Qatar
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Qatar
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
Ooredoo users enjoy the fastest download speeds in Qatar
Ooredoo wins the 5G Download Speed award with a score of 346.5 Mbps, having secured a lead of 139.7 Mbps (67.6%) over Vodafone which scored 206.8 Mbps. The overall average download speed of Ooredoo users was also faster than the speed seen by users on Vodafone, as Ooredoo scored 47.4 Mbps — 18.7 Mbps (65%) ahead of Vodafone which scored 28.8 Mbps.
Ooredoo wins the overall Video and Games Experience awards outright, but shares the 5G awards
In both the overall Video Experience and Games Experience categories Ooredoo wins with scores of 58.6 and 64.3 on a 100 point scale, and leads of 9.9 and 5.9 points, respectively. However, when it comes to 5G Video Experience and 5G Games Experience, our users didn’t perceive a statistically different experience on the two networks and therefore Ooredoo and Vodafone share both 5G awards.
Ooredoo shares Availability with Vodafone, but comes ahead in 5G Availability
In the Coverage section, Ooredoo wins the 5G Availability award outright with a score of 22.1%, compared to Vodafone’s 14.2%. However, the two operators share the Availability award with scores in the 97.5-98% range. Availability measures the amount of time users spent with a 3G, 4G or 5G connection on each operator, while 5G Availability represents the proportion of time that 5G users had an active 5G connection.
Ooredoo wins both Excellent and Core Consistent Quality awards outright
Ooredoo wins the Excellent Consistent Quality award with a 12.8 percentage points margin over second-placed Vodafone. In Core Consistent Quality, Ooredoo once again beats Vodafone, but this time by a lesser margin of 6.4 percentage points. Consistent quality quantifies how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. Excellent Consistent Quality analyzes the percentage of users' tests that met the minimum recommended thresholds for watching HD video, completing group video conference calls and playing games. Core Consistent Quality uses thresholds for less demanding applications.
Vodafone wins the 5G Voice App Experience award, and shares the overall award with Ooredoo
Vodafone comes out on top in 5G Voice App Experience, which quantifies the use of popular mobile apps for real-time voice communications on 5G networks. Vodafone scored 81.3 points on a 100 point scale while Ooredoo scored 78.6, which means Vodafone is the outright winner in this category. However, our users experienced no difference in the overall Voice App Experience of the two operators, as they had statistically tied scores in the 78-78.6 point range, meaning that the two Qatari operators share that award.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest Qatar Mobile Network Experience report we analyze both the 5G experience and the overall experience together for the first time in one report. Also, we add two new awards that quantify the consistency of the experience on both Qatar's national operators.
Ooredoo leads across most mobile experience categories in Qatar based on Opensignal’s awards table as it wins eight awards outright — four awards in the Overall Experience section, 5G Download Speed, 5G Availability as well as both Consistent Quality awards — compared to Vodafone’s sole outright win in 5G Voice App Experience. The two Qatari operators share the remaining five awards, including 5G Video Experience and 5G Games Experience.
Qatar’s mobile operators continue to explore innovative 5G solutions to improve the mobile experience of their users. In December, Vodafone trialed its mmWave spectrum-based 5G network services with the aim of unlocking new functionality for consumers and businesses, while Ooredoo in March announced the successful implementation of a ‘world first’ 5G Indoor shareable solution using Ericsson’s kit aimed at enhancing the immersive experiences at stadiums and venues.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the two main mobile network operators in Qatar — Ooredoo and Vodafone — over a period of 90 days starting on January 1, 2022 and ending on March 31, 2022, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Ooredoo is the outright winner of the Video Experience award with a score of 58.6 points on a 100 point scale. It wins by a convincing margin — 9.9 points (20.4%) ahead of second placed Vodafone which scored 48.7 points.
Looking at 5G Video Experience — which measures the experience of our 5G users when connected to a 5G network — we observed impressive gains compared to the overall experience measured across all mobile technologies. Ooredoo and Vodafone earned Very Good ratings (65-75) in 5G Video Experience as they scored 11.4 and 18.9 points higher than their overall Video Experience scores.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
Our users had their best experience when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections on Ooredoo’s network. The operator scored 64.3 points on a 100 point scale, with a 5.9 point lead over second-placed Vodafone’s score of 58.4 points.
