Egypt
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.
Egypt
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
Etisalat cannot be beaten on speed
Etisalat wins the Upload Speed Experience award outright for the second time in a row. The operator's score of 6.2Mbps is nearly 12% higher than that of its closest competitor, WE. Etisalat and WE share the Download Speed Experience award with statistically similar speeds of 18.1-18.3Mbps, putting them around 2.6Mbps ahead of third-placed Vodafone and roughly 3.8Mbps above Orange. Etisalat catches WE, the previous outright winner, due to a 1.6Mbps (10%) increase in score since the previous report, while WE's only increased by 1Mbps (5.7%). Vodafone managed an impressive 2.3Mbps (17.3%) increase, but Orange users saw no statistical change in score between reports.
Vodafone continues its winning streak for 4G Availability and 4G Coverage Experience
Since their introduction, 4G Availability in March 2019 and 4G Coverage Experience in March 2020, Vodafone has claimed the top spot in both awards. Vodafone has previously claimed eight wins for 4G Availability: a shared first place with Orange and seven outright wins — it now adds an eighth outright win to its tally with a score of 87.2%. Looking at 4G Coverage Experience, Vodafone has been the sole winner of the award in every report, making this its seventh uncontested victory for this metric. Its impressive score of 9.2 points on a 10-point scale keeps it 0.6 points above runner-up Etisalat.
Etisalat keeps a tight grip on Availability
Etisalat remains the outright winner of the Availability award, its score of 96.7% putting it 0.6 percentage points ahead of Vodafone. Third place is shared by Orange and WE, which statistically tie with scores of 95.3-95.6%. Etisalat's lead has shrunk since the previous report, due to Vodafone users seeing a slight increase of 0.6 percentage points, while all other operators saw no statistical change.
Our Egyptian users have the best Video Experience on WE's network
WE takes home the award for Video Experience, scoring 58.3 points on a 100-point scale. Second place goes to Vodafone, while Etisalat and Orange place third and fourth respectively. In addition, WE places joint first in the remaining two experiential awards, Games Experience and Voice App Experience. For both awards it shares the glory with Vodafone — the pair achieving the same score of 73 points for Voice App Experience, and statistically level scores of 45.6-45.8 points for Games Experience.
Vodafone claims Core Consistent Quality once again, and now shares Excellent Consistent Quality with WE
Vodafone has proven itself once again to be number one for Core Consistent Quality. It retains the award with a respectable score of 80.8% — 1.9 percentage points in front of WE. However, the gap between first and second place has narrowed due to a 3.1 percentage point increase for WE since the last report, while all other operators saw a decrease in score. Vodafone now shares the Excellent Consistent Quality award with WE. The operators tie with statistically similar scores of 57-57.2%, around 9.6 percentage points ahead of third-placed Etisalat, with Orange placing last with 38.9%.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In this latest Opensignal analysis of the Egyptian mobile network experience, Vodafone is the most awarded operator in this report, but WE's tally is just one award smaller. Vodafone totals six awards, three shared with WE and three all to itself — it maintains its outright wins in 4G Availability, 4G Coverage Experience and Core Consistent Quality. WE manages a respectable five first place finishes, although it only wins one outright (Video Experience).
Etisalat boosts its haul to three wins. The operator complements its two outright wins (Availability and Upload Speed Experience — both retained from the last report) with a joint win for Download Speed Experience with WE. Orange does not win any awards this time, but our users on its network saw the greatest improvements in Games Experience (4.7%) and Voice App Experience (2.6%).
Since the previous report, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has accepted Telecom Egypt's (WE) request for more spectrum. Telecom Egypt's offer for 5MHz in the 1800MHz was accepted for a price of $125 million — the operator received a 20MHz block of 2600MHz band spectrum in late 2020 for a price of $305 million. Both of these allocations will be valid for a 10-year period. The new spectrum allocation will decrease congestion on the operator’s network, supporting heavier traffic from an increasing mobile customer base, leading to faster and more consistent user speeds.
If you are interested in more Opensignal analysis based on the Egyptian mobile network please check out our report on How Ramadan affects mobile network experience.
