Taiwan
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.
Taiwan
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 383.3 Mbps Chunghwa users have the fastest average 5G Download Speed
FarEasTone is second placed with our users experiencing 296.7 Mbps average 5G download speeds. Even third placed Taiwan Mobile's users saw speeds over 200Mbps with a score of 246.7 Mbps. Alongside winning the 5G Download Speed award, Chunghwa also wins the Download Speed Experience award for the overall speed across all our users.
FarEasTone wins the 5G Availability award with 38.7% as well as 5G Reach
Our FarEasTone users saw the greatest proportion of time with an active 5G connection. The other three operators in contention — Chunghwa, Taiwan Mobile and T Star — had statistically tied scores ranging from 21.8% to 23.3%. FarEasTone also wins the 5G Reach award which reflects the proportion of locations where users saw a 5G signal with a score of 6.9 on a 10 point scale.
Both Games Experience awards are jointly won by FarEasTone and Taiwan Mobile
The two operators have statistically tied scores for 5G Games Experience and the overall Games Experience award. Their 5G Games Experience scores of 83.6 and 84.4 on a 100-point scale are in the Good category (75-85) and narrowly miss out on the 85 needed to achieve Excellent. Third placed Chunghwa's 5G Games Experience score of 81.4 also rated as Good.
Chunghwa wins Video Experience, but shares the 5G Video Experience award with Taiwan Mobile
With a score of 64.5 on a 100 point scale our Chunghwa users saw the best mobile video streaming experience ahead of Taiwan Mobile (62.6) and FarEasTone (61.6). These three were the only operators that placed into the Good category (55-65). However, when looking at the video experience on 5G Chunghwa and Taiwan Mobile had statistically tied scores and therefore jointly win 5G Video Experience.
Excellent Consistent Quality is won by Taiwan Mobile
When we examine the proportion of tests that pass the minimum threshold for demanding mobile applications, Taiwan Mobile has the best score of 86% just ahead of Chunghwa (85.7%) and FarEasTone (83.8%). However, the Core Consistent Quality award is shared between Chunghwa and Taiwan Mobile.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
For the first time we report on 5G Experience and the overall mobile network experience for Taiwan in one report. Also, we have added two measures that quantify the consistency of the experience: Excellent and Core Consistent Quality.
In this report we see a very competitive market with the awards shared across three out of five operators. While GT and T Star miss out this time, their situation will soon change because of two announced mergers that are yet to complete. In December 2021 Taiwan Mobile announced a merger with T Star while in February FarEasTone similarly said it planned to merge with GT's parent company Asia Pacific Telecom Co.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
With a score of 64.5 on a 100 point scale, Chunghwa wins the Video Experience category. FarEasTone and Taiwan Mobile are close behind with statistically tied scores of 61.6 and 62.6 respectively.
Users watching mobile video streams on the three highest scoring operators enjoyed a Good (55-65) experience. This means that they had 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
FarEasTone and Taiwan Mobile jointly win the Games Experience award. Both the two winners and our Chunghwa users had a Good (75-85) multiplayer mobile gaming experience.
As a result, on these operators most users deemed the gaming experience to be acceptable. The gameplay experience was generally controllable and the user received immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users did not experience a delay between their actions and 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
There were only very small differences in the experience of using real-time voice communication using mobile apps on all five operators. Three operators — Chunghwa, FarEasTone and Taiwan Mobile — jointly win the Voice App Experience award with statistically tied scores.
Only on these winning operators did our users have a Good (80-87) Voice App Experience. This indicates that many users were satisfied. Minor quality impairments were experienced by some users. Sometimes the background was not quite clear, it could have been either hazy or not loud enough. Clicking sounds or distortion were very rarely present.
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
With a victory margin just short of 10 Mbps, our Chunghwa users saw the fastest average overall download speeds with a score of 66.8 Mbps. Our FarEasTone users had the next fastest download speeds of 56.9 Mbps.
However, there are big gaps in the experience between these two leading operators and the others. Over 13 Mbps separates third placed Taiwan Mobile from second placed FarEasTone. While the average download speeds seen by our users on GT (31.7 Mbps) and T Star (27.3 Mbps) are under half Chunghwa's winning score.