We observed some large gains looking at 5G Games Experience as Ooredoo and Vodafone’s scores were 4 and 11.1 points higher, respectively, compared to the overall experience measured across all mobile technologies.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Ooredoo and Vodafone share the Voice App Experience award, as they had statistically tied scores in the 78-78.6 point range on a 100 point scale. Both operators placed in the Acceptable category (74-80) meaning that perceptible call quality impairments were experienced by some users but listeners were generally able to comprehend without repetition.
Definitions
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
- 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Our users observed the fastest average overall download speeds on Ooredoo’s network — 47.4 Mbps, which was 18.7 Mbps (65%) faster than second-placed Vodafone’s score of 28.8 Mbps. As a result, Ooredoo is the outright winner of the Download Speed Experience award.
Turning to the overall average download speeds observed by our 5G users (Download Speed Experience – 5G Users), we observed Ooredoo having an even greater lead, as its 5G users saw average download speeds of 142.8 Mbps, which was 69.5 Mbps faster (94.7%) than what our 5G users experienced on Vodafone’s network at 73.3 Mbps.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
As our Ooredoo users observed the fastest average overall upload speeds — 14.8 Mbps — Ooredoo is the sole winner of the Upload Speed Experience award. It wins by a margin of 4.5 Mbps (43.2%) over Vodafone given the latter’s score of 10.3 Mbps.
Looking at the overall average upload speeds observed by our 5G users (Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users), we saw Ooredoo once again leading at 19.1 Mbps, while Vodafone scored 12.9 Mbps.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
5G Experience
National Analysis
Ooredoo and Vodafone share the 5G Video Experience award, with statistically tied scores in the 67.6-70 point range, on a 100 point scale. With these scores, Ooredoo and Vodafone earned Very Good ratings (65-75) for 5G Video Experience. Both operators’ scores for 5G Video Experience are much higher than their overall scores — measured across all generations of mobile technology — with the improvement ranging from 11.4 points for Ooredoo to 18.9 points for Vodafone.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
Our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience when connected to 5G networks was statistically similar on Qatar’s two national networks. In fact, Ooredoo and Vodafone’s scores were statistically tied in the 68.3-69.5 point range, and placed in the Fair category (65-75).
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
Vodafone is the outright winner of the 5G Voice App Experience award with a score of 81.3 points on a 100 point scale. Ooredoo comes in second place with a score of 78.6 points. While Vodafone earned a Good rating (80-87), Ooredoo placed in the Acceptable (74-80) category.
Definitions
5G Voice App Experience quantifies the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. 5G Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
National Analysis
Our Ooredoo users saw the fastest average 5G download speeds — 346.5 Mbps, making Ooredoo the sole winner of the 5G Download Speed award. Ooredoo’s score was 139.7 Mbps higher than Vodafone’s as the latter operator scored 206.8 Mbps.
Operators’ 5G Download Speed scores were 7.2-7.3 times faster than their overall Download Speed Experience scores, highlighting the extent to which average overall download speeds could improve once users spend the majority of their time connected to 5G.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
Ooredoo and Vodafone share the 5G Upload Speed award, as our users on the two networks observed statistically similar 5G upload speeds in the 29.5-30.1 Mbps range.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Coverage
Ooredoo
Vodafone
National Analysis
Ooredoo and Vodafone share the Availability award, with scores in the 97.5-98% range. This means that our users on the two operators spent a statistically similar proportion of time connected to either 3G, 4G, or 5G networks.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
National Analysis
Ooredoo is the outright winner of the 5G Availability award with a score of 22.1%, ahead of Vodafone’s 14.2%. The higher 5G Availability is, the greater the amount of time that users were able to benefit from the improved mobile experience that 5G can provide.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
Consistency
National Analysis
According to our measurements, Ooredoo was the operator that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for HD video, group video conference calls and gaming across the greatest proportion of users' tests. Therefore Ooredoo is the sole winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality award as its score of 73.8% is 12.8 percentage points higher than that of second-placed Vodafone’s 61%.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Excellent Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games.
National Analysis
As is the case with Excellent Consistent Quality, Ooredoo is the outright winner of the Core Consistent Quality award — as based on our measurements it met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing for the highest proportion of users' tests (83.4%). But this time Ooredoo’s lead on Vodafone was smaller — 6.4 percentage points — as Vodafone scored 77%.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience