Magyar Telekom has just celebrated three years since flipping the switch on VoLTE roaming – and the numbers now are not small-print stuff. The service is live on 175 4G networks in 72 countries, and more than 85% of all Magyar Telekom mobile calls already run over VoLTE.

For a lot of travelers, that sentence sounds… technical. But if you’ve landed in another country recently and your calls just worked – quickly, clearly, without the line sounding like it’s underwater – you’ve probably felt the impact of this shift, even if you didn’t know the acronym.

What VoLTE roaming actually does for you

VoLTE (Voice over LTE) is basically “voice as data” over 4G. Instead of falling back to old 2G/3G networks every time you make a call, your phone stays on 4G and uses an IP-based voice channel.

In practice, when you roam with Magyar Telekom and connect to one of those 175 partner 4G networks, you get:

• Faster call setup – the call starts ringing almost instantly
• HD voice quality – clearer sound, better noise handling
• No “4G drop” – your phone doesn’t dive down to 3G every time you dial

Crucially, this isn’t just for premium corporate accounts. Magyar Telekom has enabled VoLTE roaming for both postpaid and Domino (prepaid) customers with VoLTE-capable devices, across all EU countries and a long list of non-EU destinations on six continents.

Three years in: how big is this, really?

To understand the scale, it helps to zoom out. According to GSMA Intelligence, operators in more than 230 markets have launched VoLTE domestically, but VoLTE roaming has lagged behind – only around 50 operators had live VoLTE roaming agreements just a few years ago.

At the same time, GSMA’s more recent analysis shows VoLTE itself has matured: by late 2025, over 350 networks worldwide are expected to have launched VoLTE, with operators increasingly pairing VoLTE with advanced messaging (RCS) and 5G services.

In that context, Magyar Telekom’s 175 VoLTE roaming partners is not a small, local add-on – it’s a footprint that places the Hungarian operator firmly in the “serious European player” category when it comes to next-generation voice. For a mid-sized market like Hungary, that’s strategically significant.

How Magyar Telekom compares to its peers

If you look at European trends, the picture is clear: big groups like Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and Swiss operator Sunrise are all racing to expand VoLTE roaming as 2G and 3G are gradually decommissioned. Sunrise, for example, publishes a long list of VoLTE roaming partners spanning Europe, the Americas and Asia, mirroring the kind of global footprint Magyar Telekom is now talking about.

On the roaming side, global reports from Orange Wholesale point to the same direction: the roaming market is being reshaped by travel eSIMs, 5G roaming, VoLTE and the sunset of legacy networks, and operators that don’t modernise their voice roaming risk losing both quality and revenue.

Within the Deutsche Telekom family itself, there’s a clear pattern: German, Croatian, Slovak and Hungarian operations are all pushing VoLTE and 5G roaming in parallel, backed by wholesale products such as Magenta Security Roaming and new international PoPs meant to secure and optimise roaming traffic worldwide.

Magyar Telekom is not alone in doing VoLTE roaming – but the combination of:

• Early launch (first in Hungary)
• Wide partner base (175 networks, 72 countries)
• High domestic VoLTE share (85% of calls already on VoLTE)

puts it comfortably in the front pack for Central and Eastern Europe, not catching up from behind.

Why has this become critical as 2G and 3G disappear

All of this is happening while operators quietly kill off older networks. GSMA-based analysis cited by testing firm Segron notes that at least 27 operators in 16 European countries will have no 2G/3G-based voice services from January 2026.

Telecom Review Europe reports that more and more European operators are refarming 2G/3G spectrum to 4G/5G, accelerating legacy shutdowns to cut costs and free up capacity.

For travelers, that’s the real tension point. If your home operator doesn’t have VoLTE roaming deals in place, you risk hitting destinations where your phone technically “roams” but can’t place a normal voice call anymore – or falls back on odd, unpredictable workarounds.

Magyar Telekom’s strategy is clearly designed to get ahead of that problem. By shifting most of its traffic to VoLTE at home and signing a broad set of VoLTE roaming agreements early, it reduces the risk of “silent roamers” as more countries turn off 3G…and eventually 2G.

What this means if you’re a Magyar Telekom customer

If you’re a Telekom customer with a 4G-capable phone, this three-year milestone quietly changes your travel experience:

• You’re more likely to land in a country where both data and calls stay on 4G from the first minute.
• Call quality abroad should feel much closer to “at home” than a few years ago.
• As more countries shut down 3G, you’re already on the technology that will replace it, rather than scrambling at the last minute.

So where does Magyar Telekom really stand?

From a roaming and voice-tech perspective, Magyar Telekom is no longer just following EU regulation on “Roam Like at Home” – it’s actively using VoLTE roaming to future-proof its base and differentiate on quality. When you compare its footprint and adoption with broader market data from GSMA and European reports, it looks less like a local incumbent and more like a regional benchmark for how a mid-sized operator can play the VoLTE game.

Could it go further? Absolutely. The logical next step is pairing this VoLTE roaming lead with aggressive 5G SA roaming, tighter integration with eSIM offers, and smarter travel bundles that make “premium voice abroad” a visible selling point rather than a hidden network feature. But in a Europe where legacy networks are fading and roaming expectations keep rising, three years of VoLTE roaming at this scale is not just a technical anniversary – it’s a signal that Magyar Telekom intends to stay in the top tier of connectivity partners for Hungarian travelers, not just keep them online by default.