Saudi Arabia
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.
Saudi Arabia
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
Stc has the fastest mobile experience in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Our users on average see the fastest download and upload speeds on stc’s network, across all network generations combined and when connected to 5G. The operator wins all four speed awards in this report outright – this is the third consecutive mobile network experience report where stc is the outright winner of both the 5G Download Speed and 5G Upload Speed awards together. It is also the seventh time in a row that stc has won the Download Speed Experience and Upload Speed Experience awards outright.
Stc has the best overall and 5G experience across all experiential categories
Our users on stc’s network enjoy the best experience when watching online video, playing multiplayer games, or using over-the-top (OTT) voice applications, across all network generations combined and when connected to 5G. For Video Experience, stc achieves a score of 61.9 on a 100-point scale with Good (58-68) level of user experience, while for 5G Video Experience, its score is 73.9 points with Very Good (68-78) level of user experience.
Stc has the most consistent experience
Stc wins both the Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent quality awards in this report. This means that our users on stc’ network see the greatest proportion of tests which meet the minimum thresholds for both the greater and the lesser demanding mobile applications, with 66.7% and 82.2% of users’ tests meeting the respective thresholds. In the previous Opensignal reports where these metrics were published, both of the consistency awards were won by Mobily outright.
All national operators in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have 5G download speeds in excess of 200Mbps
Users on all three national networks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia see average 5G download speeds in excess of 200Mbps – but it is stc that wins the 5G Download Speed award outright with speeds of 254.9Mbps, ahead of Mobily’s and Zain’s statistically tied speeds of 201.6-202Mbps. Our Zain users’ average 5G download speeds have improved significantly – having increased by 27.3Mbps (15.7%) since the last report. In addition, Zain’s 5G Upload Speed score has risen by 2.8Mbps (17.9%).
Mobily catches up on 5G Availability
Mobily, stc and Zain now jointly win the 5G Availability award with statistically tied scores of 22.7-23.9%. This means that, on average, our 5G users on the three national operators in Saudi Arabia all spent over a fifth of their time with an active 5G connection. Previously, stc and Zain shared the winning experience for this category.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest Mobile Network Experience report for Saudi Arabia, Saudi Telecom Company (stc) dominates as the outright winner for overall experience, 5G experience, and consistency — it is the outright winner of all 12 awards across those categories — and jointly wins all three coverage awards. Mobily’s awards haul is reduced to three joint wins in this report – all for coverage, having previously won both consistency awards and another six joint awards across other categories in the previous report. Zain is reduced to one joint win for 5G Availability, losing out on a joint win for 5G Reach that it had previously.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) continues driving investment in its telecommunication and digital infrastructure, working towards achieving the Saudi Vision 2030 initiative. Saudi Arabia’s Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) held an auction in late November/early December 2022, where it allocated spectrum in the 2100MHz band for non-terrestrial networks purposes. The auction was held as part of the effort by the Kingdom to cover rural and remote areas, using modern satellite technologies. Stc ended up securing both of the available spectrum blocks and, as the license holder under the terms of auction, is required to build an Air to Ground network and provide the Kingdom with mobile satellite services.
Stc, together with Ericsson, in November 2022 announced the deployment of an AI driven solution that analyzes the operator’s 4G and 5G radio access network (RAN), and optimizes it to improve customer experience and energy efficiency. The operator, together with Huawei, deployed a ‘SuperLink’ solution in Dammam, the Kingdom’s fifth most populous city, and in November 2022 reported on success of the solution that avoids hardware stacking and which thereby delivered long-reach large-capacity suburban 5G coverage with a single antenna and a significantly reduced tower load.
Zain and Qualcomm, in February 2023, announced expanded collaboration to drive cloud-native and open radio access networks (ORAN) 5G infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Zain has also set out plans to facilitate the rollout of 5G-Advanced in Saudi Arabia, and has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei for the delivery of a ‘5.5G City’ innovation project during MWC 2023.
Mobily, in late 2022, held a 5G standalone access (SA) trial in collaboration with Nokia, using tri-band 5G Carrier Aggregation (CA), during which it achieved speeds of 3.8Gbps on its network.
In this report we look at the mobile network experience of the three national mobile network operators in Saudi Arabia — Mobily, stc and Zain — over a period of 90 days starting on January 1, 2023 and ending on March 31, 2023, to see how they fare against each other.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Stc wins the Video Experience award outright. The operator scores 61.9 points on a 100-point scale, just one point ahead of second-placed Mobily.
Both stc and Mobily have a Good (58-68) level of user experience for watching online video on their smartphones – our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling. The experience of our users on Zain’s network places one category lower – Fair (48-58).
Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users’ real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
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
With a score of 58.6 points, stc is the sole winner of the award for multiplayer real-time gaming. Mobily is close behind, in second place, with 52.9 points – 5.7 points behind the leader.
To create the Games Experience award, Opensignal analyzed various genres of mobile game including battle royale (examples include PUBG and Fortnite), sports titles such as Pro Evolution Soccer, and massive multiplayer online battle area (MOBA) games such as Arena of Valor.
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
Stc is the outright winner for Voice App Experience, with 77.5 points on a 100-point scale. Mobily is the runner-up with 75.6 points – only 1.9 points behind the winner.