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
Again, there is a gap between the Upload Speed Experience on the top three operators and the speeds experienced by our users on GT and T Star. FarEasTone's winning score of 13.6 Mbps is slightly faster than Chunghwa's 11.9 Mbps and Taiwan Mobile's 11.1 Mbps.
While just 2.5 Mbps separates the top three scores, GT (7.6 Mbps) and T Star (7.3 Mbps) are over three Mbps behind third placed Taiwan Mobile.
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
There are only small differences in the 5G Video Experience scores our users saw. Joint winners Chunghwa and Taiwan Mobile's statistically tied scores are under two points on a 100-point scale ahead of third placed FarEasTone with 81.3. Even fourth placed T Star is not that far behind with a score of 78, especially as our users on the four operators all saw an Excellent (75 or above) 5G 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
FarEasTone and Taiwan Mobile jointly win the 5G Games Experience award with statistically tied scores. Both just missed out on the Excellent (85 or above) category and instead rated as Good (75-85) meaning most users deemed the experience acceptable. The gameplay experience was generally controllable and users received immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users did not experience a delay between their actions and the game.
Chunghwa's score (81.4) was only slightly behind the two winners (83.6-84.4). But the 5G multiplayer gaming experience using T Star was considerably lower with a score of 73.9 and 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
The same operators win the 5G Voice App Experience and the 5G Games Experience award: FarEasTone and Taiwan Mobile. But under two points on a 100 point scale separate the operators' scores.
The experience using all four operators was Good (80-87). This means many users were satisfied. Some users experienced minor quality impairments and sometimes the background was not quite clear, 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
The average 5G download speeds seen by our users were extremely fast across Taiwan's operators. The winning score for 5G Download Speed of 383.3 Mbps was 5.7 times faster than the winning score for overall Download Speed Experience.
Impressively, our users saw average 5G download speeds over 200Mbps on three of Taiwan's mobile operators. Alongside Chunghwa, our users saw such speeds on FarEasTone (296.7 Mbps) and with Taiwan Mobile (246.7 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
While two operators are a long way ahead of the others in the 5G Upload Speed category, Chunghwa narrowly beats FarEasTone with a score of 47 Mbps compared with the latter's second placed score of 43.9 Mbps. Third placed Taiwan Mobile's score is over 20 Mbps slower than the winning mark, while T Star's 5G Upload Speed score is under half the speed of our users connecting with both Chunghwa and FarEasTone.
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
Chunghwa
FarEasTone
GT
Taiwan Mobile
T Star
National Analysis
Very little separates the scores in Availability. Three operators jointly win the award — Chunghwa, FarEasTone and Taiwan Mobile — with statistically tied scores ranging from 98.9% to 99.2%.
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
There is a large winning margin for FarEasTone in 5G Availability. Its score of 38.7% for the proportion of time our users spent with an active 5G connection is far ahead of the other operators who's scores ranged from 21.8% to 23.3%. All the scores are impressive and compare well with operators in other markets — they mean that our 5G users 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
When we compare the proportion of locations where users saw 5G service, FarEasTone also wins our second measure of the extent of 5G networks — 5G Reach. However, its winning margin is much smaller than for 5G Availability. On a 10 point scale, FarEasTone scored 6.9 for 5G Reach, while second placed Taiwan Mobile scored six points and third placed Chunghwa passed the halfway mark with a score of 5.3.
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
Taiwan Mobile takes the first Opensignal Excellent Consistent Quality award in Taiwan with a score of 86%. However, it only narrowly defeated Chunghwa (85.7%) and FarEasTone (83.8%). These three operators are the only ones to score over the 80% mark for Excellent Consistent Quality.
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
The scores for Core Consistent Quality are as expected higher than for its more demanding sister category — Excellent Consistent Quality. Four operators scored over 90% here, while none scored that high in the Excellent category. Only GT missed out with a score of 81.3%.
Here, Taiwan Mobile and Chunghwa jointly win the Core Consistent Quality award with statistically tied scores of 93.7-93.9%. But FarEasTone is under one percentage point behind the two winners indicating how close the competition is in this category.
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