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Slovakia

Mobile Network Experience Report
September 2022

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.

Author: Sam Fenwick, Senior Analyst Data Collection Period: May 01 - Jul 29, 2022

Slovakia

Mobile Network Experience Report
September 2022

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.

Author: Sam Fenwick, Senior Analyst

Data Collection Period: May 01 - Jul 29, 2022

Key Findings

Orange wins Video Experience and Voice App Experience

Our Orange users had the best available experience when streaming mobile video or using over-the-top voice apps, making the operator the sole winner of the Video Experience and Voice App Experience awards. It wins Video Experience with a lead of around 7.8 points over O2 and Telekom, which were statistically tied for second place. Orange commanded a smaller lead for Voice App Experience— 1.1 points — over O2 and Telekom, which had identical scores of 80.6 points.

Telekom has the most consistent experience

Out of Slovakia’s four national operators, Telekom had the highest percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended thresholds for users to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games; as well as the thresholds for less demanding applications. Telekom is therefore the sole winner of both the Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality awards. It wins the former with a score of 88% and a lead of 0.9 percentage points over second-placed Orange. Telekom wins Core Consistent Quality with a similar lead — 1.1 percentage points — but O2 rather than Orange is in second place.

Our Orange users spent the most time with a 3G or better connection

Orange wins the Availability award outright, doing so with a score of 97.2% and a lead of 1.9 percentage points over second placed O2’s score of 95.3%. Availability is the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.

Orange keeps hold of the Download Speed Experience award

Our Orange users continued to observe the fastest average download speeds in Slovakia — this time the operator scored an impressive 41.4 Mbps, 8.5 Mbps (26%) faster than the speeds seen on second-placed Telekom’s network. Orange users’ speeds were close to double those seen on O2’s network and were 3.1 times faster than those seen on 4ka’s network.

Orange and Telekom again share the Games Experience and Upload Speed Experience awards

Our Orange and Telekom users observed the best available experience in Slovakia when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections — and therefore the two operators remain joint winners of the Games Experience award, with statistically tied scores of 79.6-80.3 points on a 100 point scale. Similarly, our users continued to observe no statistical difference in their average upload speeds on Orange and Telekom’s networks (10-10.2 Mbps), so the operators are still joint winners of the Upload Speed Experience award.

Mobile Experience Awards

September 2022, Slovakia Report
Download Image

Market Overview

Orange clearly dominates the awards table, a change from the previous report when it led by a single outright win. This time, Orange is the sole winner in four categories — Video Experience, Voice App Experience, Download Speed Experience and Availability — while also being a joint winner in three additional categories. It shares the Games Experience and Upload Speed Experience awards with Telekom and is part of a three-way tie for the 4G Coverage Experience award. Telekom has the second largest haul, and is the only other Slovakian operator to win any awards outright this time around. It is the sole winner of both the Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality awards and is a joint winner in three categories. O2’s only appearance in the awards table is as a joint winner for Availability alongside Orange and Telekom.

The country’s four operators have completed their reorganization of the previously fragmented 1800 MHz band, giving them all contiguous spectrum holdings. In addition, they all won spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band at a combined cost of €63.61 million ($67.2 million) in May. The spectrum will be available for use from the beginning of September 2025 and should help to boost users’ mobile network experience.

In this report, we analyzed our users' experience in Slovakia on each of the four national operators, 4ka, O2, Orange and Telekom, over a 90 day period starting on May 1, 2022, and ending on July 29, 2022. 5G measurements and those of older 3G and 4G mobile technologies contribute to operators' overall scores.

Overall Experience
Coverage
Consistency
Video Experience
Games Experience
Voice App Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience
Video Experience
in 0-100 points
4ka
42.2
O2
54.2
Orange
63.3
Telekom
56.9
016.53349.566
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Games Experience
in 0-100 points
4ka
65.4
O2
76.9
Orange
80.3
Telekom
79.6
021.54364.586
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Voice App Experience
in 0-100 points
4ka
76.3
O2
80.6
Orange
81.7
Telekom
80.6
021.54364.586
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
in Mbps
4ka
13.4
O2
22.1
Orange
41.4
Telekom
32.8
011.52334.546
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
in Mbps
4ka
6.7
O2
8.6
Orange
10.2
Telekom
10.0
0481216
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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).

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4ka

O2

Orange

Telekom

Availability
4G Coverage Experience
Availability
% of time
4ka
81.7
O2
95.3
Orange
97.2
Telekom
92.2
0255075100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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4G Coverage Experience
in 0-10 points
4ka
5.1
O2
8.8
Orange
8.9
Telekom
8.9
02.557.510
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

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.

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Definitions

4G Coverage Experience measures how mobile subscribers experience 4G coverage on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-10, it analyzes the locations where customers of a network operator received a 4G signal relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators.

In simple terms, 4G Coverage Experience measures the mobile coverage experience in all the locations that matter most to everyday users — i.e. all the places where they live, work and travel. It considers all the areas that Opensignal users visit, the portion of locations that 4G is available to them, and locations that more users visit have higher importance to them.

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.

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Excellent Consistent Quality
Core Consistent Quality
Excellent Consistent Quality
% of tests
4ka
71.5
O2
83.2
Orange
87.2
Telekom
88.0
022.54567.590
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Core Consistent Quality
% of tests
4ka
88.1
O2
94.1
Orange
93.5
Telekom
95.2
0255075100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

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.

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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.

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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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