Stc and Mobily have an Acceptable (74-80) level of user experience for using over-the-top (OTT) voice apps. This means that listeners are generally able to comprehend without repetition. However, some users experience perceptible call quality impairments. Clicking sounds of short duration or distortion are heard, or the volume may not be sufficiently loud. Third placed Zain users have a Poor (66-74) Voice App Experience with a score of 70.7 on a 100-point scale.
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 average overall download speeds of 43.8Mbps, our users have the fastest Download Speed Experience on stc’s network. Mobily’s users see speeds 6.7Mbps behind the winner at 37.2Mbps on average, while Zain users have average speeds of 25.4Mbps.
Our users on all three operators in the market have seen their average overall download speeds improve since the last report, with an increase of 3.3Mbps (8%) for stc, of 4Mbps (11.9%) for Mobily, and of 6.2Mbps (32.5%) for Zain.
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
Stc wins the Upload Speed Experience award with our users on its network observing average overall upload speeds of 11.7Mbps. As with Download Speed Experience, Mobily is ranked second, with average speeds of 9Mbps, while Zain users have the third fastest average upload speeds of 6.7Mbps.
All three operators in the market’s Upload Speed Experience scores have improved since the last report, with an increase of 1Mbps (9.6%) for stc, of 0.4Mbps (4.3%) for Mobily, and of 1Mbps (16.6%) for Zain.
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
Stc wins the 5G Video Experience award with a score of 73.9 points on a 100-point scale. Mobily comes behind with a score of 72.9 – just 1.1 points behind the winner.
Our users see much higher video experience scores using 5G on all three operators compared with the overall Video Experience, seen across all technologies – the user experience on all three operators is ranked as Very Good (68-78) in Saudi Arabia as a result. This means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling when connected to 5G.
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
Stc wins the 5G Games Experience award with a score of 72.9 on a 100-point scale – which is six points ahead of Mobily’s score of 66.9. Zain significantly loses out in this category with a score of 43.4 on a 100-point scale.
The user experience on stc and Mobily is therefore rated as Fair (65-75) – in most cases the game is responsive to the actions of the player with most users feeling like they have control over the game. The majority of players notice a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game.
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
Stc wins the 5G Voice App Experience award with a score of 82.4 on a 100-point scale – just 1.6 points ahead of the score seen by our users on Mobily, of 80.8 points. The user experience on both operators is rated as Good (80-87), indicating that many users are satisfied. However, minor quality impairments are experienced by some users. Sometimes the background is not quite clear, it may be either hazy or not loud enough. Clicking sounds or distortion are very rarely present.
Zain brings up the rear with a score of 75.4 on a 100-point scale, with user experience rated as Acceptable (74-80) – meaning some users are satisfied and listeners are generally able to comprehend without repetition. However, some users experience perceptible call quality impairments.
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
Users of all three national networks in Saudi Arabia see average 5G download speeds in excess of 200Mbps – stc wins the 5G Download Speed award with a score of 254.9Mbps, ahead of Mobily’s and Zain’s statistically tied scores of 201.6-202Mbps.
Our users on stc see no significant difference in their 5G Download Speed score compared to the last report, while Zain users’ speeds increased by 27.3Mbps (15.7%). Meanwhile Mobily users saw an 11.1Mbps (5.2%) decline compared to the last report.
This is the third consecutive mobile network experience report, in which stc wins the 5G Download Speed award outright in Saudi Arabia.
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
Stc wins the 5G Upload Speed award with 27.1Mbps – 3.2Mbps ahead of Mobily’s score of 23.8 Mbps.
Our users on stc see no significant difference in their 5G Upload Speed score compared to the last report, while Zain users’ speeds increased by 2.8Mbps (17.9%) and Mobily users’ score rose by 1.4Mbps (6.4%).
This is the third consecutive mobile network experience report, in which stc is the sole winner of the 5G Upload Speed award in Saudi Arabia.
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
Mobily
stc
Zain
National Analysis
Our smartphone users in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia spend almost all of their time connected to 3G or better signal – reflected in the Availability score. Mobily and stc share the Availability award with statistically tied scores of 97.7-97.8% – while Zain is in third place with 95.4%.
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
All three operators – Mobily, stc and Zain jointly win the 5G Availability award with statistically tied scores of 22.7-23.9%. Our 5G users on the three national operators in Saudi Arabia all spend over a fifth of their time with an active 5G connection on average.
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
Mobily and stc jointly win the 5G Reach award, with statistically tied scores of 4.8-4.9 points on a 10-point scale. This corresponds to the geographical reach of the operators’ 5G networks — nearly half of the locations that our Mobily and stc users visit are covered by 5G signal.
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
Stc wins the Excellent Consistent Quality award with a score of 66.7%. This means that our users have the greatest proportion of tests that meet the minimum thresholds for demanding applications when using stc’s network. In the previous two Opensignal reports, Excellent Consistent Quality was won by Mobily outright. Now, Mobily is 6.1 percentage points behind the winner, with a score of 60.6 points.
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
Stc wins the Core Consistent Quality award with a score of 82.2%. This means that our users have the greatest proportion of tests that meet the minimum thresholds for the lesser demanding applications when using stc’s network. In the previous two Opesignal reports, Core Consistent Quality was won by Mobily outright. Now, Mobily is 5.8 percentage points behind the winner, with a score of 76.4 points.
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