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.
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.
In the previous report, MTN and Vodacom jointly won 5G Download Speed. However, our Vodacom users saw a stunning increase of average 5G download speeds of 66.6 Mbps — 45.8% faster compared to the last time. Vodacom pulls ahead of MTN which saw no statistically significant change in its score compared to our llast report. As a result, Vodacom breaks out of the statistical tie it was in with MTN and wins 5G Download Speed outright with a score of 212.2Mbps, commanding an impressive lead of nearly 30% over its competitor. MTN retains 5G Upload Speed, although Vodacom halves the gap between the operators for this metric from 6.6 to 3.3 Mbps.
After sharing the podium for 5G Games Experience with Vodacom in the last report, MTN wins the award outright with a score of 39.5 points. Vodacom comes second, 1.2 points behind the winner. However, Vodacom retains the overall Games Experience award with a score of 34.1, 0.8-1 point ahead of Cell C, MTN, and Telkom that statistically tied for second place, with scores in the 33.1-33 points range.
Vodacom wins 5G Video Experience outright with a score of 77.8 points — beating MTN by 1.9 points. Both operators rate as Very Good (68-78), which means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling. However, MTN jumps on the winners’ podium for the overall Video Experience and shares the award with the previous sole winner Vodacom, with scores of 47.2-49 points.
MTN users see the fastest average overall download and upload speeds in South Africa. The operator wins Download Speed Experience outright with speeds clocking in at 29Mbps — 3.9Mbps (15.4%) faster than Vodacom’s result of 25.1Mbps. Cell C and Telkom lag behind, with scores of 13.1 and 11.8Mbps, respectively. MTN also keeps Upload Speed Experience in a firm grip, with a score of 6.4Mbps, commanding a lead of 0.9Mbps over Vodacom.
Telkom retains its only victory in the award table, for Availability. Our Telkom users connect to 3G or better services 97.9% of the time — the best result in South Africa. This is around 2.8 percentage points higher than on MTN and Vodacom’s network, which are in a statistical tie for second place. Meanwhile, MTN defends the other availability award — 5G Availability — with a score of 8.7%, while Vodacom wins 4G Coverage Experience outright with a score of 7.3 points on a 10-point scale.
Vodacom wins both consistency awards for the second time in a row in Opensignal reports. It scores 64.5% for Excellent Consistent Quality (HD video, group video conference calls, and gaming) and 77.5% for Core Consistent Quality (lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls, and web browsing). These scores reflect the percentage of users’ tests in which the operator met the minimum recommended performance thresholds. For Excellent Consistent Quality, it beats second-placed MTN by 5.5 percentage points, while for Core Consistent Quality, Vodacom commands a lead of 3.7 percentage points over runner-up Telkom.
We observe a two-horse race for mobile network experience awards in South Africa. Vodacom and MTN win seven and five awards outright, respectively, and both operators share two additional trophies together, out of 15 awards available. Vodacom wins 5G Video Experience and 5G Download Speed outright for the first time while retaining both consistency trophies, two out of three overall experiential awards (Games Experience and Voice App Experience) and 4G Coverage Experience.
MTN remains the winner of both overall speed awards, 5G Upload Speed and 5G Availability. At the same time, it adds a sole victory for 5G Games Experience to its haul for the first time. Telkom secures its only outright win for Availability, white Cell C ends with no awards this time around. Only two operators in South Africa — MTN and Vodacom — are reportable for 5G metrics — but it is worth mentioning that in December 2022, Telkom rolled out 5G in limited areas as part of its wireless broadband offering.
South Africa’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies proposes switching off 2G by June 2024 and 3G in March 2025 — with activation of new 2G and 3G devices to be prohibited six months before these deadlines, respectively. The Ministry has also published a draft policy document on spectrum trading, sharing and sub-letting. The document also puts limitations on spectrum hoarding — any licensed spectrum unused for more than two years might be revoked by the Ministry. Speaking of mobile spectrum — the digital TV switchoveris planned for the end of March 2023 and its completion is essential for mobile operators to get access to the 700MHz and 800MHz spectrum that they purchased during the auction last year.
