Costa Rica
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.
Costa Rica
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
Claro wins all five overall experience awards for the second report in a row
Claro reaffirms its unmatched performance by winning all five awards for our users' overall experience — measured across all generations of mobile experience together. Claro continues to lead in Video Experience, Games Experience, Voice App Experience, and both the speed categories — Download Speed Experience and Upload Speed Experience.
Liberty users experience the biggest improvement in average download speeds
Liberty users have witnessed the most significant enhancement in their mobile download speeds. Since the last report, their average download speeds have skyrocketed by an impressive 54.1%, soaring from 8.8Mbps to 13.6Mbps. In comparison, Claro users observed an 18.5% increase. Similarly, Liberty users experienced remarkable progress in their average upload speeds, which surged by 38.7%, from 5.1Mbps to 7.1Mbps.
The most consistent experience in Costa Rica is with Claro
Claro stands out as the undisputed champion when it comes to consistent quality. Claro secures both the Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality awards. With an impressive score of 60.3%, Claro dominates the Excellent Consistent Quality category, leading Kölbi’s score of 55.3% by a significant five percentage points. Regarding Core Consistent Quality, Claro maintains its winning streak, surpassing Kölbi by 1.2 percentage points, with scores of 78.2% and 77%, respectively.
Kölbi users report the highest Availability in Costa Rica
Our Kölbi users continue to spend the largest proportion of their time connected to a 3G or better cellular signal (Availability) — 97.7%, on average. Meanwhile, Liberty and Claro follow closely behind with scores of 97.3% and 96.9%, respectively.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
Costa Rica is gearing up to introduce 5G technology. Recently, the country's Superintendency of Telecommunications (Sutel) called on the government to recover unused and underused spectrum in the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands, which is considered crucial for 5G in Costa Rica. Sutel has emphasized the need for immediate action to avoid further delays in the arrival of 5G. State-backed utility firm Grupo ICE (Kölbi) has been identified as the party responsible for underutilizing spectrum, and efforts have been made to retrieve unused frequencies.
Following a consultation process, Costa Rica’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT) has formally instructed Sutel to proceed with a 5G spectrum auction as soon as possible. The auction will primarily focus on the 3.5GHz band, but frequencies in the 2600MHz band may also be included. Sutel will be responsible for organizing the auction, including the public consultation, selecting eligible bidders, and managing the tender process, with the auction scheduled to take place in the second half of 2023.
While 5G is a key area of focus in Costa Rica, existing networks continue to play a vital role because that's the network consumers spend most of their time connected to.
In Opensignal's latest analysis of the mobile network experience in Costa Rica, Claro has once again emerged as the leader, winning all five overall experience awards for the second consecutive report. Claro outperforms the competition in Video Experience, Games Experience, Voice App Experience, as well as both Download Speed Experience and Upload Speed Experience. Meanwhile, Liberty users have experienced a significant improvement in their mobile download and upload speeds, witnessing an impressive increase compared to the previous report.
Furthermore, when it comes to consistent quality, Claro stands out as the undisputed champion, securing both the Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality awards. Kölbi was the only other operator to win an award with users reporting the highest Availability in Costa Rica, spending the largest proportion of their time connected to a 3G or better cellular signal. However, when we only look at the proportion of the time that our 4G users are connected to 4G services (4G Availability), Claro holds onto first place, with a score of 89.2%.
In this report, we have analyzed the mobile network experience of Costa Rica's three national operators — Claro, Kölbi and Liberty — in the 90 days starting on February 1, 2023, and ending on May 1, 2023, to see how they measure up. In addition, we delved deeper into seven different regions of Costa Rica, comparing the experience users had with the three national operators.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Once again, our users had the best mobile gaming experience on Claro's network. Claro remains the sole winner of the Video Experience award, scoring 52.4 points on a 100-point scale. The operator commands a lead of 1.4-1.6 points over Kölbi and Liberty. With these scores, the overall quality of experience while streaming mobile videos in Costa Rica rates Fair (48-58) across all three networks. A Fair rating means our users are, 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
Our users on Claro continue to enjoy the best available experience in Costa Rica when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections. Claro once again wins the Games Experience award, this time with a score of 61.6 points on a 100-point scale, giving it a lead of more than 10 points over second-placed Liberty.
