In this analysis, Opensignal examines how greater quantities of spectrum capacity contribute to improved 4G and 5G experience in the Asia Pacific region. Opensignal data shows that APAC users observe twice or even thrice as fast 4G download speeds and around 50% faster 5G download speeds when there are large amounts of spectrum bandwidth connected compared with low amounts. Video streaming services also benefit from increased spectrum bandwidth — however, the difference is more marked on 4G than 5G.
Modern smartphones typically connect to multiple spectrum bands, or carriers, at once. This is called carrier aggregation. Here, we look at the average 4G download speeds in Asia Pacific with five different amounts of spectrum bandwidth connected. These bandwidth sizes reflect the total spectrum in use, across all the carriers that are connected. On 4G the maximum bandwidth on a single carrier is 20MHz, while using 5G the total bandwidth per connection can be up to 100MHz. With carrier aggregation, the total amount of spectrum in use can exceed both the 20MHz 4G limit and 100MHz single carrier limit because multiple carriers are connected at once.
When users are connected with greater amounts of 4G spectrum bandwidth, they experience much faster average 4G download speeds across APAC markets. While 5G has launched in many markets, 4G is still prevalent across many markets in the region and continues to contribute to the 5G experience when users connect to 5G with non-standalone access (NSA).
Average 4G download speeds for the 20-40MHz spectrum bandwidth used — meaning at least two 4G carriers are in use — clock in at 35.1Mbps, 55.2% faster than for connections using spectrum capacity of 20MHz or less. The 4G Download Speed score is even higher with at least three carriers used and more than 40MHz spectrum connected. Then users — see average speeds of 46.4Mbps, or more than twice as fast as when there is 0-20MHz spectrum in use. With more than 80MHz of mobile spectrum connected, average 4G download speeds in Asia Pacific rise to 64.1Mbps which is nearly three times faster compared to speeds with just 0-20MHz connected.
More spectrum bandwidth also boosts 5G Download Speed in the Asia Pacific region significantly. When smartphones are connected with more than 100MHz of total spectrum capacity, average 5G download speeds clocks in at 271.4Mbps. This is approximately a 50% increase in 5G Download Speed compared with 5G speeds with a spectrum bandwidth of 100MHz or less. However, there is only a 3.3% increase in 5G Download Speed for the 50-100MHz bandwidth used, compared to 0-50MHz.
Opensignal data demonstrates there is a substantial, positive correlation between the average spectrum bandwidth used for 4G and 5G connections and the average 4G and 5G download speeds seen by Opensignal users. Although, the link is stronger for 4G than for 5G. For 19 markets in the Asia Pacific region, the R² value is 0.68 between average 4G spectrum bandwidth and 4G Download Speed — this denotes a strong correlation between these two metrics, although the amount of spectrum is not the only variable to drive mobile download speeds. The correlation is weaker for 5G — across 12 markets in the APAC region where 5G has launched and is established, the R² value is 0.41 — meaning 41% of the variation in the output (5G Download Speed) can be explained by average 5G spectrum bandwidth (the input variable).
Looking at selected Asian Pacific markets the trend of more spectrum used contributing to a faster average 4G Download Speed continues. Out of the markets analyzed, Malaysia benefits the most from wider spectrum bandwidth. We observe nearly twice as fast speeds for 40-60MHz in Malaysia, compared to the 0-20MHz bandwidth as a base reference — and 2.3 times faster for the 60-80MHz spectrum capacity. However, for 5G, the situation is different, as Malaysia holds a 5G single wholesale network, leading to relatively low usage levels.
4G Download Speed also more than doubles in Indonesia where more than 60MHz spectrum is used, compared to 0-20MHz — and is nearly twice as high in Australia and South Korea using respective bandwidths. Our users in Japan observe a smaller relative impact of more spectrum used for 4G connectivity — average 4G download speeds are only around 40% faster for 40-60MHz bandwidths and slightly more than 70% faster for 60-80MHz.
Higher amounts of spectrum capacity not only boost average mobile download speeds but also improve the quality of other services, such as video streaming. Our users in Asia Pacific enjoy notable increases in 4G Video Experience when there is more spectrum bandwidth in use. The Video Experience score increases from 59.7 points for a spectrum bandwidth of 20MHz or less up to 71.6 points when the total spectrum bandwidth connected exceeds 80MHz.
Our users have Good (58-68) Video Experience when they connect to 4G mobile services using 40MHz or less spectrum. This means they are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling. However, with 40MHz or more of spectrum bandwidth used, Opensignal users’ experience moves into a higher category — Very Good (68-78), which means the ability to comfortably stream video at the higher resolution of 1080p.
5G Video Experience sees a minor, yet statistically significant improvement with more 5G spectrum used — from 74 points for 50MHz or smaller bandwidth to 74.5 points for bandwidth exceeding 100MHz.
With more spectrum assigned to mobile connections, our users in the APAC region enjoy shorter initial delays in playing video streams. For 4G Video Experience, the initial delay drops from 6.3 to 4.7 seconds with the 20-40MHz spectrum bandwidth used, compared to the 0-20MHz bucket— dropping further to 3.7 seconds with more than 80MHz used. For 5G Video Experience, the difference in the time of initial delay is smaller, dropping to 2.5 seconds for more than 100MHz of 5G spectrum bandwidth used, from 2.8 seconds with less spectrum used.
Opensignal will continue to analyze the impact of either wider spectrum bandwidths or insufficient spectrum resources on mobile user experience across Asia Pacific markets, building on previous studies we have published in South Korea, Thailand or Sri Lanka among other markets. More spectrum assigned to mobile operators leads to faster speeds and a better mobile user experience — which in turn leads to socio-economic benefits. Unfortunately, operators in some markets in the APAC region still struggle with access to spectrum, which adversely affects the wider economy.
For this analysis, we included the following Asia Pacific markets: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam.
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