Mobile Network Experience Report Romania June 2020

Romania

Mobile Network Experience Report
June 2020

Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumer mobile experience. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding the true experience consumers receive on wireless networks.

Author
Sam Fenwick Senior Analyst

Key Findings

Digi Mobil storms forward from third place to win the 4G Availability award

Despite ranking joint third for 4G Availability in our last report, Digi Mobil has won our award for this measure of the mobile experience, by virtue of an incredible increase of 13.2 percentage points in the proportion of time that our 4G users on its network spent connected to a 4G signal. As a result of this phenomenal improvement, Digi Mobil has a lead of 1.8 percentage points over former front-runner, Orange, and is only 1.5 percentage points away from the coveted 90% mark.

Telekom wins our first Games Experience award

Our first look at the mobile Games Experience in Romania at the operator level has revealed that Telekom users enjoy the best gaming experience. While Telekom leads by a comfortable margin, it has placed in the Fair category, along with Vodafone and Orange. A Fair Games Experience means that users found the experience “average”. In most cases the game was responsive to the actions of the player with most users feeling that they had control over the game. Digi Mobil has more work to do in this area, as our users on its network had a Poor Games Experience, which means that most of them found this level of experience unacceptable.

Orange loses ground in our award table, but it is still the operator to beat

Since our previous report, Orange has gone from winning five awards and tying for the remaining two to just three wins and one draw. Digi Mobil surged past Orange to snatch the 4G Availability award from its grasp, while Telekom succeeded in breaking the three-way tie that we saw previously on Voice App Experience and also picked up our new Games Experience award. Telekom is now in firm command of the number two spot, thanks to its two wins and one draw.

Orange still reigns supreme on Download Speed Experience but remains in a three-way tie for Upload Speed Experience.

While our Orange users continue to observe the fastest average download speeds in Romania — 28.7 Mbps — the operator’s impressive lead has declined slightly, from the 9.1 Mbps we observed in our last report, to 8.6 Mbps, a drop of 0.5 Mbps. Orange couldn’t break the three-way tie on Upload Speed Experience award between it, Vodafone and Telekom, which we first observed in our previous report.

Introduction

In this report, we've analyzed our data gathered in the 90 days from the start of March 2020 to compare the mobile network experience of our users across Romania’s four national operators: Digi Mobil, Orange, Telekom and Vodafone. As this period includes the introduction of a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it also indicates to what degree the Romanian mobile experience has weathered the resulting changes in Romanians’ data consumption habits and locations.

Our Vodafone, Orange and Telekom users reported small drops in Download Speed Experience over the data collection period when compared to that of our last report, of 0.3, 0.7 and 0.8 Mbps, respectively. That said, average download speeds were resilient, being more than 14 Mbps across all four operators. In contrast to its peers, the average download speeds observed by our Digi Mobil users rose from 12.9 Mbps to 14.9 Mbps, an increase of 2.1 Mbps. The modest impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on average download speeds fell away towards the end of this report’s data collection period, as can be seen in our global look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mobile experience.

The three-way statistical tie for the Upload Speed Experience award between Vodafone, Telekom and Orange that we observed in our previous report, is still present, with no operator able to break the dead-lock. However, the same can’t be said for the Voice App Experience award, where out of the three same operators, Telekom succeeded in claiming it outright. However, its lead is a slim one as its score is less than 2.7 points higher than that of last-placed Digi Mobil. As a consequence, Telekom will have to work hard if it wishes to hold onto the Voice App Experience award in our next report. Our Vodafone users observed their Voice App Experience decline from Good to Acceptable — causing Vodafone to fall in line with Digi Mobil and Orange and leaving Telekom as the only operator to still place in the Good category for this measure of the mobile experience.

Turning to Video Experience, while Orange has seen its lead over second-placed Vodafone slip from 3.7 points (5.6%) to 2.3 points (3.4%), it has fared less poorly than Telekom, whose users reported a drop of 2.2 points since our last report. As a consequence, it has dropped down a category for this measure of the mobile experience, from Good to Fair, while our users on its competitors’ networks received a Very Good Video Experience.

Although no other operator came close to the 13.2 percentage points improvement in 4G Availability seen by Digi Mobil’s users, on its rival networks users have still seen some significant gains, with those on Telekom and Vodafone seeing increases of 5.2 and 4.4 percentage points, respectively. Our Orange users saw a more modest improvement of 2.3 percentage points. As a consequence, our users across all four of Romania’s national operators observed 4G Availability of more than 80% — when they only did so on two operators — Vodafone and Orange — in our previous report.

