Saudi Arabia
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.
Saudi Arabia
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
Both Download Speed awards are taken by STC
With a score of 261.5 Mbps for 5G Download Speed STC is in clear first place ahead of Mobily and Zain which had statistically tied scores in the 183.1-192.3 Mbps range. The overall average download speed of STC users was also ahead of its two national rivals with a score of 38.7 Mbps, followed by Mobily (27.4 Mbps) and Zain (18.5 Mbps).
STC wins all Video and Games Experience awards
In both the 5G Video Experience and 5G Games Experience categories STC wins with scores of 70.9 and 64.2 on a 100 point scale. Similarly, in the awards representing the overall experience of all mobile users — Video Experience and Games Experience — STC again triumphs, although with lower scores of 50.9 and 46.7, respectively. These lower scores for overall experience highlight the importance of 5G technology.
Mobily leads in Availability but STC wins the 5G Availability award
In the Coverage section, Mobily and STC each win one award outright, while sharing 5G Reach. While the victory margin is narrow for Availability — just 0.3 of a percentage point separated the winner Mobily from second placed STC, as their respective scores were 97.3% and 97% — there was much greater variation in 5G Availability scores. 5G Availability winner STC scored 30.1%, 6-7.3 percentage points ahead of Mobily and Zain that share second place with statistically tied scores in the 22.8-24.1% range.
Mobily wins both Excellent and Core Consistent Quality awards outright
Mobily wins the Excellent Consistent Quality award with a 1.8 percentage points margin over second-placed STC. In Core Consistent Quality, Mobily beat STC by 1.4 percentage points. Our measures of consistent quality quantify how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. Excellent Consistent Quality analyzes the percentage of users' tests that met the minimum recommended thresholds for watching HD video, completing group video conference calls and playing games. Core Consistent Quality uses thresholds for less demanding applications.
Mobily wins the Voice App Experience award, and shares the 5G award with STC
Mobily comes on top in Voice App Experience, which quantifies the use of popular mobile apps for real-time voice communications. Mobily’s score of 73.6 points on a 100 point scale was 0.8 point higher than STC’s 72.8, which means Mobily is the outright winner in this category. However, our users experienced no difference in the 5G Voice App Experience of the two operators, as they had statistically tied scores in the 78.7-79 point range, meaning that they share that 5G award.
Mobily and STC share the 5G Reach award
The 5G Reach award is shared by Mobily and STC, as our users on these two networks observed the highest proportion of locations with a 5G signal. Mobily and STC’s scores are statistically tied in the 4.5-4.8 point range on a 10 point scale, followed by Zain with 4.1 points.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest Saudi Arabia Mobile Network Experience report we analyze both the 5G experience and the overall experience together for the first time in one report. Also, we add two new awards that quantify the consistency of the experience on each of Saudi Arabia's three national operators.
STC leads across most mobile experience categories in Saudi Arabia based on Opensignal’s awards table. The operator wins both Download Speed and Upload Speed awards outright, as well as all Video and Games Experience awards. STC is also the sole winner in 5G Availability, while sharing the 5G Voice App Experience and 5G Reach awards with Mobily. Mobily is the only other operator to win any awards outright — claiming the Availability and Voice App Experience awards, as well as both Consistent Quality awards.
Across the country, 5G rollouts continue to expand. Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) is aiming to award spectrum in the 600 MHz, 700 MHz and 3.8 GHz bands in June to support the expansion of 5G across the country.
Saudi Arabia's operators continue to deploy new technologies with the goal of further improving the mobile experience of Saudi users. Zain claimed to be the first national operator to launch a commercial standalone 5G network in the Kingdom in early 2022, although Opensignal has seen other 5G standalone networks launch outside Saudi Arabia.
STC is pushing ahead with researching new 5G capabilities. In fact, STC and Ericsson have signed a partnership agreement to explore 5G capabilities and to strengthen STC’s 5G network indoor coverage and performance using millimeter wave (mmWave) technology.
Mobily is also exploring innovative use cases with 5G. Mobily and Ericsson signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand the cutting-edge 5G use cases for use in different industries in Saudi Arabia.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the three main mobile network operators in Saudi Arabia — Mobily, STC and Zain — over a period of 90 days starting on January 1, 2022 and ending on March 31, 2022, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
STC is the outright winner of the Video Experience award with a score of 50.9 points on a 100 point scale. It wins by a convincing margin — 4.6 points (9.9%) ahead of second placed Mobily, while Zain places third with 36.5 points — 14.3 points behind STC. Both STC and Mobily achieved Fair ratings (40-55), while Zain’s score placed in the Poor category (Under 40)
We observed a narrower set of results when turning to the overall video streaming experience observed by our 5G users (Video Experience – 5G Users). STC comes first with a score of 60.4 points, while our 5G users on Mobily and Zain observed average scores of 56.8 and 51.3 points, respectively. With these scores STC and Mobily placed in the Good category (55-65), while Zain’s score was Fair (40-55).
Looking at 5G Video Experience — which measures the experience of our 5G users when connected to a 5G network — we observed further gains compared to the overall experience measured across all mobile technologies, as STC and Mobily earned Very Good ratings (65-75), while Zain placed less than one point shy of that same category.
