Italy
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.
Italy
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
TIM users enjoyed the fastest 5G download and upload speeds in Italy
Our TIM users experienced the fastest average 5G Download Speed of 271.7 Mbps, meaning that TIM wins the 5G Download Speed award outright. TIM secured a 125 Mbps lead (85.2%) on second-placed Vodafone, which scored 146.7 Mbps, while our Iliad and WindTre users saw average 5G Download Speeds of 102.6 and 57.1 Mbps, respectively. TIM also wins the 5G Upload Speed award with a score of 25.1 Mbps and a lead of at least 6.9 Mbps over its competitors. Vodafone places second with a score of 18.1 Mbps, followed by WindTre at 15 Mbps and Iliad at 9.9 Mbps.
TIM is the outright winner of the 5G Video Experience award
Our TIM users had the best video streaming experience seen in Italy when connected to 5G networks, making the operator the sole winner of the 5G Video Experience award. TIM’s score of 79.4 gave it a 7.5 points lead over Iliad which places second with 71.9 points. Vodafone and WindTre are in third and fourth place with 69.3 and 66.2 points, respectively.
The best 5G Games Experience was seen by our TIM users
TIM is the outright winner of the 5G Games Experience award. The operator achieved a score of 73.8 points on a 100 point scale, 3.4 points ahead of Vodafone which places second with 70.4 points. Iliad and WindTre are statistically tied in third place with identical scores of 68 points. All four operators placed in the Fair (65-75) category.
WindTre dominates in both 5G Availability and 5G Reach
WindTre remains clearly ahead of its competitors in our two measures of the extent of a 5G network, as it continues to win by large margins for both 5G Availability and 5G Reach. Our WindTre users spent 22.9% of their time with an active 5G connection — which was about three times more than the experience of users that connected with second-placed Vodafone. In addition, WindTre scored 4.6 points (on a 10-point scale) in 5G Reach, with a lead of 2.2 points ahead of second-placed Vodafone. 5G Availability reflects the proportion of time that 5G users had an active 5G connection, while 5G Reach represents the proportion of locations 5G users visited that had a 5G signal.
Iliad triumphs in 5G Voice App Experience
Iliad is the outright winner of the 5G Voice App Experience award. Its score of 80 points gave it a narrow lead of 0.8 points over TIM’s score of 79.3 points. This means that our Iliad users had the best experience when using over-the-top voice apps on a 5G network. Iliad was the only operator to have placed in the Good category (80-87) for 5G Voice App Experience while its three rivals achieved Acceptable ratings (74-80) having scored in the 77.2-79.3 point range.
5G Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest Italy 5G Experience report TIM has the upper hand as it wins four categories outright — 5G Video Experience, 5G Games Experience, as well as 5G Download Speed and 5G Upload Speed, and by a large margin. WindTre dominates in both awards which measure the extent of a 5G network — 5G Availability and 5G Reach. Iliad earned a seat at the winners’ table by securing a narrow winning margin on TIM in 5G Voice App Experience.
Italy’s mobile operators continue to focus on expanding their 5G networks. For example, in March WindTre announced it covered 53.1% of the country’s population with its 3.6 GHz 5G network. Also, it claimed to cover more than 95% of the population with 5G dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), where 5G uses some of the same wireless spectrum as 4G services. In April, TIM reported the launch of 5G services in another 36 towns and tourist sites in Italy.
Italian operators are also considering joint 5G rollouts to cut costs. The latest development saw WindTre and Iliad in talks to create a joint venture to build shared 5G infrastructure in rural areas with the aim of improving rural services at lower cost to both operators. As part of this plan, WindTre was proposing to transfer 7,000 rural mobile towers and around 50 employees to a new unit — of which Iliad will acquire a 50% stake.
The Italian government is also exploring initiatives to expand 5G coverage across the country. The government’s Infratel agency has launched tenders worth €2 billion ($2.2 billion) for the rollout of 5G technology in underserved rural areas. The contracts will see the government cover a large portion of the costs for the installation of fiber-optic infrastructure to connect more than 10,000 existing mobile tower sites, as well as the rollout of new 5G sites in over 2,000 locations.
In this 5G Experience report, we analyzed our users' 5G experience in Italy on each of the four national operators, Iliad, TIM, Vodafone and WindTre, over a period of 90 days starting on January 1, 2022 and ending on March 31, 2022, to see how they fared. We have also published a companion report, which analyzes our Italian users’ experience across all generations of network technology.
