Hong Kong
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.
Hong Kong
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
With 155 Mbps, CMHK wins the 5G Download Speed award
While CMHK users saw the fastest average 5G download speeds, csl users were close behind with 139.3 Mbps. As 3 users experienced 122.9 Mbps and SmarTone's 115.7 Mbps, our users on all four operators enjoyed average 5G speeds above 100 Mbps.
csl wins 5G Upload Speed
Upload speeds are important for sharing photos, videos or office documents. The 29.4 Mbps average 5G Upload Speed score of csl, was ahead of joint second placed SmarTone with 24.6 Mbps and CMHK's score of 23.8 Mbps.
SmarTone wins Voice App Experience with 77.8
Opensignal's measure of real-time voice communications using over the top (OTT) voice apps is a fiercely fought category. While SmarTone wins the award, csl with a score of 77 on a 100-point scale and 3 (76.8) were close behind with statistically tied scores.
Core Consistent Quality is won by SmarTone
This category quantifies the proportion of tests that meet the threshold to support lower performance applications. With a score of 89.1%, SmarTone narrowly beats second placed 3's score of 88.8%. CMHK and csl were further back with scores of 82.7% and 82.9%, respectively.
CMHK wins the Excellent Core Consistency award with 65.5%
For the proportion of tests that meet the minimum thresholds for more demanding applications, CMHK pulls ahead of SmarTone, which is different to the Excellent Core Consistency scores. But 3 and SmarTone have next best scores of 61.6% and 61.1% respectively, while csl is fourth with 53.8%.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
For the first time, Opensignal reports both the 5G Experience and the overall mobile experience of all Hong Kong users in a single report. Also, we have added two new award categories that quantify the consistency of the mobile network experience.
With 5G continuing to grow in the market, regulator OFCA (Office of the Telecommunications Authority) has launched a new 5G Era Thematic website to highlight the many potential uses and markets for 5G.
From March 1, 2022 all new pre-paid SIM cards or contract SIMs must be registered with a real name before activation. Existing pre-paid users must also register by February 23, 2023. As a result, Hong Kong mobile users may be reconsidering which SIM cards they retain if they have many SIM cards in use and mobile operators will be hoping that new services such as 5G will help them to retain their customers.
Having a strong mobile network experience is important for an operator to retain and acquire customers. In this report we see areas of success for each of Hong Kong's mobile operators across mobile gaming, video streaming, voice communications, speed and consistency. Smartphone users will differ in which area appeals to them most.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
For mobile video streaming, there is no statistical difference between the experience on Hong Kong's four operators. This means that all jointly win the overall Video Experience award.
The quality of experience was only Fair (40-55). Users did not have a good experience either for higher resolution videos — for example with very slow loading times or prolonged stalling — or for some video streaming providers. However, it was possible that the experience watching lower resolution videos from some providers might have been sufficient.
The scores seen when using 5G were much higher on all operators — see the 5G Video Experience category. This is because 5G enables operators to deploy new wireless spectrum which adds capacity and side-steps congestion that may exist in busy locations, or peak hours of the day, on older 4G spectrum bands.
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 on all four operators saw a Fair (65-75) overall Games Experience in Hong Kong. This means that users mostly found the game to be responsive to their actions with most users reporting that they felt like they had control over the game. The majority of players reported that they noticed a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game.
However, SmarTone and 3 jointly win the Games Experience award. Their scores of 72.6 and 70.4 on a 100-point scale are statistically tied because of overlapping confidence intervals.
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
All four operators rate as Acceptable (74-80) for Voice App Experience. The means some users experienced perceptible call quality impairments. Also, clicking sounds of short duration or distortion were heard, and/or the volume may not have been sufficiently loud. Listeners were generally able to comprehend without repetition.
However, SmarTone users had the best Voice App Experience with a score of 77.8 on a 100-point scale and as a result SmarTone wins the award. Both csl and 3 were just behind with scores of 77 and 76.8, respectively, but CMHK's score of 74.6 was only just into the range for Acceptable (74-80).
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
On three operators – CMHK, csl and SmarTone — there was no statistical difference between the Download Speed Experience of our users. As a result, all three operators jointly wins the award, but 3 misses out.
The average download speeds ranged from 25.3 Mbps up to 31.7 Mbps. Download Speed Experience quantifies the speeds across all our users using all generations of mobile network technology.