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
Our users had their best experience when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections on STC’s network. The operator scored 46.7 points on a 100 point scale, with a 2.8 point lead over second-placed Mobily’s score of 43.9 points. Zain places third with a score of 33.9 points.
We observed some impressive gains looking at 5G Games Experience as STC, Mobily and Zain’s scores were 17.5, 15.8 and 5.2 points higher, respectively, compared to the overall experience measured across all mobile technologies.
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
Mobily is the outright winner of the Voice App Experience award, with a score of 73.6 points on a 100 point scale. However, its margin of victory is relatively narrow, given second-placed STC’s score of 72.8 points. Zain comes third with a score of 64.6 points, 8.2-8.9 points behind its competitors. Mobily and STC placed in the Poor category (66-74), while Zain followed behind in the Very Poor category (60-66).
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 users observed the fastest average overall download speeds on STC’s network — 38.7 Mbps, which was 11.3 Mbps (41.2%) faster than second-placed Mobily’s score of 27.4 Mbps. As a result, STC is the outright winner of the Download Speed Experience award. Zain comes in third place with 18.5 Mbps, which was 8.9 Mbps slower than Mobily and 20.2 Mbps behind STC.
Turning to the overall average download speeds observed by our 5G users (Download Speed Experience – 5G Users), STC scored 117.4 Mbps, which was 57.1-69.3% faster than what our 5G users experienced on Mobily and Zain’s network — 74.7 Mbps and 69.3 Mbps, respectively.
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
As our STC users observed the fastest average overall upload speeds — 10.3 Mbps — STC is the sole winner of the Upload Speed Experience award. It wins by a margin of 2.9 Mbps (39.2%) over second-placed Mobily given the latter’s score of 7.4 Mbps. Zain is in third place with average upload speeds of 6.6 Mbps.
Looking at the overall average upload speeds observed by our 5G users (Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users), we saw all operators passing the 10 Mbps mark, with STC leading at 15 Mbps, while Mobily and Zain had statistically tied scores in the 10.2-10.3 Mbps range.
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
STC is the outright winner of the 5G Video Experience award, with a score of 70.9 points on a 100 point scale. Mobily follows in second place with 67.9, while Zain is further behind with 64.1 points. All three operators’ scores for 5G Video Experience are much higher than their overall scores — across all generations of mobile technology — with the improvement ranging from 20 points for STC to 27.6 points for Zain.
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
Of the three Saudi operators, it was our STC users that had the best multiplayer mobile gaming experience when connected to 5G networks with a score of 64.2 points. Mobily places second with 59.6 points, while Zain follows at a distance having scored 39.1 points — more than 20 points behind Mobily, and 25.1 points behind STC.
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
Our Mobily and STC users had their best experience when using over-the-top voice applications while connected to 5G, given the two operators’ statistically tied scores of 78.7-79 points on a 100 point scale. Zain comes in third place with a score of 72.4 points. The two winners placed in the Acceptable (74-80) category, while those on Zain’s network had a Poor (66-74) 5G Voice App Experience.
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
Our STC users saw the fastest average 5G download speeds — 261.5 Mbps, making STC the sole winner of the 5G Download Speed award. STC’s score was 69.3-78.5 Mbps higher than what Mobily and Zain achieved in this category, as the two operators had statistically tied scores in the 183.1-192.3 Mbps range.
Operators’ 5G Download Speed scores were between 6.8-9.9 times faster than their overall Download Speed Experience scores, highlighting the extent to which average overall download speeds could improve once users spend the majority of their time connected to 5G.
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
STC is the sole winner of the 5G Upload Speed award, as our users observed the fastest average 5G upload speeds on its network — 26.1 Mbps. Mobily and Zain’s scores were statistically tied in second place, as our users on those networks experienced average 5G upload speeds in the 18.4-20.1 Mbps range.
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
Mobily
STC
Zain
National Analysis
Mobily is the outright winner of the Availability award, with a score of 97.3%. This means that our Mobily users spent the largest proportion of time connected to either 3G, 4G, or 5G. STC comes behind Mobily with a score of 97% while Zain is in third place with a score of 96%.
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
Among the three networks, our STC users spent the greatest proportion of their time on average with an active 5G connection — 30.1%. As a result, STC is the sole winner of the 5G Availability award. Mobily and Zain are in joint second place with statistically tied scores of 22.8-24.1%. The higher 5G Availability is, the greater the amount of time that users were able to benefit from the improved mobile experience that 5G can provide.
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
Mobily and STC are joint winners in 5G Reach — which measures the proportion of locations where our users observed 5G out of all the places they visited. The two joint winners achieved a score of 4.5-4.8 points on a 10 point scale, while Zain follow closely with a score of 4.1 points.
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
Mobily is the sole winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality award as its score of 63.5% is 1.8 percentage points higher than that of second-placed STC’s 61.7%. Zain is in third place, with a score of 40.2%.
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
As is the case with Excellent Consistent Quality, Mobily is the outright winner of the Core Consistent Quality award. The operator wins with a score of 81.4%, 1.4 percentage points ahead of second-placed STC’s score of 80%. Zain is in third place with 72.5%, a much closer score to its rivals’ compared to the Excellent Consistent Quality award.
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.
Check how your internet connection impacts your favorite apps with the Meteor App
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.
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