For the first time, Opensignal has analyzed the mobile experience across operator groups in Western and Central Europe, focusing on Consistent Quality (CQ). This metric is crucial in assessing whether networks can reliably support common mobile tasks at a satisfactory level such as video calls, social media usage etc. Rather than focusing solely on speed, CQ highlights the user experience by measuring when networks fail to meet the expected performance for everyday tasks, as these moments shape users’ perception more than occasionally fast speeds.
This analysis provides insights on which operators within each group our users have the most consistent experience, and how their performance has changed year-on-year. Additionally, we compare where each operator stands in its home market and evaluate how operator groups as a whole are progressing. We have analyzed six operator groups.
Key findings:
- The European operators with the highest Consistent Quality scores within each operator group — the Group Winners — are:
◦ A1 Group — A1 (Bulgaria)
◦ Deutsche Telekom Group — T-Mobile (Czechia)
◦ Orange Group — Orange (Slovakia)
◦ PPF Group — Yettel (Bulgaria)
◦ United Group — Telemach (Croatia) and Telemach (Slovenia) as their scores are statistically tied
◦ Vodafone Group — Vodafone (Netherlands) - Deutsche Telekom in the lead. Deutsche Telekom’s European operators do extremely well across their home markets, with seven out of 10 operators placing first outright for Consistent Quality. Out of the six operator groups analyzed, no other group achieves this level of success. However, half of A1 Group’s operators place first in their respective markets either outright or jointly, and the same is true for the United Group.
- Vodafone rises in the rankings. Vodafone Group operators are moving up the rankings with four out of 10 improving their rank versus their non-Vodafone rivals YoY, while the others have maintained their rank from Jun-Aug 2023.
- Challenges for PPF Group. Conversely, three out of five PPF Group operators analyzed have dropped down a rank within their respective markets since Jun-Aug 2023, while the other two have kept their existing rankings.
One of the most striking differences between Europe and some other regions is the issue of fragmentation — Europe is a patchwork of small to medium-sized countries by population, all of them with their own regulatory frameworks and differing access to spectrum. This means that for an operator on its own in a single market it is hard to build economies of scale. Operator groups, which typically work across multiple markets often concentrated in a specific part of Europe, can somewhat alleviate this problem. Operator groups vary widely in terms of how much central control and influence ‘head office’ exerts over their individual branches. For example, Telia Group is becoming more decentralized, dropping its central common products and services function. Some groups chose to present themselves to consumers as a single brand (Orange and Vodafone), while others are a mix of different brands.
The six operator groups that we feature in this analysis have a combined market share of 46% when calculated across the European markets where one or more of these groups are presented, based on GSMA Intelligence data for total mobile connections. This means that identifying and applying best practices within groups to improve the mobile experience would have a positive impact on a large number of consumers across Europe.
In the following charts, going from being the sole operator with a given rank within a market to being statistically tied for the same rank is treated as a fall in rank. The reverse is treated as an improvement in rank.
A1 Group
Operating across Austria and CEE countries, A1 Group focuses on delivering convergent services to meet the growing demand for integrated solutions. Recently, it announced that A1 Serbia is becoming the final market within the group to offer convergent services, following its acquisition of Conexio Metro. During last year’s Capital Market Day, A1 also unveiled its ambition to shift from a product-driven approach to one that is customer journey-focused, ensuring it remains relevant and responsive to customer needs in an increasingly competitive environment.
- A1 (Bulgaria) has the highest Consistent Quality score across the A1 Group — 86.2%. However A1 Austria is close behind with 85.6%.
- Three out of the six operators analyzed are either outright winners (A1 Austria & A1 Serbia) or joint winners (A1 Bulgaria), when comparing their Consistent Quality scores against that seen on their rivals in the country they operate in.
- Both A1 (Bulgaria) and A1 (Croatia) have improved their rank within their respective markets from that seen in Jun-Aug 2023. A1 (Croatia) was in last place back then, but is now in second place (shared with HT due to a statistical tie).
Deutsche Telekom Group
In Europe, Deutsche Telekom operates in its home market (Germany) and through ten national companies. At Deutsche Telekom’s recent Capital Markets Day, it emphasized its focus on differentiating itself via “leading network experience” and stated that “turning customers into fans is at the heart of our strategy”, noting that satisfied customers spend more and stay longer.
- The Group Winner across Deutsche Telekom’s European operators is T-Mobile (Czechia) with a score of 86.2%, while Slovak Telekom is in second place with 84.7%.
- Deutsche Telekom’s European operators do extremely well across their home markets, with seven out of 10 operators placing first outright for Consistent Quality. Out of the six operator groups analyzed, no other group achieves this level of success.
- While Telekom (Hungary)’s rank at home has increased, Magenta (Austria) and HT (Hrvatski Telekom, Croatia) have seen theirs slide from Jun-Aug 2023.
Orange Group
In Europe, Orange continues to prioritize investments in 4G and fiber networks, with a strong emphasis on promoting convergent services, such as bundling broadband and mobile tariffs, which have become central to its growth strategy. The operator is also expanding into mobile banking solutions, positioning itself to capture new revenue streams and meet evolving consumer demands. Its strategic plan, Lead the Future, and the new brand signature “Orange is here”, reflect the operator’s renewed focus on customer-centricity and trust across its global footprint. Orange’s European presence spans eight countries: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain. Beyond Europe, Orange operates in 18 countries across Africa and the Middle East.
