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While the average download and upload speeds reported by our TPG users — 21.8 Mbps and 4.8 Mbps, respectively — are reasonable by international standards, they fall a long way short of the blisteringly fast speeds observed by our Singtel and StarHub users. In fact Singtel and StarHub users' download speeds are more than double those of TPG and jointly win the Download Speed Experience award.
Singtel has slightly increased its haul of awards from our December 2019 report, when it notched up two wins and three draws. This time it has taken home two wins and four draws. While it lost the 4G Availability award to TPG, it won the Voice App Experience award outright and drew with M1 and StarHub on Games Experience.
Singtel, M1 and StarHub statistically tied for the Video Experience award, with all three placing in the Excellent category, our highest for this measure of the mobile experience. This indicates a very consistent experience across all users, video streaming providers and resolutions tested, with fast loading times and almost non-existent stalling. These three operators also placed in the Excellent category for Games Experience, which means that the mobile gaming experience our users observed on their networks was deemed by the vast majority to be acceptable, with nearly all users feeling like they had control over the game and receiving immediate feedback on their actions. TPG on the other hand placed three categories lower, with its users observing a Poor Games Experience, which means that most of them found it to be unacceptable with many feeling a lack of controllability.
The Upload Speed Experience award remains firmly in Singtel’s hands, with our users observing average upload speeds that were 1.3 and 1.6 Mbps faster than those seen on M1 and Starhub, respectively. The average upload speeds seen on all three of these operators were around three times faster than those observed on TPG.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its 4G-only network, TPG has won the 4G Availability award, with its 4G users spending 97% of their time connected to a 4G signal. And the new entrant also has done well in terms of 4G Coverage Experience, with a score that’s just 0.6 less than that obtained by its more established rivals — meaning its subscribers can access its network in most but not all of Singapore. However, TPG ranked fourth in every award category except 4G Availability.
This is the first time that TPG has featured in our Mobile Network Experience reports for Singapore following its recent commercial launch. It took home the prize for 4G Availability, which is less of an upset than might be expected at first glance given that it is a 4G-only operator. While TPG still lacks coverage in some underground MRT lines and Expressways’ tunnels and platforms, it does have a programme in place to address this issue and recently announced that it has extended its network to encompass both the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE).
However, TPG has a great deal of catching up to do in many other areas of the mobile experience, as it placed last for all but one of our awards and our TPG users observed average download speeds that were less than half those seen by their Singtel and Starhub counterparts.Looking ahead, Singapore’s 5G rollout plans appear to be relatively unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the IMDA having recently accepted plans from Singtel and the Joint-Venture Consortium (JVCo) formed by StarHub and M1 for nationwide 5G networks and StarHub saying that it is intending to fast-track 5G rollout. The regulator has agreed to assign both Singtel and JVCo will each be assigned 100MHz of 3.5GHz spectrum once they have completed a number of processes and are required by IMDA to start rolling out 5G Standalone Access networks by January 2021 and provide coverage to at least half of Singapore by the end of 2022 — rising to nationwide coverage by the end of 2025.
TPG’s bid was not accepted, posing something of a long-term problem for the operator, although it may be able to obtain access to 5G wholesale services from either Singtel or JVCo and could apply to use some mmWave 5G spectrum. Given that Singapore is a prosperous and densely populated city-state, it is an ideal location for mmWave deployment and therefore could serve as a good litmus test for the technology.
| Mobile Experience Awards, Singapore | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2020,
Singapore Report
|
S
Singtel
|
M
M1
|
S
StarHub
|
T
TPG
|
Video Experience
|
||||
Games Experience
|
||||
Voice App Experience
|
||||
Download Speed Experience
|
||||
Upload Speed Experience
|
||||
4G Availability
|
||||
4G Coverage Experience
|
||||
|
Mobile Experience Awards Winners
|
June 2020, Singapore
|
|---|---|
|
Voice App Experience
|
S
Singtel
|
|
Upload Speed Experience
|
S
Singtel
|
|
4G Availability
|
T
TPG
|
|
Mobile Experience Awards Draws
|
June 2020, Singapore
|
|---|---|
|
Video Experience
|
S
Singtel
M
M1
S
StarHub
|
|
Games Experience
|
S
Singtel
M
M1
S
StarHub
|
|
Download Speed Experience
|
S
Singtel
S
StarHub
|
|
4G Coverage Experience
|
S
Singtel
M
M1
S
StarHub
|
Our results show a three-way statistical tie between Singtel, M1 and StarHub for Video Experience, with all three placing in the Excellent category, our highest for this measure of the mobile experience. This indicates a very consistent experience across all users, video streaming providers and resolutions tested, with fast loading times and almost non-existent stalling.
