Uruguay
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumer mobile experience. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding the true experience consumers receive on wireless networks.
Uruguay
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumer mobile experience. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding the true experience consumers receive on wireless networks.
Key Findings
Antel pulls ahead of Movistar and wins Download Speed Experience outright
In the previous report, Antel and Movistar were joint winners of the Download Speed Experience award. This time, however, Antel broke out of the statistical tie with Movistar and claims the award outright, with a score of 24.4 Mbps — 4.1 Mbps ahead of the previous joint winner. Antel also wins Upload Speed Experience outright with a score of 9.3 Mbps. This means our users in Uruguay enjoyed the fastest average mobile speeds on Antel’s network.
Movistar is the sole winner of Games Experience and Voice App Experience again
Movistar retains both of the experiential awards it won outright in the previous report — Games Experience and Voice App Experience. The operator triumphs in Games Experience with a score of 69.4 points on a 100-point scale — 3.6 points ahead of Claro. Movistar also beats Claro in Voice App Experience, but this time only by 0.8 points. All three Uruguayan operators are joint winners of the third experiential award — Video Experience.
Our Antel users connected to 4G in most locations
Antel wins 4G Coverage Experience outright, with a score of 9.3 points on a 10-point scale. This means our users on Antel’s network connected to 4G service in more than nine out of 10 locations visited by all our Uruguayan users. Antel commands a lead of 0.6 points over Movistar, and of 1.4 points over Claro. Our users observed no statistically significant changes in operators’ scores compared to the previous report.
Claro and Movistar defend their consistency awards
Claro was the first winner of Excellent Consistent Quality in the previous Opensignal report, while Movistar claimed Core Consistent Quality. Both operators win these for the second time in a row in the Opensignal reports. Excellent Consistent Quality is the only outright victory for Claro, the operator wins it with a score of 75.5% — this score reflects the percentage of users’ tests on the operator’s network meeting the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games. Movistar secures Core Consistent Quality with a score of 89.2% — this metric measures the performance of less demanding applications.
Our users in Uruguay connected to 3G or better services for at least 98.1% of the time
In the previous report, Movistar was the sole winner of the Availability award. However, this time it has to share the award with Claro — both operators are joint winners with scores in the 99-99.1% range. Antel trailed behind with a score of 98.1% — around one percentage point behind the winners.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
Our users saw a two-horse race for the Uruguayan mobile network experience, as Movistar and Antel won five and four awards respectively. Movistar defends its outright wins for Games Experience, Voice App Experience and Core Consistent Quality. Claro claims its only sole victory in Excellent Consistent Quality — but the operator also jointly wins Availability with Movistar and retains its joint victory for Video Experience.
Our users saw the fastest average speeds on Antel’s network, as the operator wins Download Speed Experience and Upload Speed Experience outright. It has broken out of the statistical tie that existed between it and Movistar for the former in the previous report. On top of this, Antel wins 4G Coverage Experience again and jumps onto the winners’ podium for Video Experience, joining Claro and Movistar.
Our results in this report are based on measurements collected across all major mobile operators in Uruguay – Antel, Claro and Movistar – over the period of 90 days between July 1, 2022 and September 28, 2022, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Antel, Claro and Movistar are all joint winners of Video Experience, with scores in the 51.9-52.7 points range. Previously, only Claro and Movistar shared the winners’ podium, but Antel also made the cut this time.
All operators in Uruguay placed in the Fair (40-55) category. This means there was not a good experience either for higher resolution videos (very slow loading times and prolonged stalling) or for some video streaming providers. The experience on lower resolution videos from some providers might have been sufficient though.
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
Movistar wins the Games Experience award with a score of 69.4 points on a 100point scale. Claro takes second place, 3.6 points behind the winner, while Antel brings up the rear, with a score of 62.4 points.
Our users on both Movistar and Claro enjoyed Fair (65-75) mobile gaming experience. Users found the experience to be average, as the majority of players reported that they noticed delay between their actions and the outcome in their games. Antel placed in a category below, Poor (40-65).
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
Movistar wins Voice App Experience outright again, with a score of 79.5 points on a 100-point scale, 0.8 points ahead of the runner-up Claro. Only 2.1 points separated all three Uruguayan operators and they all rated as Acceptable (74-80).
This rating means perceptible call quality impairments were experienced by some users. 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.
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
Antel broke out of the statistical tie it was in with Movistar in the previous report and now wins Download Speed Experience outright, with a score of 24.4 Mbps. Movistar takes second place now, 4.1 Mbps behind Antel. Claro comes third, with a score of 18.5 Mbps, losing by nearly 6 Mbps to Antel.
Antel’s solo victory is due to a 1.6 Mbps increase in average download speeds seen by our users on its network — 7.1 % faster than in the previous report. Meanwhile, our users on both Claro and Movistar experienced declines in their average download speeds — 1 Mbps and 2.5 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
Antel takes the top spot for Upload Speed Experience with a score of 9.3 Mbps — 0.4 Mbps slower than in the previous report. Antel secures the award with a lead of 1.3 Mbps — 16.4% faster than the runner-up Movistar, which saw a decline in its score of 0.7 Mbps. Claro brings up the rear with a score of 7.6 Mbps while seeing no statistically significant changes in its score compared to the previous report.
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).
Coverage
Antel
Claro
Movistar
National Analysis
Claro joins Movistar as the winner of the Availability award. Both operators claim the award with statistically tied scores in the 99-99.1% range. Antel comes third, with a score of 98.1% — but our users on this network saw a modest improvement of 0.4 percentage points, compared to the previous report.
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.
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
Antel wins 4G Coverage Experience outright, with a score of 9.3 points on a 10-point scale. This means our users on Antel’s network connected to 4G services in more than nine out of 10 locations visited by our users in Uruguay. Antel commands a lead of 0.6 points over Movistar and 1.4 points over Claro. Opensignal observed no statistically significant changes in operators’ scores compared to the previous report.
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.
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
Claro wins its only outright award for Excellent Consistent Quality — and does so for the second time in a row in the Opensignal report. It met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for HD video, group video conference calls and gaming in 75.5% of users’ tests — 1.6 percentage points lower than in the previous report. Movistar comes second, 4.1 percentage points behind the winner — and 1.3 percentage points lower than in the previous report. Antel scored 70%, seeing no statistically significant changes compared to the previous report.
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
Movistar wins the Core Consistent Quality award for the second consecutive time in the Opensignal report. The operator met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower-performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing in 89.2% of the tests. Movistar wins with a lead of 2.2 percentage points over second-placed Antel.
The difference between first and third place narrowed from 4.2 percentage points, seen in the previous report, to 3.1 percentage points, as our Movistar users saw a decline of 0.6 percentage points, while Claro’s score improved by 0.5 percentage points. Antel users saw no statistically significant change in the meantime.
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 user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the mobile analytics company committed to improving mobile connectivity across the globe. We are the independent authority for understanding the true experience consumers receive on wireless networks.
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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