Brazil
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.
Brazil
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
TIM wins Consistent Quality outright
TIM is Brazil’s first winner of the Consistent Quality award, with a score of 60.1% — beating second-placed Claro by 2.4 percentage points, while Vivo brings up the rear with a score of 56.3%. Consistent Quality is a critical metric that measures how often users’ experience on a network is sufficient to support various more demanding common applications used for a range of tasks. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte, and the percentage of tests attempted which do not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
TIM retains all Coverage awards — Availability, 5G Availability and 5G Reach
Our users on TIM’s network connect to 3G or better 96% of the time, which is the best Availability result in Brazil — and so, TIM wins this award once again. TIM claimed both 5G extent awards outright in the previous Brazil 5G Experience report — and the operator remains the sole winner of both of them in this report as well. Our 5G users connected to 5G services on TIM’s network 10.8% of the time — 2.3 percentage points more than on the second-placed Claro’s network. TIM wins 5G Reach outright with a score of 4.2 points on a 10-point scale. This score means our users are connected to 5G services in more than four out of 10 locations they visit.
TIM snatches the Video Experience award away from Claro
Claro won Video Experience outright In the previous mobile network experience report. This time, however, TIM comes first, scoring 58.4 points on a 100-point scale and beating the previous sole winner by 3.8 points. TIM is the only operator in Brazil to rate as Good (58-68) for Video Experience. This means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
Claro and TIM turn two shared victories into one outright win each
Claro and TIM were joint winners for both Games Experience and Voice App Experience in the previous report. This time, Claro wins Games Experience outright, but TIM seizes Voice App Experience solely. Our users on Claro’s network have a Fair (65-75) mobile gaming experience, which means users find the experience to be average and, in most cases, the game was responsive to the actions of the player — meanwhile, our TIM and Vivo users’ experience rates as Poor (40-65). Claro also remains the sole winner for both the 5G Games Experience and 5G Voice App Experience awards.
Our Claro users enjoy the fastest overall speeds in Brazil, but Vivo is catching up
Claro wins both Download Speed Experience and Upload Speed Experience again, with scores of 23.7Mbps and 8.1Mbps, respectively. However, Vivo is hot on Claro’s heels, as our Vivo users enjoy the highest increases in speeds out of all of Brazil’s operators — 3.8Mbps for Download Speed Experience and 1Mbps for Upload Speed Experience. As a result, Claro’s winning margin over Vivo decreases from 2.7Mbps to 1.1Mbps for Download Speed Experience. Vivo pulls ahead of TIM coming second for Upload Speed Experience, losing by only 0.2Mbps to the winner Claro.
Vivo retains both 5G speed awards
In the previous Brazil 5G Experience report, Vivo claimed both 5G Download Speed and 5G Upload Speed awards as the sole winner for the first time. The operator keeps both 5G speed awards in a firm grip this time around as well. Vivo triumphs for 5G Download Speed with a lightning-fast speed of 403.2Mbps — hitting the 400Mbps mark after an increase in its score of 12.3Mbps. It also defends the 5G Upload Speed award with a score of 35.9Mbps, beating statistically tied Claro and TIM by around 6.7Mbps.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest Brazil Mobile Network Experience report, we add a new award that quantifies the consistency of the experience on the country’s three national networks — Consistent Quality, which replaces the Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality awards used in previous reports.
TIM collects the most awards this time around, as it wins six awards outright and one jointly. It pulls ahead of Claro for Video Experience and Voice App Experience while it also retains the ownership of all three Coverage awards (Availability, 5G Availability, 5G Reach) and claims the new Consistent Quality award. Claro wins five awards outright — it reigns supreme in both overall speed awards along with 5G Games Experience and 5G Voice App Experience, while also winning the overall Games Experience award outright. Vivo remains the sole winner of both 5G speed awards, but now it has to share 5G Video Experience with TIM, after winning it outright in the previous report.