In this report, we have analyzed the mobile network experience for South Africa’s four operators — Cell C, MTN, Telkom, and Vodacom — over the 90 days starting November 1, 2022, and ending January 29, 2022, to see how they fared.
In the previous report, Vodacom took the top spot for Video Experience. This time, however, both MTN and Vodacom are joint winners of this award, with statistically tied scores in the 47.2-49 points range on a 100-point scale. Cell C and Telkom are in a statistical tie for third place, with scores of 37.3-39.7 points.
In Video Experience — 5G Users, MTN and Vodacom tie with identical scores of 56.7 points, placing in the Fair (48-58) category. This means our 5G users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and substantial stalling. 5G users saw their overall video experience scores improve by 7.7 points for Vodacom and 9.5 points for MTN, compared to the overall scores seen by our users on average.
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:
Vodacom remains the sole winner of Games Experience, with a score of 34.1 points on a 100-point scale. It commands a lead of 0.8-1 point ahead of the remaining South African operators statistically tied for second place, with scores of 33.1-33.3 points. All operators in South Africa place in the Very Poor (under 40) category.
Previously, Vodacom commanded a lead of around 1.5 points ahead of MTN and Telkom, which tied for second place — but Vodacom’s winning margin has declined, due to its score dropping by 1.1 points. Due to an increase of 0.8 points in its score, Cell C has moved from fourth to second place, which it now shares with MTN and Telkom.
Looking at Games Experience — 5G Users, MTN and Vodacom are in a statistical tie, with scores in the 34.8-35.1 points range. Our 5G users saw minor, yet statistically significant, increases in their overall scores — 1.8 points for MTN and 0.7 points for Vodacom — compared to all users.
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:
Vodacom defends the Voice App Experience award, with a score of 67.8 points on a 100-point scale. Cell C, MTN and Telkom are in a three-way statistical tie for second place, with scores ranging from 65.7 to 66.6 points. None of the operators’ scores have changed statistically significantly since the previous report
Turning to Voice App Experience — 5G Users, MTN and Vodacom are in a statistical tie with scores in the 69.3-69.7 points range. Compared to the Voice App Experience score for all users, our 5G users saw an improvement of 3.5 points on MTN’s network and 1.5 points on Vodacom’s network.
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:
Our MTN users see the fastest average overall download speeds in South Africa. The operator wins Download Speed Experience outright with average speeds clocking in at 29Mbps — 3.9Mbps (15.4%) faster than Vodacom’s result of 25.1Mbps. Cell C and Telkom lag behind, with scores of 13.1 and 11.8Mbps, respectively. All operators’ scores remained statistically unchanged since the previous report.
Our MTN 5G users enjoy the fastest overall download speeds of 51.4Mbps, 77.5% faster than the average for all MTN users. Vodacom’s Download Speed Experience — 5G Users is almost 10Mbps lower than MTN’s score, clocking in at 41.6Mbps. This means an improvement of 65.7% for Vodacom 5G users, compared to the network average for all users.
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:
MTN comes first for Upload Speed Experience once again, with a score of 6.4Mbps. Vodacom follows close behind, 0.9Mbps behind the leader, with a score of 5.5Mbps. Telkom takes the third spot with a score of 3.8Mbps, while Cell C brings up the rear with a score of 3.1Mbps. Save for Telkom who did not see a statistically significant difference in its result — the rest of the operators in South Africa experienced declines in their scores, ranging from 0.4Mbps for Vodacom to 0.8Mbps for Cell C.
Looking at Upload Speed Experience — 5G Users, our MTN 5G users enjoyed over 50% faster upload speeds compared to the average users of the network. The uplift for our 5G users on Vodacom’s network is more modest, of nearly 20%.
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:
Vodacom wins 5G Video Experience outright with a score of 77.8 points — beating MTN by 1.9 points. Both operators rate as Very Good (68-78), which means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling. Compared to their overall Video Experience scores, both MTN and Vodacom’s 5G Video Experience scores see an identical improvement of 28.8 points.
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.