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
CMHK and csl comfortably win the Upload Speed Experience award with statistically tied scores of 8.6 Mbps and 9.2 Mbps, respectively. Higher average upload speeds make it easier for users to post photos or videos to social media apps, or for business users to share documents as email attachments or cloud services.
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
Unlike overall Video Experience where there was no statistical difference between the operators, with 5G two operators lead. CMHK and SmarTone enjoyed the best 5G mobile video streaming. As a result, CMHK and SmarTone jointly win the 5G Video Experience award. On a 100 point scale users saw statistically tied scores of 80.8 points with CMHK and 78.9 with SmarTone.
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
CMHK and csl have a clear win in 5G Games Experience with statistically tied scores of 84.4 and 86 on a 100-point scale ahead of 3 (80.3) and SmarTone (80.5). This means that the best real-time multiplayer mobile gaming experience in Hong Kong was on CMHK and csl. As a result, the two operators share the 5G Games Experience award.
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
In a close competition, CMHK and csl users had the best 5G Voice App Experience. Their scores were statistically tied with 82.1 for CMHK and 81.9 for csl on a 100-point scale.
Both winning operators' scores rated as Good (80-87) but 3 and SmarTone's 5G Voice App Experience placed in the Acceptable (74-80) category, which is the same category as the overall Voice App Experience scores for all four operators.
The Good category means some users experienced minor quality impairments, or sometimes the background was not quite clear and it could have been either hazy or not loud enough. Clicking sounds or distortion were very rarely present.
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
CMHK again wins the 5G Download Speed award, this time with a score of 155 Mbps. However, there are changes in the chasing pack. In the last report, 3 users saw the next highest average download speed but now 3 users' score of 122.9 Mbps is tied with csl users' 139.3 Mbps for second place.
On all four operators the average 5G download speeds experienced by our users are over three times faster than the overall average download speeds seen by all mobile users. While all users' overall Download Speed Experience ranged from 25.3 Mbps to 31.7 Mbps, depending on operator, the 5G Download Speed scores were much higher and ranged from 115.7 Mbps to 155 Mbps.
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
With a 5G Upload Speed score of 29.4 Mbps, csl wins the 5G Upload Speed award. Its score was comfortably ahead of joint second placed CMHK (23.8 Mbps) and SmarTone (24.6 Mbps). And, it was almost double the average 5G upload speed of 16.6 Mbps seen by our users with 3.
On all four operators, the 5G Upload Speed was over double the overall Upload Speed Experience score, indicating the benefit of the latest 5G technology for users. On csl and SmarTone the difference was over three times faster, and it was only just short of that mark on CMHK.
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
CMHK
csl
SmarTone
National Analysis
3 and SmarTone jointly win the Availability award with statistically tied scores of 98.9% and 99.2%. These scores were just ahead of CMHK and csl (both 98.6%). These strong results across all operators indicate how little time our users in Hong Kong spent without a mobile signal.
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
Three operators jointly win the 5G Availability award because of statistically tied scores. 5G Availability represents the proportion of time where users had an active 5G connection.
However, SmarTone misses out in the 5G Availability category because its users had a score of 17.7% while the three joint winners — 3 (21.4%), CMHK (22.9%) and csl (22.9%) — all had scores that represented users having spent over one fifth of their time connected to 5G.
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
Three operators jointly win 5G Reach with statistically tied scores of 6.7 for CMHK, 6.5 for csl and 5.8 for SmarTone on a 10-point scale. 3 is behind the front-runners with a score of 5.3 points. These scores mean that in more than half of the locations that users visit, they see a 5G signal.
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
CMHK wins the Excellent Consistent Quality award with a score of 65.5%. This means the proportion of users' tests that met the needed performance level for more demanding apps was the highest on CMHK.
This is a different result to the Core Consistent Quality award for less demanding apps where SmarTone triumphed. Here, in the advanced category, CMHK likely benefits from its users' higher 5G average download speeds compared with SmarTone. Plus, our SmarTone users spent less time with an active 5G connection — 5G Availability — than users on the other operators.
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
For less demanding apps, we saw the highest proportion of tests that were sufficient on SmarTone. As a result, SmarTone wins the Core Consistent Quality award with a score of 89.1%.
In second place was 3 with a score of 88.8%. But CMHK — the winner of the Excellent Core Consistency award — and csl's scores were further back with scores of 82.7% and 82.9%, respectively.
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