ANATEL continues to approve 3.5GHz SA deployments in Brazilian municipalities on a rolling basis. Between July 2022 and June 2023, the regulator authorized these deployments across 1,610 towns and cities in total — which are home to 66.4% of Brazil’s population, around 141 million people. Opensignal has analyzed the effect of 5G deployments in the 3.5GHz band in Brazil’s 27 capitals — federal capital Brasília and 26 state capitals.
The Brazilian Association of Competitive Telecommunications Service Providers asked the Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) to investigate the failure of Claro, TIM and Vivo to implement requirements linked to the Oi takeover, that would facilitate the progress of regional operators and MVNOs. Notably, all three operators received no offers for the surplus of base stations obtained after the Oi acquisition and asked CADE to lift the regulatory obligation to dispose of these additional towers.
In this report, we examine the mobile network experience of our users on the three main mobile network operators in Brazil – Claro, TIM, and Vivo – over the period of 90 days between March 1, 2023 and May 29, 2023, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Claro was the sole winner of the Video Experience award in the previous report. This time, however, TIM wins the award outright, with a score of 58.4 points on a 100-point scale, beating Claro by 3.8 points and third-placed Vivo by 4.2 points. TIM is the only operator in Brazil to rate as Good (58-68) for Video Experience. This means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling. Both Claro and Vivo place in the Fair (48-58) category.
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
Claro and TIM jointly won Games Experience in the previous report. This time around, Claro wins Games Experience outright, with a score of 65.3 points on a 100-point scale — 0.5 points ahead of TIM. Vivo brings up the rear with a score of 59 points.
Our users on Claro’s network have a Fair (65-75) gaming experience, which means users find the experience to be average and in most cases the game was responsive to the actions of the player. Meanwhile, both TIM’s and Vivo’s experience rate as Poor (40-65), although TIM is only 0.1 points shy of the Fair rating.
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
After Claro and TIM shared Voice App Experience in the previous report, TIM wins it outright this time around, with a score of 75.5 points on a 100-point scale. Claro takes second place, 0.6 points behind the winner, while Vivo comes last, with a score of 71.7 points.
Claro and TIM rate as Acceptable (74-80) in terms of Voice App Experience. This means some users are satisfied but others experience perceptible call quality impairments, including clicking sounds of short duration or distortion. Meanwhile, Vivo places in a category below — Poor (66-74).
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
Once again, Claro wins Download Speed Experience with a score of 23.7Mbps. However, Vivo is hot on Claro’s heels, with a score of 22.5Mbps. Our Vivo users see the highest boost in Download Speed Experience out of all of Brazil’s operators — of 3.8Mbps, compared to TIM’s increase of 2.8Mbps and Claro’s rise of 2.2Mbps. As a result, Claro’s winning margin over Vivo decreases from 2.7Mbps to 1.1Mbps. TIM brings up the rear with a score of 21.3Mbps.
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
Claro defends the award for Upload Speed Experience with a score of 8.1Mbp. Vivo pulls ahead of TIM, thanks to an increase in its score of 1Mbps — while Claro’s and TIM’s Upload Speed Experience scores improve by 0.5Mbps and 0.4Mbps, respectively. Vivo comes second for Upload Speed Experience with a score of 8Mbps, losing by only 0.2Mbps to Claro. TIM comes third with a score of 7.9Mbps — meaning, only 0.3Mbps separate all three Brazilian operators.
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
Previously, Vivo was the sole winner of 5G Video Experience, but this time around, the operator has to share the award with TIM, with scores of 75.1-75.2 points on a 100-point scale. Claro takes third place, with a score of 73.9 points — around 1.3 points behind the statistically tied winners.
All Brazilian operators rate as Very Good (68-78) for 5G Video Experience. This rating 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.
5G 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
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
Claro wins 5G Games Experience for the third consecutive time and remains unmatched for the award since Opensignal introduced it for the first time in the July 2022 report. Claro triumphs with a score of 84.6 points on a 100-point scale — 2.1 points ahead of the runner-up Vivo and 3.4 points ahead of third-placed TIM.