In this report, we've analyzed data across four nationwide mobile operators — Etisalat, Orange, Vodafone and WE — gathered in the 90-day period starting on December 1, 2022, and ending on February 28, 2023, to see how they measure up.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
WE wins the Video Experience award once again, making this the fourth outright win in a row for WE in this metric. The operator takes home the award with a score of 58.3 points on a 100-point scale, 1.9 points ahead of its closest rival Vodafone. All operators rate as at least Fair (48-58), with WE in the Good (58-68) category.
A Good rating means that our users were, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling. A Fair rating indicates that users were, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and substantial stalling.
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
Vodafone joins WE on the winners' podium for Games Experience, as the pair statistically tie with scores of 45.6-45.8 points on a 100-point scale. Orange comes in third, around 1.1 points below the leaders, and Etisalat brings up the rear.
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
As with Games Experience, Vodafone and WE are joint winners of the Voice App Experience award. Vodafone, which previously won the award outright, now shares it with WE as both operators score 73 points on a 100-point scale. WE was able to catch Vodafone due to a 1.2% increase in its score since the last report, while Vodafone's score did not change significantly.
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
Etisalat and WE share the award for Download Speed Experience, with statistically similar scores of 18.1-18.3Mbps — around 2.6Mbps above third-placed Vodafone, and 3.8Mbps above fourth-placed Orange. Etisalat catches WE, the previous outright winner, due to a 1.6Mbps (10%) increase in its score since the previous report, while WE only increased 1Mbps (5.7%). Vodafone managed an impressive 2.3Mbps (17.3%) increase, but Orange users saw no statistical change in score between reports.
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
Etisalat is once again first for Upload Speed Experience, this time with a score of 6.2Mbps — 0.7Mbps ahead of closest runner-up, WE. Orange and Vodafone finish third and fourth with scores of 5.3Mbps and 4.9Mbps, respectively. However, Vodafone is the only operator with an increase in score since the last report — having gained 0.6Mbps (14.1%). Our users on Etisalat and WE both saw a decrease in score, while Orange's score remained statistically unchanged.
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
Etisalat
Orange
Vodafone
WE
National Analysis
Etisalat wins the Availability award outright for the second time in a row. The operator scores 96.7% — 0.6 percentage points above its closest rival, Vodafone. This means that our users on Etisalat's network proportionally spend 96.7% of their time with at least a 3G connection. Orange and WE statistically tie for third place with scores of 95.3-95.6%.
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
Vodafone is the outright winner for 4G Availability, an award it has won in every Opensignal report on the Egyptian mobile network experience — seven previous outright wins, and one shared victory with Orange. Vodafone wins this time with a score of 87.2%. Orange and WE statistically tie for second place, and Etisalat brings up the rear. The proportion of time our 4G users spend connected to 4G has increased from that seen in the previous report regardless of their choice of operator. Our WE users reported the largest increase — 7.7 percentage points.
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.
4G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 4G device and a 4G subscription — but have never connected to 5G — had a 4G 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
Vodafone once again comes top for 4G Coverage Experience and it remains the sole winner of the award since we added it to Opensignal mobile network experience reports for Egypt in March 2020. Vodafone scores 9.2 points on a 10-point scale — 0.6 points above Etisalat and 1.4 points above Orange, with WE a distant fourth. All four operators saw increases in score between reports, ranging from WE's 4.1% increase to Vodafone's slight 0.5% increase.
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.
Consistency
National Analysis
WE shares the Excellent Consistent Quality award with Vodafone, catching up to statistically tie for first place. The pair score 57-57.2%, around 9.6 percentage points ahead of third-placed Etisalat. Since we added it to Opensignal mobile network experience reports for Egypt, Excellent Consistent Quality has been heavily contested by these two operators — with WE winning the award outright, then Vodafone claiming it, and now the pair sharing first place.
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
Vodafone again takes home the Core Consistent Quality award, this time with a score of 80.8%. This means that users on Vodafone's network had the highest proportion of tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for less demanding applications such as web browsing. However, the gap between first and second place has narrowed due to a 3.1 percentage point increase for WE since the last report, while all other operators saw a decrease in score.
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