As 2018 draws to a close, we’ve taken a bit of time to pause and reflect on what’s been a pretty crazy year here at OpenSignal. In March we were named to the TechCity Future Fifty list of the fastest growing UK headquartered tech businesses, and we’ve been expanding and growing the team — so much so that we’ve recently had to build some new meeting rooms in our London office!
But what’ve been our favourite articles and reports of the year? Get settled in a comfy chair, pop the kettle on and pull up a mince pie — for OpenSignal’s 12 days of Christmas!
Twelve Asian cities
Over the summer we analysed 12 of East Asia’s capitals, comparing them for both 4G speed and 4G availability. There were a few surprises here and a more than a bit of swelling of national pride!
Eleven networks racing
November saw the publication of a one-off unique report into Wifi vs. cellular networks, where we analysed the future of mobile networks as 5G arrives in our State of Wifi vs Mobile Network Experience report. This was widely reported, including a stint as the headline on the BBC Technology website. Impressive!
Ten vacations in Mexico
As Independence Day approached in Mexico, we looked at some popular holiday destinations in the country, and what kind of 4G experience you might expect to get if you visit. Check out the winner, amigo!
Nine new metrics in India
Well, not exactly nine, but November saw the publication of our new-look India Mobile Network Experience Report, which included a host of new metrics for the first time. SPOILER ALERT: this report was something of a tester for big things we have planned for 2019. Keep watching our website to find out more!
Eight Hurricanes a-blowing
In the autumn we published a series of blogs on natural disasters and their effects on mobile, including Typhoon Mangkhut in Hong Kong, Hurricane Florence in the U.S. and September’s tsunami in Sulawesi, Indonesia. We examined not just the extent of network outages but the changes in consumer behaviour during these tough times. And if you want to give a gift to those less fortunate during the holiday season, you can donate to the Red Cross here.
Seven-hundred MHz in Brazil
September saw us take our most in-depth look at Brazil’s regions and the effect of network launches in the 700 MHz on the country’s biggest cities. Que bom!
Six Euro tech hubs
In the spring we took a fresh look at European cities, with our blog post comparing the most connected tech hubs in the region. How did your city do?
Five new markets
As well as expanding our workspace, OpenSignal has forged a path into new territories this year, with brand new reports on five new markets: Portugal, Belgium, Myanmar, Germany and Singapore.
Four fast Dutch networks
2018’s been a year of milestones in our 4G availability analysis. The Netherlands became the first market where we saw all four operators pass the 90% 4G availability mark. Elsewhere, both the U.S. and Taiwan saw two operators cross this threshold. We also commend Australia and India, who both saw one player over the 90% mark.
Three speedy operators
It’s also been a year where some 4G networks became seriously mature. In our 4G download speed measurements, we saw Singapore’s StarHub, T-Mobile in the Netherlands and Telus in Canada all cross the 50 Mbps mark. Speedier than Santa’s sleigh guys!
Two sports events
We took a bit of time to have some fun with sports this year. In February we compared U.S. cities in honour of the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, while June saw the launch of the OpenSignal World Cup. Forget the football, we hosted our own tournament to see whose mobile networks came out top!
And a new video experience metric!
September saw the launch of our unique, first-of-its-kind Video Experience metric, which debuted in our inaugural State of Mobile Video report. Our mission has always been to record the true subscriber experience, and we feel our new video analytics capabilities represent a major step towards that goal. And with at least two new metrics planned for 2019, we’re to be just as busy in 2019! See you there!!
Opensignal Limited retains ownership of this insight including all intellectual property rights, data, content, graphs & analysis. Reports and insights produced by Opensignal Limited may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed, published for any commercial purpose (including use in advertisements or other promotional content) without prior written consent. Journalists are encouraged to quote information included in Opensignal reports and insights provided they include clear source attribution. For more information, contact [email protected].