Transmission of voice and data on private connections (PSTN / ISDN or VoIP) / Number and duration of calls

Fixed telephony traffic has been is steadily declining since liberalisation in 1998. The phenomenon of substitution between "fixed networks" and "mobile networks" continues and explains, in large part, this decline. The number of calls, their duration and their average duration broken down into different categories is shown below.

Transmission of voice and data on private connections (PSTN / ISDN or VoIP) (Table SF3A)

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Ver. 21-22
Number of calls established (in millions of calls)	1'793	1'651	1'482	1'245	1'059	-14.9%
National (urban and long-distance zone)	1'064	954	764	650	560	-13.9%
International	97	89	69	40	49	21.9%
From fixed network to mobile network	567	542	587	540	446	-17.4%
From fixed network to indeterminate network (fixed or mobile)	65	66	63	14	4	-73.2%
Duration of calls (in millions of minutes)	7'379	6'653	7'368	6'108	4'997	-18.2%
National (urban and long-distance zone)	4'775	4'231	4'645	3'797	3'138	-17.3%
International	697	596	540	420	343	-18.4%
From fixed network to mobile network	1'764	1'678	2'044	1'868	1'512	-19.0%
From fixed network to indeterminate network (fixed or mobile)	143	148	138	24	4	-83.8%
Average duration of a call (in minutes)	4.12	4.03	4.97	4.91	4.72	-3.9%
National (urban and long-distance zone)	4.49	4.44	6.08	5.84	5.60	-4.0%
International	7.21	6.72	7.87	10.40	6.96	-33.0%
From fixed network to mobile network	3.11	3.10	3.49	3.46	3.39	-2.0%
From fixed network to indeterminate network (fixed or mobile)	2.21	2.23	2.19	1.76	1.06	-39.8%

Note:
- In this table the sums do not always correspond exactly with their constituent elements. These small differences are due to rounding up or down.

Duration of calls (in millions of minutes)

Transmission of voice and data on private connections (PSTN / ISDN or VoIP) / Distribution as a function of the use or non-use of preselection and access by "Voice over Internet Protocol" (VoIP) (Table SF3B)

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	Ver. 21-22
Number of calls established (in millions of calls)	1'793	1'651	1'482	1'245	1'059	-14.9%
Calls established directly (without prefix)	232	118	7	1	1	-1.0%
Calls established indirectly (with prefix)	12	24	13	3	2	-38.4%
Calls established via a VoIP access	1'484	1'442	1'399	1'227	1'053	-14.2%
Other	65	66	63	14	4	-73.2%
Duration of calls (in millions of minutes)	7'379	6'653	7'368	6'108	4'997	-18.2%
Calls established directly (without prefix)	1'612	1'007	13	5	4	-17.8%
Calls established indirectly (with prefix)	29	40	35	15	11	-30.4%
Calls established via a VoIP access	5'594	5'457	7'182	6'064	4'978	-17.9%
Other	143	148	138	24	4	-83.8%
Average duration of a call (in minutes)	4.12	4.03	4.97	4.91	4.72	-3.9%
Calls established directly (without prefix)	6.94	8.54	1.82	6.07	5.04	-17.0%
Calls established indirectly (with prefix)	2.41	1.68	2.75	5.42	6.12	12.8%
Calls established via a VoIP access	3.77	3.78	5.13	4.94	4.73	-4.3%
Other	2.21	2.23	2.19	1.76	1.06	-39.8%

Notes:
- In this table, the sums do not always correspond exactly with their constituent elements. These small differences are due to rounding up or down.
- Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a generic name defining the transportation of voice traffic using packets on the Internet Protocol (IP). VoIP traffic can be routed on a controlled private network or the public internet or a combination of the two.

Our statistics collect information (contracts, number and duration of calls) on customers accessing a telephony service via VoIP access provided by a telecommunications service provider. Other forms of VoIP cannot be collected by our statistics, e.g. PC to PC (Peer to Peer) where it is sufficient to download the appropriate program on the internet and make contact with a peer who has installed the same program.

Number of calls established (in millions of calls)

Facts and figures

Telephone services on fixed networks (Usage) (XLSX, 620 kB, 26.03.2024)

Last modification 26.03.2024