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Iraq

Mobile Network Experience Report
July 2023

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.

Author: Sam Fenwick, Principal Analyst Data Collection Period: Mar 01 - May 29, 2023

Iraq

Mobile Network Experience Report
July 2023

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.

Author: Sam Fenwick, Principal Analyst

Data Collection Period: Mar 01 - May 29, 2023

Key Findings

Asiacell users see the fastest overall speeds in Iraq

Asiacell continues to be unbeaten in terms of the average speeds seen by our Iraqi users. The operator wins Download Speed Experience and Upload Speed Experience for the fourth consecutive time, meaning no other Iraqi operator has won either award since we began reporting on the Iraqi mobile network experience back in January 2022. This time, our Asiacell users observed average download speeds of 23.3Mbps, 10.8Mbps (87.2%) faster than Zain users and more than twice as fast as Korek’s score of 10.7Mbps. Asiacell wins Upload Speed Experience with a score of 8.1Mbps — far ahead of Zain’s and Korek’s scores of 4.4Mbps and 3.4Mbps, respectively. Asiacell hasn’t had everything its way — its average upload speeds have dropped by 2Mbps (19.6%) since the last report.

Asiacell wins every award either outright or jointly

Remarkably, Asiacell is the outright winner across seven out of eight categories and is part of a three-way tie for first place for the remaining award — Games Experience. This success builds on that from our previous three reports — as in all of them, Asiacell wins the majority of awards outright and in the last report, Asiacell was just one award short of the clean sweep it has achieved this time around.

Asiacell comes top for Consistent Quality

Asiacell is the first Iraqi operator to win the new Consistent Quality award — which replaces Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality. It does so with a score of 38.3%, giving it a lead of 8.2 percentage points over second-placed Zain’s 30.1%, while Korek is in last place with 27.9%. 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.

Asiacell users spend the most time with a cellular signal

Asiacell continues to come top for Availability — the proportion of time that our users have a 3G or better connection — and for 4G Availability, which is the proportion of time that our 4G users are connected to 4G. It wins Availability with a score of 97.9% and a lead of around five percentage points over Korek’s and Zain’s statistically tied scores of 91.7-93.9%. For 4G Availability, Asiacell wins with a score of 85.7% and a lead of 16.2 percentage points over second-placed Zain’s 69.5%. Korek is in last place with 61.9%.

All three operators continue to share the Games Experience award

As was in the case in the previous report, all three Iraqi national operators are statistically tied for Games Experience. Asiacell, Korek and Zain are therefore joint winners for Games Experience with scores of 38.9-41.6 points on a 100-point scale. There is considerable room for improvement in terms of our Iraqi users’ experience when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections as the three operators are on the border between the Poor (40-65) and Very Poor (under 40) categories.

Mobile Experience Awards

July 2023, Iraq Report
Download Image

Market Overview

Asiacell continues to win the lion’s share of awards, this time winning seven out of eight awards outright and sharing the Games Experience award with Korek and Zain. This is the fourth mobile network experience report on Iraq and Asiacell’s impressive winning streak for Download Speed Experience, Upload Speed Experience and Video Experience set in our first report remains unbroken. The operator is also the only Iraqi operator to win the Availability award, which was added in the July 2022 report. Only time will tell if Asiacell’s hold on the new Consistent Quality award — which is included for the first time this time around — will be as long-lasting.

In this report, we've analyzed our data gathered in the 90-day period beginning on March 1 and ending on May 29, 2023, to see how Iraq’s three national operators — Asiacell, Korek and Zain — measure up.

Overall Experience
Coverage
Consistency
Video Experience
Games Experience
Voice App Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience
Overall
4G
3G
Video Experience
in 0-100 points
Asiacell
53.7
Korek
43.1
Zain
44.6
015304560
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
4G Video Experience
in 0-100 points
Asiacell
58.6
Korek
61.1
Zain
62.2
016.53349.566
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
3G Video Experience
in 0-100 points
Asiacell
40.4
Korek
33.4
Zain
34.3
011.52334.546
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Overall
4G
3G
Games Experience
in 0-100 points
Asiacell
41.6
Korek
38.9
Zain
40.3
011.52334.546
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
4G Games Experience
in 0-100 points
Asiacell
44.4
Korek
46.3
Zain
48.1
014284256
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
3G Games Experience
in 0-100 points
Asiacell
34.4
Korek
34.9
Zain
35.5
010203040
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Overall
4G
3G
Voice App Experience
in 0-100 points
Asiacell
72.9
Korek
67.8
Zain
70.2
019385776
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
4G Voice App Experience
in 0-100 points
Asiacell
76.6
Korek
75.9
Zain
76.2
020406080
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
3G Voice App Experience
in 0-100 points
Asiacell
64.1
Korek
65.0
Zain
69.8
019385776
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Overall
4G
3G
Download Speed Experience
in Mbps
Asiacell
23.3
Korek
10.7
Zain
12.4
06.51319.526
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
4G Download Speed
in Mbps
Asiacell
28.6
Korek
18.6
Zain
22.5
07.51522.530
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
3G Download Speed
in Mbps
Asiacell
6.8
Korek
5.4
Zain
4.4
02468
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Overall
4G
3G
Upload Speed Experience
in Mbps
Asiacell
8.1
Korek
3.4
Zain
4.4
02.557.510
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
4G Upload Speed
in Mbps
Asiacell
10.2
Korek
6.6
Zain
8.3
0481216
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
3G Upload Speed
in Mbps
Asiacell
1.6
Korek
1.1
Zain
1.2
00.511.52
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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).

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Asiacell

Korek

Zain

Availability
4G Availability
Availability
% of time
Asiacell
97.9
Korek
93.9
Zain
91.7
0255075100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
4G Availability
% of time
Asiacell
85.7
Korek
61.9
Zain
69.5
022.54567.590
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

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.

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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.

Learn more

Consistent Quality
Consistent Quality
% of tests
Asiacell
38.3
Korek
27.9
Zain
30.1
010203040
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

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.

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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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