After sharing the podium for 5G Games Experience with Vodacom in the last report, MTN wins the award outright with a score of 39.5 points. Vodacom comes second, 1.2 points behind the winner. Its score slips by 1.8 points compared to the previous report, while MTN’s result remained statistically unchanged. Compared to the overall Games Experience, MTN’s score is 6.2 points higher, while Vodacom’s score — 4.3 points higher. However, both operators rate as Very Poor (under 40) for 5G Games Experience. Looking at other experiential metrics like 5G Video Experience or 5G Voice App Experience, the uplift in 5G Games Experience is significantly lower.
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.
MTN and Vodacom remain locked in a statistical tie for 5G Voice App Experience with scores in the 75.2-75.3 range, with no statistically significant changes in scores since the previous report. Both operators place in the Acceptable (74-80) category — some users are satisfied, but some experience perceptible call quality impairments. Compared to the overall Voice App Experience, MTN observe an increase in its 5G Voice App Experience score of 9.2 points, while Vodacom — 7.4 points.
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.
In the previous report, MTN and Vodacom were joint winners of 5G Download Speed. This time, Vodacom takes home the award, after a spectacular increase of average 5G download speeds of 66.6Mbps seen by our users — 45.8% faster compared to the last time. Vodacom claims the award with a score of 212.2Mbps and an impressive winning margin of 48.8 Mbps over MTN — whose score remains statistically unchanged.
Both operators see sizable 5G Download Speed to Download Speed Experience uplifts — our Vodacom 5G users enjoy average 5G download speeds 8.5 times faster than the overall network average for all users, while those on MTN network — 5.6 times.
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).
MTN retains 5G Upload Speed with a score of 20.7Mbps — 3.3Mbps ahead of Vodacom. However, Vodacom halves the gap it had to the winner from 6.6 to 3.3Mbps, due to MTN’s score dropping by 2.2Mbps and Vodacom’s increasing by 1.2Mbps. Compared to Upload Speed Experience, both MTN and Vodacom users see a 5G to overall uplift in average download speeds of 3.2 times.
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).
Once again, Telkom wins its only award outright for Availability. Our Telkom users connect to 3G or better services 97.9% of the time. This is around 2.8 percentage points higher than on MTN and Vodacom’s network, which are in a statistical tie for second place. Cell C brings up the rear with a score of 93.4%. None of the South African operators observe statistically significant changes in their scores since the previous report.
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.
MTN comes first for 5G Availability with a score of 8.7% — meaning, our 5G users with 5G subscriptions spend 8.7% of the time with active 5G connections. MTN beats Vodacom by 3.4 percentage points — down from 6.1 percentage points seen in the previous report.
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.
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.
The 4G Coverage Experience award goes to Vodacom — the operator claims it with a score of 7.3 points on a 10-point scale. This result means our Vodacom users are able to connect to 4G in more than seven out of 10 locations that our users visit. MTN follows closely, one point behind the lead. Telkom takes the third spot, with a score of 4.8 points, while Cell C comes last, scoring 4.4 points.
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.
Vodacom wins Excellent Consistent Quality for the second consecutive time in Opensignal reports, with a score of 64.5%. It beats second-placed MTN by 5.5 percentage points and third-placed Telkom by 8.5 percentage points. Cell C brings up the rear with a score of 42.2% — losing by almost 14 percentage points to Telkom. Compared to the previous reports, all operators see declines in their scores — ranging from 1.1 percentage points for MTN to 4.5 percentage points for Vodacom. Cell C and Telkom’s results dropped by 2.4 and 3.1 percentage points, respectively.
These scores reflect the percentage of users’ tests in which the operator met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for demanding services like HD video, group video conference calls, and gaming.
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.
For the second time in a row in Opensignal reports, Vodacom takes home the Core Consistent Quality award, with a score of 77.5%. Telkom is the runner-up, 3.7 percentage points behind the lead, while MTN takes the third spot, with a score of 72.8%. Cell C lags behind with a score of 61.1% — more than 10 percentage points less than third-placed MTN. These scores reflect the percentage of users’ tests in which the operator met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls, and web browsing.
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.
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.
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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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