5G Experience
National Analysis
Our TIM users had the best experience when streaming video over 5G networks, making the operator the winner of the 5G Video Experience award. TIM wins with a score of 79.4 points on a 100 point scale — 7.5 points (10.4%) higher than Iliad’s score of 71.9 points. Vodafone and WindTre are further behind with 69.3 and 66.2 points, respectively.
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 four Italian operators, it was our users on TIM’s network that had the best multiplayer mobile gaming experience when connected to 5G with a score of 73.8 points on a 100 point scale. Vodafone places second with 70.4 points, while Iliad and WindTre achieved identical scores of 68 points.
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 users on Iliad’s network had their best experience when using over-the-top voice applications while connected to 5G, as the operator secured a victory margin of 0.8 point over TIM. Iliad scored 80 points, followed by TIM, Vodafone and WindTre with 79.3, 78.7 and 77.2 points, respectively. Given these scores, Iliad is the only operator to have placed in the Good category (80 or more but less than 87), while its three rivals achieved Acceptable ratings (74 or more but less than 80) for 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 TIM users saw the fastest average 5G download speeds — 271.7 Mbps, making TIM the sole winner of the 5G Download Speed award. Vodafone follows in second place with a score of 146.7 Mbps — 125 Mbps slower than TIM — while Iliad and WindTre are in third and fourth place with 102.6 Mbps and 57.1 Mbps, respectively.
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
TIM is the sole winner of the 5G Upload Speed award, as our users observed the fastest average 5G upload speeds on its network — 25.1 Mbps. Vodafone places second at 18.1 Mbps, but unlike in 5G Download Speed, we see WindTre placing third at 15 Mbps, with Iliad placing fourth at 9.9 Mbps.
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).
Regional Analysis
Looking at the 5G Experience in five regions, the results are very much in line with the national award table, as we see TIM dominating the 5G Experience regional award table. TIM is either a sole or joint winner for all regional awards in 5G Video Experience, 5G Download Speed and 5G Upload Speed, TIM also wins three regional awards in 5G Games Experience — one outright plus two shared — while sharing four awards in 5G Voice App Experience.
Vodafone is the sole winner of 5G Games Experience in the Central region. Also it shares eight more awards across 5G Video Experience, 5G Games Experience, 5G Voice App Experience and 5G Upload Speed.
Iliad wins all five regional awards in 5G Voice App Experience — the one category where it triumphs at the national level — although it shares four of those with one or more rivals. Iliad is also a joint winner for 5G Video Experience in Sicily.
Finally, WindTre secures only three awards in the regional 5G Experience section — one outright victory in 5G Games Experience, and two shared awards across 5G Games Experience and 5G Upload Speed.
Regional Analysis Summary: Italy, 5G Experience Report, May 2022
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Coverage
National Analysis
Our WindTre 5G users spent the largest proportion of time with an active 5G connection — 22.9% — making WindTre the winner of the 5G Availability award. By comparison, Vodafone, Iliad and TIM scored 8.1%, 2.7% and 1.9%, respectively. 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.
National Analysis
WindTre dominates in 5G Reach — which measures the proportion of locations where our users observed 5G out of all the places they visited. In fact, WindTre achieved a score of 4.6 points on a 10 point scale, while Vodafone, Iliad and TIM follow at a distance with their scores of 2.5, 0.9 and 0.7 points, respectively.
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.
Regional Analysis
WindTre dominates the regional award table in the coverage section by winning outright all regional awards for 5G Availability and 5G Reach. Our WindTre users spent the largest proportion of time with an active 5G connection in all five regions, with the scores ranging between 19.7% in the South and 25.4% in Sicily. By comparison, Vodafone’s scores ranged between 6.5% and 9.4%, while Iliad’s where in the 1.5-3.1% range and TIM’s in the 0.7-2.5% range.
We observed a similar story in 5G Reach as WindTre secured large victory margins over its competitors. WindTre’s regional 5G Reach scores were in the 4.1-4.8 point range on a 100 point scale, followed by Vodafone’s scores in the 1.8-2.6 point range. In this category, Iliad and TIM scored under one point across all five regions.
Regional Analysis Summary: Italy, 5G Experience Report, May 2022
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A-I
- Central
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J-R
- North East
- North West
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S-Z
- Sicily
- South
in Central
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in North East
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in North West
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in Sicily
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in South
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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