Austria
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Austria
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
A1 claims both overall speed experience awards outright, but 3 snatches 5G Download Speed
We observed mixed fortunes in the speed awards in Austria. Our Austrian users saw the fastest average overall download and upload speeds on A1’s network — the operator clocked in at 52.4 Mbps in Download Speed Experience and 13.1 Mbps in Upload Speed Experience. However, there is a different story when it comes to 5G speed awards, 3 comes victorious for 5G Download Speed, with a score of 259.6 Mbps — over 100 Mbps faster than A1 and Magenta which are statistically tied for second place. Meanwhile, 3 and Magenta jointly win the 5G Upload Speed award.
Magenta takes home the Games Experience and Voice App Experience awards while A1 wins Video Experience
Looking at the experiential awards, Magenta outright wins two of them — Games Experience and Voice App Experience awards. A1 claims the third remaining award — Video Experience. A1 was the only operator this time around to place in the Very Good (65-75) category, meaning generally fast loading times and only occasional stalling but the experience might be somewhat inconsistent across users and/or video providers/resolutions.
A1 wins both Consistent Quality awards outright
A1 met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for both Excellent Consistent Quality (HD video, group video conference calls and gaming) and Core Consistent Quality (lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing) in the highest number of tests in Austria. As a result, the operator wins both awards outright, with scores of 87.4% and 93.7%, respectively.
Magenta places top in the extent awards
Magenta wins two extent awards outright — Availability and 5G Reach — and shares a victory with both of its competitors in 5G Availability. Our 5G users connected to 5G services more than 10% of the time on all three operators.
Our users in Austria experienced Excellent 5G video services on all three operators
Because of a series of three-way statistical ties for 5G experiential awards, all three national operators jointly win 5G Video Experience, 5G Voice App Experience and 5G Games Experience. For 5G Video Experience, they all placed in the Excellent (75 and above) category, which means fast loading times and almost non-existent stalling. As all operators placed in a higher category than for the overall Video Experience, this shows how 5G services can improve users’ mobile network experience.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
Across the 15 awards available in this report, A1 wins five of them outright and four jointly, including both overall speed and both Consistent Quality awards. Magenta completes its haul with four outright and five joint wins. Its outright wins include two overall experiential awards – Games Experience and Voice App Experience – and two awards that reflect the extent of the network: Availability and 5G Reach.
3 claims its only outright win in 5G Download Speed, commanding an impressive lead of over 100 Mbps over its competitors. All three operators feature in four out of five statistical ties — 5G Availability and all three of 5G experiential awards — while 3 and Magenta jointly win the 5G Upload Speed award.
Our results in this report are based on measurements collected across all major mobile operators in Austria – 3, A1 and Magenta – over the period of 90 days between December 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
A1 wins the Video Experience award outright, with a score of 66.7 points — 5.4-6.2 points ahead of 3 and Magenta which share second place with a statistical tie. A1 was the only operator to place in the Very Good (65-75) category, meaning generally fast loading times and only occasional stalling, while its competitors placed in the category below — Good (55-65). This means an acceptable but inconsistent experience, even from the same video streaming provider and particularly for higher resolutions, with noticeably slow loading times and stalling not being uncommon.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
The award for Games Experience goes to Magenta — the operator wins it with a score of 76.4 points. It placed in the Good (75-85) category, which means most users deemed the experience acceptable and did not experience a delay between their actions and the game. 3 and A1 share the second spot, after a statistical tie, 4.1 points on average behind the winner. Both operators placed in a category below Magenta — Fair (65-75) — which means that users found the experience to be average and the majority of them reported that they noticed a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Magenta wins its second overall experience award outright for Voice App Experience, with a score of 79.8 points. All Austria’s operators placed in the Acceptable (74-80) category — however, they were only 0.2-1.6 points shy of the Good (80-87) category. The Acceptable rating means some users are satisfied but some others experienced perceptible call quality impairments.
Definitions
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
- 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Our Austrian users saw the fastest average overall download and upload speeds on A1’s network. A1 clocked in at 52.4 Mbps in Download Speed Experience, the only operator in Austria to hit the 50 Mbps mark. A1 commanded an impressive lead of 17.8 Mbps (51.3%) over second-placed 3.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
On top of Download Speed Experience, A1 also wins the Upload Speed Experience award outright, with a score of 13.1 Mbps in Upload Speed Experience — 2.8 Mbps (27.2%) ahead of second-placed 3.