Claro, TIM, and Vivo all place in the Good (75-85) category for 5G Games Experience. This means most users deem the experience acceptable and do not experience a delay between their actions and the game when connected to 5G.
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
Claro remains unbeaten for 5G Voice App Experience ever since Opensignal included it in its reports in July 2022. The operator wins this award for the third time in a row, with a score of 82.4 points on a 100-point scale. TIM and Vivo tie for second place, with identical scores of 81.2 points — around 1.2 points behind the winner.
All Brazil’s operators rate as Good (80-87) in terms of the quality of our users’ experience when using voice app services over 5G connections. Many users are satisfied, but some experience minor quality impairments. Sometimes the background is not quite clear, it is either hazy or not loud enough.
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
Vivo wins 5G Download Speed outright for the second time in a row, with a score of 403.2Mbps — 52Mbps ahead of TIM. It surpasses the 400Mbps mark after an increase in its score of 12.3Mbps.
TIM comes second with a score of 351.1Mbps — our 5G users see 13.4Mbps faster 5G download speeds on this network compared to the previous report. Claro comes third, almost 50Mbps behind TIM. However, its users see the highest increase in 5G download speeds — 24.4Mbps — and as a result, Claro hits the 300Mbps mark this time around.
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
Vivo remains the sole winner of the 5G Upload Speed award and claims it outright for the second consecutive time, with a score of 35.9Mbps. Vivo 5G users observe the highest boost in their 5G upload speeds in Brazil, of 1Mbps, compared to the previous report.
Claro and TIM are in a statistical tie for second place, with scores of 29.1-29.3Mbps — around 6.7Mbps behind the winner. Claro forces a statistical tie against TIM as its score has increased by 0.6Mbps, while TIM’s score remains statistically unchanged.
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
Claro
TIM
Vivo
National Analysis
Our users on TIM’s network connect to 3G or better 96% of the time, which is the best score in Brazil. TIM’s score has minimally decreased by 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous report, while Claro’s and Vivo’s scores remain statistically unchanged. Vivo takes second place, with a score of 95.1%, and Claro comes last, with a score of 94.6%.
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
TIM wins 5G Availability outright for the second time in a row. Our 5G users connect to 5G services on TIM’s network 10.8% of the time — 2.3 percentage points more than on the second-placed Claro’s network. Vivo brings up the rear with a score of 6.2%. Claro’s score has improved by two percentage points since the previous report, while Vivo’s score has dropped by 0.9 percentage points, and TIM’s score remains statistically unchanged.
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
TIM secures the 5G Reach award outright for the second consecutive time with a score of 4.2 points on a 10-point scale. This score means our TIM users are connected to 5G services in more than four out of 10 locations they visit. Claro is the runner-up with a score of 3.1 points — one point behind TIM. Vivo comes third with a score of 2.6 points. All operators observe improvements in their 5G Reach scores, ranging from 0.3 points for Vivo to 0.7 points for TIM and 0.9 points for Claro.
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
TIM is the first winner of the Consistent Quality award, with a score of 60.1% — beating second-placed Claro by 2.4 percentage points, while Vivo brings up the rear with a score of 56.3%. The scores reflect the percentage of tests in which users’ experience on a network is sufficient to support the requirements of more common demanding applications, such as watching videos, playing games, and making group video conference calls.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical tasks on their devices.
We combine different experience indicators such as download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet discard, and time to first byte to calculate Consistent Quality. These components are evaluated against thresholds recommended by various more demanding common applications used for a range of common tasks.
To calculate the metric value, the proportion of tests that pass the requirements of Consistent Quality is multiplied by the test success ratio, which is the proportion of completed tests to all tests conducted. Tests that pass indicate that activities such as video calling, uploading an image to social media, or using smart home applications will be possible without noticeable lag or slowdown.
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