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
Claro retains the Voice App Experience award with a score of 77.7 points — around four points ahead of Kölbi and Liberty. By virtue of this, Claro keeps an Acceptable (74-80) rating for Voice App Experience, while Kölbi and Liberty both narrowly rate Poor (66-74) with statistically tied scores of 73.7-73.8 points (on a 100-point scale).
An Acceptable Voice App Experience means some users are satisfied. Perceptible call quality impairments are experienced by some users. Clicking sounds of short duration or distortion are heard, and/or the volume may not be sufficiently loud. Listeners are 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
Claro users experience the fastest overall download speeds in Costa Rica, 24.6Mbps on average — 5.7 Mbps faster than Kölbi and 11Mbps faster than Liberty.
Since the last report, our users on Claro and Liberty have seen their overall average download speeds significantly improve. Our Liberty users observed the largest boost of 4.8Mbps (54.1%) — while those on Claro saw their speeds improve by 3.8Mbps (18.5%). Meanwhile, users on Kölbi saw a slight decline of 0.8 Mbps (4.2%).
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
Our users across all three national networks in Costa Rica have experienced an improvement in their average upload speeds compared to the last report. Liberty users saw the greatest increase of 38.7% in their Upload Speed Experience, followed by those on Claro (30.6%). Meanwhile, Kölbi's score improved by 6.3%.
As a result of these improvements, Claro remains the outright winner of Upload Speed Experience. However, Liberty beats Kölbi for second place, establishing a lead of 1Mbps over it.
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).
Regional Analysis
Claro continues to dominate the mobile network experience across all regions in Costa Rica. This time it achieves the top position in all five overall experience categories analyzed in this report across all seven provinces, either jointly or outright. Claro is the only operator to come top for Download Speed Experience and Upload Speed Experience across the regions analyzed. Our Claro users’ download speeds range from 18.8Mbps in Limon to 26.3Mbps in Heredia, while their upload speeds range from 8.2Mbps in Guanacaste to 11.6Mbps in Heredia. In comparison, Kölbi users experience average download speeds ranging from 15.2Mbps to 21Mbps and upload speeds ranging from 4.6Mbps to 7.3Mbps. Liberty users, on the other hand, have average download speeds in the range of 13-15.2Mbps, while their average upload speeds vary from 5.8Mbps to 8.5Mbps depending on the province.
In addition, Claro users enjoy the best Games and Voice App Experience across all seven regions. Claro shares the top position with Kölbi and Liberty for Video Experience in six regions, while in Puntarenas, it shares the top spot with Liberty.
Regional Analysis Summary: Costa Rica, Mobile Network Experience Report, June 2023
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- Limon
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Coverage
Claro
Kölbi
Liberty
National Analysis
Kölbi emerges as the winner in a closely contested competition for the Availability award, achieving a score of 97.7%, beating Liberty's and Claro's scores of 97.3% and 96.9%, respectively. These scores mean users across all three national networks spend more than 96% time of their time, on average, connected to a 3G or better signal.
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
4G Availability — the average proportion of time that our 4G users spend connected to 4G services — has improved across the board. Claro remains the sole winner of Opensignal's 4G Availability award, with a score of 89.2%, followed by Liberty with 84.9% and Kölbi trailing behind its rivals with 69.1%.
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.
Regional Analysis
The regional Availability results align closely with the national results, with Kölbi securing the top spot for Availability in all seven regions. However, it only wins outright in San Jose, sharing first place with another operator in the other regions. In five regions, Kölbi is a joint winner alongside Liberty, but in Cartago, Claro and Kölbi share the top position.
Regional Analysis Summary: Costa Rica, Mobile Network Experience Report, June 2023
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A-I
- Alajuela
- Cartago
- Guanacaste
- Heredia
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J-R
- Limon
- Puntarenas
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S-Z
- San Jose
in Alajuela
in Cartago
in Guanacaste
in Heredia
in Limon
in Puntarenas
in San Jose
Consistency
National Analysis
Claro is the winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality award, as 60.3% of our Claro users' tests met the minimum recommended performance thresholds sufficient to support demanding common applications. Kolbi is in second place with 55.3%, followed by Liberty with 51.1%.
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
Claro is the outright winner of the Core Consistent Quality award, with a score of 78.2% — 1.2 percentage points higher than Kolbi. Meanwhile, Liberty brings up the rear with a score of 70.2 points. Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower-performance applications, including standard definition (SD) video, voice calls and web browsing.
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