Our TPG users had a less consistent Video Experience, with the operator placing in the Very Good category. However, this is an impressive achievement for a new entrant and TPG is only behind its more established competitors by 7.2-7.7 points.
Singapore recently placed 5th out of 100 countries for Video Experience in our State of Mobile Network Experience report and ranked first out of those countries in the Asia Pacific region.
|
Video Experience Additional Metrics |
S
Singtel
|
M
M1
|
S
StarHub
|
T
TPG
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in 0-100 points | ||||
|
4G Video Experience
|
79.8 (± 0.33) | 79.1 (± 0.48) | 78.8 (± 0.39) | 70.1 (± 1.37) |
|
3G Video Experience
|
60.5 (± 2.24) | 59.5 (± 3.04) | 65.1 (± 2.93) | |
| 4G Video Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
S
Singtel
|
80 (± 0.33) |
|
M
M1
|
79 (± 0.48) |
|
S
StarHub
|
79 (± 0.39) |
|
T
TPG
|
70 (± 1.37) |
| 3G Video Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
S
Singtel
|
61 (± 2.24) |
|
M
M1
|
60 (± 3.04) |
|
S
StarHub
|
65 (± 2.93) |
|
T
TPG
|
— |
Our first look at how mobile gamers’ experience while playing over a cellular network varies between operators in Singapore has revealed a three-way tie between Singtel, M1 and StarHub. Users on all three networks observed an Excellent (85-100) Games Experience, which means that the vast majority of users deemed this network experience acceptable. Nearly all of them felt like they had control over the game and they received immediate feedback on their actions.
TPG users on the other hand observed a Poor (45-65) Games Experience with the operator scoring 63 points out of a possible 100. This means that most users found this level of experience unacceptable. The majority of users reported seeing a delay in the gameplay experience and they did not receive immediate feedback on their actions. Many users felt a lack of controllability in the Games Experience.
|
Games Experience Additional Metrics |
S
Singtel
|
M
M1
|
S
StarHub
|
T
TPG
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in 0-100 points | ||||
|
4G Games Experience
|
85.2 (± 0.02) | 85.2 (± 0.03) | 85.2 (± 0.02) | 63.0 (± 1.75) |
|
3G Games Experience
|
71.5 (± 2.56) | 52.4 (± 5.41) | 61.7 (± 3.97) | |
| 4G Games Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
S
Singtel
|
85 (± 0.02) |
|
M
M1
|
85 (± 0.03) |
|
S
StarHub
|
85 (± 0.02) |
|
T
TPG
|
63 (± 1.75) |
| 3G Games Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
S
Singtel
|
71 (± 2.56) |
|
M
M1
|
52 (± 5.41) |
|
S
StarHub
|
62 (± 3.97) |
|
T
TPG
|
— |
In contrast to our report back in December 2019 when we reported a three-way tie between Singtel, M1 and StarHub, this time one operator stepped forward to claim the prize singlehandedly — Singtel with a score of 82.4. However, M1 is still hot on its heels with a score just 0.6 of point less than Singtel’s. As was the case in our previous report, Singtel, M1 and StarHub users all observed a Good Voice App Experience. This means that many of them were satisfied although some have experienced minor quality impairments such as clicking sounds or distortion.
TPG narrowly missed placing in the same category, falling short by half a point. As a result, its users had an Acceptable Voice App Experience, indicating that they were satisfied despite some experiencing perceptible call quality impairments and were generally able to comprehend without repetition.
|
Voice App Experience Additional Metrics |
S
Singtel
|
M
M1
|
S
StarHub
|
T
TPG
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in 0-100 points | ||||
|
4G Voice App Experience
|
82.8 (± 0.25) | 82.4 (± 0.35) | 81.4 (± 0.30) | 79.5 (± 0.66) |
|
3G Voice App Experience
|
79.5 (± 0.79) | 75.4 (± 1.72) | 75.5 (± 1.39) | |
| 4G Voice App Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
S
Singtel
|
83 (± 0.25) |
|
M
M1
|
82 (± 0.35) |
|
S
StarHub
|
81 (± 0.30) |
|
T
TPG
|
79 (± 0.66) |
| 3G Voice App Experience | in 0-100 points |
|
S
Singtel
|
80 (± 0.79) |
|
M
M1
|
75 (± 1.72) |
|
S
StarHub
|
75 (± 1.39) |
|
T
TPG
|
— |
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, etc. — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-based approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters.
