Expanded Evaluation Framework

Giles elaborated on Ookla's updated framework, which now includes several new dimensions alongside traditional Quality of Experience (QoE), Quality of Service (QoS), and coverage metrics. Specifically, Ookla's evaluation now integrates:

- AI-Driven Immersive Experience: This dimension assesses aspects such as AI-driven noise suppression and Mean Opinion Score (MOS).
- AI Interaction Experience: Evaluating real-time translation accuracy is crucial here.
- Quality of Intelligence (QoI): This new metric gauges AI model accuracy, latency, and service inclusivity.

This comprehensive approach allows operators to better navigate the complexities of voice services in the AI era, ensuring they stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market.

Case Study: Philippines' Voice Services

During the presentation, Giles highlighted a recent project conducted in the Philippines, where Ookla utilized its Speedtest Drive tool to undertake a rigorous evaluation of voice services across 1,200 kilometers, collecting an impressive 23,000 data points in Manila. This initiative aimed to reveal insights into the nation’s voice service quality for the first time systematically.

The results were noteworthy, indicating that the Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services provided by operators significantly outperformed Over-the-Top (OTT) services in key performance metrics such as MOS, call blocking, and connection drops. This disparity arises from the fact that OTT voice services share bandwidth with general internet traffic, making them more susceptible to congestion and resulting in interruptions during high usage periods.

Moreover, the findings showed that the overall VoLTE connection rate in the Philippines is disappointingly low at just 31%. To remedy this and enhance voice experiences, there is a pressing need to phase out outdated 3G networks and invest in AI-driven advancements to strengthen VoLTE services further.

Looking ahead, Ookla's commitment to evaluating AI-driven voice services in countries like the Philippines will play a crucial role in establishing better connectivity standards globally. For more insights and detailed updates, visit Ookla's official website.