Opensignal Awards Table

Mobile Experience Awards Romania
June 2020, Romania Report
Video Experience
Games Experience
Voice App Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience
4G Availability
4G Coverage Experience
Download Image
Mobile Experience Awards Winners
June 2020, Romania
Video Experience
Games Experience
Voice App Experience
Download Speed Experience
4G Availability
4G Coverage Experience
Mobile Experience Awards Draws
June 2020, Romania
Upload Speed Experience
Download Image

Overview

Click on metric labels below for a quick preview
Video Experience
in 0-100 points
Vodafone
68.9
Telekom
54.9
Digi Mobil
65.3
Orange
71.2
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image

National Analysis

Video Experience

Video Experience
in 0-100 points
Vodafone
68.9
Telekom
54.9
Digi Mobil
65.3
Orange
71.2
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image
Video Experience
Additional Metrics
in 0-100 points
4G Video Experience
71.7 (± 0.67) 56.3 (± 1.07) 68.4 (± 0.80) 75.1 (± 0.55)
3G Video Experience
57.9 (± 1.92) 50.0 (± 2.70) 49.0 (± 2.34) 55.5 (± 2.30)
+/- numeric values represent confidence intervals.
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Limited
4G Video Experience in 0-100 points
72 (± 0.67)
56 (± 1.07)
68 (± 0.80)
75 (± 0.55)
3G Video Experience in 0-100 points
58 (± 1.92)
50 (± 2.70)
49 (± 2.34)
55 (± 2.30)
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Inc.

Games Experience

Games Experience
in 0-100 points
Vodafone
66.3
Telekom
72.2
Digi Mobil
63.2
Orange
65.3
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image
Games Experience
Additional Metrics
in 0-100 points
4G Games Experience
72.7 (± 0.95) 76.8 (± 1.62) 68.1 (± 1.16) 73.8 (± 0.93)
3G Games Experience
41.4 (± 2.86) 57.0 (± 3.50) 39.7 (± 1.22) 38.6 (± 0.57)
+/- numeric values represent confidence intervals.
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Limited
4G Games Experience in 0-100 points
73 (± 0.95)
77 (± 1.62)
68 (± 1.16)
74 (± 0.93)
3G Games Experience in 0-100 points
41 (± 2.86)
57 (± 3.50)
40 (± 1.22)
39 (± 0.57)
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Inc.

Voice App Experience

Voice App Experience
in 0-100 points
Vodafone
79.2
Telekom
80.1
Digi Mobil
77.5
Orange
79.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image
Voice App Experience
Additional Metrics
in 0-100 points
4G Voice App Experience
80.6 (± 0.38) 80.9 (± 0.47) 78.5 (± 0.45) 80.6 (± 0.34)
3G Voice App Experience
73.5 (± 0.98) 77.2 (± 1.25) 71.9 (± 1.15) 72.4 (± 1.09)
+/- numeric values represent confidence intervals.
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Limited
4G Voice App Experience in 0-100 points
81 (± 0.38)
81 (± 0.47)
79 (± 0.45)
81 (± 0.34)
3G Voice App Experience in 0-100 points
73 (± 0.98)
77 (± 1.25)
72 (± 1.15)
72 (± 1.09)
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Inc.

Download Speed Experience

Download Speed Experience
in Mbps
Vodafone
20.1
Telekom
17.7
Digi Mobil
14.9
Orange
28.7
07.51522.530
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
Additional Metrics
in Mbps
4G Download Speed
23.5 (± 0.51) 20.6 (± 0.64) 17.0 (± 0.34) 34.1 (± 0.66)
3G Download Speed
6.7 (± 0.26) 7.2 (± 0.35) 4.2 (± 0.19) 6.8 (± 0.32)
+/- numeric values represent confidence intervals.
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Limited
4G Download Speed in Mbps
23 (± 0.51)
21 (± 0.64)
17 (± 0.34)
34 (± 0.66)
3G Download Speed in Mbps
7 (± 0.26)
7 (± 0.35)
4 (± 0.19)
7 (± 0.32)
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Inc.

Upload Speed Experience

Upload Speed Experience
in Mbps
Vodafone
9.5
Telekom
10.0
Digi Mobil
4.2
Orange
9.9
02.557.510
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
Additional Metrics
in Mbps
4G Upload Speed
11.5 (± 0.24) 12.2 (± 0.41) 4.7 (± 0.14) 11.9 (± 0.27)
3G Upload Speed
1.8 (± 0.08) 2.0 (± 0.12) 1.4 (± 0.09) 1.6 (± 0.09)
+/- numeric values represent confidence intervals.
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Limited
4G Upload Speed in Mbps
11 (± 0.24)
12 (± 0.41)
5 (± 0.14)
12 (± 0.27)
3G Upload Speed in Mbps
2 (± 0.08)
2 (± 0.12)
1 (± 0.09)
2 (± 0.09)
Mobile Network Experience Report | June 2020 | © Opensignal Inc.

4G Availability

4G Availability
% of time
Vodafone
84.7
Telekom
80.2
Digi Mobil
88.5
Orange
86.7
022.54567.590
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image

4G Coverage Experience

4G Coverage Experience
in 0-10 points
Vodafone
5.5
Telekom
5.5
Digi Mobil
4.9
Orange
6.9
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Download Image
Learn more

Opensignal measures the real-world experience of consumers on mobile networks in the places they live, work and travel.

We continually adapt our methodology to best represent the true experience of smartphone users. Therefore, comparisons of the results to past reports should be considered indicative only.

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 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.

More about Methodology

Subscribe to our newsletter and get our latest reports and analyses delivered right to your inbox every 2 weeks. We will not share your email address with third parties.

Journalists, please retain the Opensignal logo and copyright
(© Opensignal Limited) information when using this image.

This image may not be used for any commercial purpose, including use in advertisements or other promotional content, without prior written consent.

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