Singtel and StarHub are still tied for first place on Download Speed Experience and we have not seen a clear winner for this measure of the mobile experience since this time last year when Singtel took the prize.
While the average Download Speed reported by our TPG users, 21.8 Mbps, is reasonable by international standards, it falls a long way short of the blisteringly fast speeds observed by our Singtel and StarHub users. In fact Singtel and StarHub’s download speeds are 2.4 times faster than those of TPG.
While the average download speeds observed by our M1 users are more modest, clocking in at a still healthy 35.2 Mbps, they are still more than 60% faster (13.4 Mbps) than those seen on TPG’s networks.
|
Download Speed Experience Additional Metrics |
S
Singtel
|
M
M1
|
S
StarHub
|
T
TPG
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in Mbps | ||||
|
4G Download Speed
|
58.0 (± 0.83) | 37.8 (± 0.74) | 58.4 (± 0.95) | 21.8 (± 0.90) |
|
3G Download Speed
|
6.4 (± 0.19) | 5.6 (± 0.33) | 10.5 (± 0.44) | |
| 4G Download Speed | in Mbps |
|
S
Singtel
|
58 (± 0.83) |
|
M
M1
|
38 (± 0.74) |
|
S
StarHub
|
58 (± 0.95) |
|
T
TPG
|
22 (± 0.90) |
| 3G Download Speed | in Mbps |
|
S
Singtel
|
6 (± 0.19) |
|
M
M1
|
6 (± 0.33) |
|
S
StarHub
|
10 (± 0.44) |
|
T
TPG
|
— |
It’s worth emphasizing just how impressive the speeds seen by our Singaporean users are internationally. In our recent State of Mobile Network Experience report, the country placed 6th out of 100 countries in this regard and third in the Asia Pacific region (only beaten by South Korea and Japan).
Singtel has won our Upload Speed Experience award by a good margin, with our users observing average speeds of 15.9 Mbps on its network — 1.3-1.6 Mbps faster than the speeds seen by our M1 and StarHub users and a difference of around 10% in percentage terms. The average upload speeds reported by our TPG users — 4.8 Mbps — are around three times slower than those seen by other operators’ users.
|
Upload Speed Experience Additional Metrics |
S
Singtel
|
M
M1
|
S
StarHub
|
T
TPG
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in Mbps | ||||
|
4G Upload Speed
|
17.6 (± 0.22) | 15.8 (± 0.31) | 16.0 (± 0.28) | 4.8 (± 0.21) |
|
3G Upload Speed
|
2.1 (± 0.09) | 2.0 (± 0.17) | 2.0 (± 0.09) | |
| 4G Upload Speed | in Mbps |
|
S
Singtel
|
18 (± 0.22) |
|
M
M1
|
16 (± 0.31) |
|
S
StarHub
|
16 (± 0.28) |
|
T
TPG
|
5 (± 0.21) |
| 3G Upload Speed | in Mbps |
|
S
Singtel
|
2 (± 0.09) |
|
M
M1
|
2 (± 0.17) |
|
S
StarHub
|
2 (± 0.09) |
|
T
TPG
|
— |
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its 4G-only network, TPG has won the 4G Availability award, with its 4G users spending 97% of their time connected to a 4G signal.
Both Singtel and M1 have hit or exceeded the 95% mark for this measure of the mobile experience with their scores rising by 2 and 3.5 percentage points to 95% and 95.3%, respectively. While StarHub is behind Singtel and M1, its users observed a 2.8 percentage point improvement when compared with the results of our December 2019 report.
Opensignal’s 4G Coverage Experience metric is a measure of how mobile subscribers experience 4G coverage on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-10, it analyzes the locations where customers of a network operator received a 4G signal relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators.
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
Opensignal is the mobile analytics company committed to improving mobile connectivity across the globe. We are the independent authority for understanding the true experience consumers receive on wireless networks.
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