Upload speeds are becoming increasingly important in mobile services, with changing usage patterns and consumption habits. Mobile users now engage more on social media apps — creating and sharing high-resolution images and videos — and are increasingly creating content, rather than just consuming it, which gives operators with the fastest upload speeds a distinct advantage.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
5G Experience
National Analysis
Because of a three-way statistical tie between 3, A1 and Magenta, all of them jointly win the 5G Video Experience award. All three Austrian national operators placed in the Excellent (75 and above) category, which means fast loading times and almost non-existent stalling. 5G services can improve the users’ mobile network experience significantly, as all operators placed in a higher category than they did for the overall Video Experience.Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
We saw another three-away statistical tie between all three of Austria’s national operators in 5G Games Experience, which resulted in a joint victory for 3, A1 and Magenta. All of them placed in the Good (75-85) category, which means most users deemed the experience acceptable and did not experience a delay between their actions and the game. For 3 and A1, this is one category higher than in the case of the overall Games Experience award, where they rated as Fair (65-75).
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
Similar to 5G Video Experience and 5G Games Experience — all three Austrian operators jointly win the 5G Voice App Experience award, with the scores ranging between 81.9 and 82.1 points on a 100-point scale. While 3, A1 and Magenta narrowly missed the Good (80-87) category for Voice App Experience, they all successfully made it to this category for 5G Voice App Experience. This means many users were satisfied but some experienced minor quality impairments.
Definitions
5G Voice App Experience quantifies the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. 5G Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
National Analysis
3 secures its only outright win in the awards table by smashing its rivals on the 5G Download Speed with a score of 259.6 Mbps. This is over 100 Mbps faster than the speed our 5G users saw on its competitors’ networks — A1 and Magenta — and 7.5 times faster than the speed our 3 users saw in overall Download Speed Experience.
A1 and Magenta scored a statistical tie for second place, as our users on their networks saw 5G download speeds that were three and 5.1 times faster than their overall download speeds, respectively. Our 5G users who connected to 5G services in Austria, experienced average 5G download speeds of at least 150 Mbps across all the operators.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
3 and Magenta jointly win the 5G Upload Speed award, with statistically tied scores ranging between 27.9 and 29.8 Mbps. On average, users on both operators saw a speed uplift of three fold compared to their overall Upload Speed Experience. A1 lagged behind its competitors, with a score of 24.6 Mbps – almost twice as fast as its overall upload speeds – narrowly missing the 25 Mbps mark for average 5G upload speeds.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Coverage
3
A1
Magenta
National Analysis
Our users on Magenta’s network spent 98.4% of the time connected to either a 3G, 4G or 5G signal — which was the highest result in Austria and helped the operator to secure an outright win in Availability. This is around 1.1 percentage points higher than what our users on 3 and A’s networks experienced — and both operators share second place having scored a statistical tie. Our Austrian users connected to 3G or better services for at least 97.1% of the time.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
National Analysis
Similar to 5G experiential awards, we observed another three-way statistical tie between 3, A1 and Magenta — which resulted in a joint win for all of them. Our 5G users connected to 5G services more than 10% of the time regardless of their choice of operator.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
National Analysis
Magenta wins its second extent award outright in 5G Reach — with a score of 5.4 points on a 10-point scale. This means our users connected to 5G services in more than five out of 10 locations. Magenta commanded a sizable lead of 1.6-1.7 points over 3 and A1, which are in a statistical tie for second place.
Definitions
5G Reach measures how users experience the geographical extent of an operator’s 5G network. It analyzes the average proportion of locations where users were connected to a 5G network out of all the locations those users have visited. In simple terms, 5G Reach measures the 5G mobile experience in all the locations that matter most to everyday users – i.e. all the places where they live, work and travel. 5G Reach for each operator is measured on a scale from 0 to 10.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
Consistency
National Analysis
A1 was the network that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for HD video, group video conference calls and gaming in 87.4% of users’ tests — which was the highest result in Austria. As a result, A1 triumphs in Excellent Consistent Quality, 4.1 percentage points ahead of second-placed 3 and 4.6 percentage points ahead of Magenta.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Excellent Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games.
National Analysis
On top of the Excellent Consistent Quality award, A1 also takes the top spot for Core Consistent Quality, with a score of 93.7%. This means, 3 met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing in 93.7% of the tests. Magenta comes second, 1.1 percentage point behind the leader, while 3 scored 91.7%.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
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