- Orange (Slovakia) is the outright Group Winner for Consistent Quality, beating Orange (France) by around one percentage point. However, both Orange (France) and Orange (Belgium) are outright winners for Consistent Quality in their respective markets.
- Orange Belgium’s ranking at home has improved from that seen in Jun-Aug 2023, but both Orange (Poland) and Orange (Romania) have seen theirs decrease.
PPF Group
PPF Telecom Group’s operating strategy revolves around the separation of its end-user services from its infrastructure operations, a model it pioneered in 2015 with the split of infrastructure ownership and operations from commercial services in the Czech Republic. This approach allows PPF to better optimize both the infrastructure and commercial sides of its business. The group’s commercial arm, under the O2 and Yettel brands, caters to the consumer, corporate, and public sectors, while the infrastructure arm, operated under CETIN, focuses on managing and expanding the group’s network infrastructure.
- Yettel (Bulgaria) is both the outright Group Winner across PPF Group’s European operators and is also the only one to be on the winners’ podium in its home market - it shares the glory with A1 due to a statistical tie. However, Yettel (Bulgaria), Yettel (Serbia) and Yettel (Hungary) have all seen their ranks within their home markets fall from those observed in Jun-Aug 2023.
- O2 (Slovakia) has the second-highest Consistent Quality score across the five PPF Group operators analyzed — 83.1%, under three percentage points behind the group frontrunner. In addition, O2 (Slovakia) and O2 (Czechia) are the only PPF Group operators that have not slipped down the ranking within their home markets from Jun-Aug 2023.
On the day this analysis was published, Emerati telco e& acquired a controlling stake (50% + 1 share) in PPF Telecom’s assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. The holding company for these assets is called e& PPF Telecom. PPF retains full ownership of its telecom assets in Czechia, including O2 and CETIN [added post-publication on 31st October].
United Group
United Group, which began as a small cable company in 2000, has steadily expanded its footprint through a series of strategic acquisitions and asset formations. Key milestones in its growth include the acquisitions of SBB, Telemach Slovenia, and Telemach Bosnia and Herzegovina, which established its presence across multiple markets. In 2012, these entities merged to form United Group, creating a significant telecom and media player with a strong multi-market presence in Southeast Europe.
- Telemach (Slovenia) and Telemach (Croatia) are joint Group Winners within the United Group, as they have statistically tied scores of 82.1-82.5%, beating both Vivacom (Bulgaria) and Nova (Greece) by impressive — but from the Group’s perspective, worrying — margins.
- Telemach Croatia is the outright winner for Consistent Quality in its home market, while Telemach Slovenia is a joint winner in Slovenia (alongside Telekom Slovenije).
Vodafone Group
Vodafone Group operates in nine European countries and has arrangements with network operators in a further European 26 “partner markets”. It is currently in the process of rationalizing its European portfolio to allow it to focus its European operations on growing markets. The Group sees its biggest opportunity in the B2B sector and intends to continue focusing on its “Customer, Simplicity and Growth” priorities. It notes that “refocusing our resources towards improving our customers’ experience is already delivering improvements in customer satisfaction and increasing customer loyalty.”
We have included Vodafone (Italy) for the sake of completeness, though Vodafone Group is in the process of selling it for €8 billion to Swisscom, as the deal has yet to close and is still under investigation by Italy’s Competition Authority (Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, AGCM). Similarly, the planned merger between Vodafone and 3 in the UK has yet to take place, with the market awaiting the Competition and Market Authority’s final decision, which is expected later this year. We have not included Vodafone Spain as Vodafone Group sold it to Zegona in May 2024.
- Vodafone (Netherlands) is the Group Winner, with a score of 85.3%, six percentage points of its closest sibling, Vodafone (Albania). However, unlike Vodafone (Netherlands), Vodafone (Albania) and Vodafone (Italy) are outright winners for Consistent Quality in their home markets.
- Vodafone Group operators are moving up the rankings with four out of 10 improving their rank versus their non-Vodafone rivals YoY, while the others have maintained their rank from Jun-Aug 2023.
Look out for more operator group level analysis in future Opensignal reports. If you are interested in reading our analysis on how Telenor and Telia performance compares across Scandinavian markets follow this link. If you belong to one of the operator groups featured and would like to discuss these findings in more detail, please reach out to us.
Methodological notes:
When calculating Consistent Quality, we combine different experience indicators such as download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet discard, and time to first byte to calculate Consistent Quality. These components are evaluated against thresholds recommended by various more demanding common applications used for a range of common tasks.
To calculate the metric value, the proportion of tests that pass the requirements of Consistent Quality is multiplied by the test success ratio, which is the proportion of completed tests to all tests conducted. Tests that pass indicate that activities such as video calling, uploading an image to social media, or using smart home applications will be possible without noticeable lag or slowdown.
We have only included subsidiary operators where the group has an effective ownership of at least 30%, according to TeleGeography data. In addition, we have not included operators in Belarus, Luxembourg, Moldova and Montenegro as we do not publish Mobile Network Experience reports on them. We will soon be publishing our first report on North Macedonia, hence its inclusion.
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