Poland
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.
Poland
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
Play now holds both upload speed awards in a firm grip
In the previous report, Orange and Play shared the top spot for 5G Upload Speed. However, this time Orange slips off the winners’ podium — leaving Play as the sole winner, with a score of 23.2Mbps. Play also retains the overall Upload Speed Experience award, with a score of 9.3Mbps. Orange and T-Mobile are in statistical ties for second place for both upload speed metrics.
Plus wins 5G Download Speed for the fifth time in a row
Plus remains unmatched for the 5G Download Speed award since Opensignal first introduced it in November 2021, claiming it outright for the fifth consecutive time. Plus wins with a score of 113.9Mbps — nearly twice as fast as the collective score of other Polish operators, which are all locked in a three-way statistical tie for second place, with scores in the 58.2-58.8Mbps range.
Orange takes home Coverage Experience, while Plus — 5G Coverage Experience
Opensignal’s new coverage experience metrics measure the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work, and travel. Orange comes first for Coverage Experience with a score of 7.1 points on a 10-point scale — beating Play by 0.1 points. The 5G Coverage Experience award goes to Plus — the operator wins it with a score of 1.2 points on a 10-point scale, 0.2 points ahead of second-placed Play.
Our T-Mobile users enjoy the most consistent quality of mobile network services in Poland
T-Mobile takes home Consistent Quality with a score of 76.5% — two percentage points ahead of Orange and 4.7 percentage points ahead of Play. This metric 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 demanding tasks on their devices. It assesses a number of experience indicators such as download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, and time to first byte.
Plus defends 5G Availability
Plus wins 5G Availability outright for the second time in a row, scoring 15.9% — this result reflects the proportion of time our 5G users with an active 5G subscription connect to 5G services. Plus commands a lead of around 2.8 percentage points ahead of Orange and T-Mobile, which are in a statistical tie for second place with scores of 12.8-13.5%. Play brings up the rear with a score of 9.7%.
T-Mobile wins Download Speed Experience outright for the second consecutive time
In the previous report, T-Mobile broke out of the statistical tie it was in with Orange and claimed Download Speed Experience all to itself. The operator retains the award and is the sole winner for the second report in a row, this time with a score of 34.2Mbps — 3.8Mbps ahead of Orange and Play, which are in a statistical tie for second place with scores of 30.3-30.6Mbps. Plus comes last but it is the only network in Poland on which our users have observed a boost in average overall download speeds, of 1.5Mbps.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest Poland Mobile Network Experience report we introduce Live Video Experience and 5G Live Video Experience, which represent the overall and 5G experience of our users when streaming real-time video over mobile networks. Opensignal also introduces new Coverage Experience metrics that measure the extent of overall and 5G coverage in the places our users live, work, and travel. Consistent Quality replaces the Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality awards that were published in previous reports.
Unlike some of the other markets for which Opensignal publishes Mobile Network Experience reports, there is no single entity dominating the awards table in Poland. In this report all four Polish mobile network operators end with similarly-sized award hauls. Plus ends with three outright wins while Orange, Play and T-Mobile all secure two sole victories each. We observe two-way statistical ties in four categories, while all four Polish operators share the winners’ podium for two 5G video awards — 5G Video Experience and 5G Live Video Experience.
Poland completed the long-awaited 5G spectrum assignment after a three-day auction in October 2023. All four national mobile operators bid a total of PLN1.92 billion (€429 million) for a 100MHz block each in the 3400-3800MHz frequencies. The regulator UKE will issue the licences by early December. The regulator will now prioritize the assignment of the 700MHz band to mobile services. Opensignal has previously analyzed how the lack of assigned 3.5GHz spectrum hampers the experience of Polish 5G users, with the market lagging behind in user experienceglobally. Once 5G networks start using the 3.5GHz band, Polish operators and users will finally be able to embrace 5G’s full potential, making the Polish market more competitive regionally and globally.
Our results in this report are based on measurements collected across all major mobile operators in Poland — Orange, Play, Plus and T-Mobile – over the period of 90 days between August 1, 2023 and October 29, 2023, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
In the previous report, Orange was the sole winner of the Video Experience award. This time around, it has to share the recognition with T-Mobile, as both operators are in a statistical tie for first place, with scores of 64.8-65.8 points on a 100-point scale. Play takes third place, around 1.1 points behind the joint winners.
All Polish operators 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.
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
Orange and T-Mobile are the first winners of the Live Video Experience award, with statistically tied scores of 58.9-59.4 points on a 100-point scale. Play comes third with a score of 57.8 points, while Plus brings up the rear with a score of 53.5 points.
Orange and T-Mobile place in the Excellent (58 and above) category. Our users are, on average, able to stream video at least at 1080p with low loading times, little stalling and a satisfactory live offset. Meanwhile, Play and Plus place in a category below — Very Good (53-58).
Operators’ Live Video Experience scores are determined using a range of measures that impact users’ perceived live streaming viewing experience, including picture quality, video loading time, and stall rate, but also live playback offset — the time difference between real-time and the current playback position a viewer sees.
Unlike Video Experience, which represents on-demand video streams, Live Video Experience quantifies live video streaming used for current events. For example, when users watch live sports, game streams, music concerts, or news where the event is happening at that moment in time.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Live Video Experience quantifies the quality of real-time video streamed to mobile devices by measuring video streams over an operator's network. The metric extends the existing International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach used for Opensignal's on-demand Video Experience metric, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including live playback offset, picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived live video experience as reported by real people. To calculate live video experience, we are directly measuring live video streams from end-user devices and using this extension of ITU's approach to quantify the overall live video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
This is the fourth consecutive outright win for Orange in the Games Experience category, as the operator scores 71 points on a 100-point scale, 1.3 points ahead of second-placed Play. T-Mobile takes the bronze, with a score of 68.2 points.
All national Polish operators rate as Fair (65-75) — users found the experience to be ‘average’ and the majority of players report that they notice a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game.
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
T-Mobile wins Download Speed Experience for the second consecutive time, with a score of 34.2Mbps — 3.8Mbps ahead of Orange and Play which are in a statistical tie for second place, with scores of 30.3-30.6Mbps. Plus comes last but it is the only network in Poland on which our users have observed a boost in average overall download speeds, of 1.5Mbps.
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
Play remains the sole winner of Upload Speed Experience, with a score of 9.3Mbps. Orange and T-Mobile statistically tie for second place, with nearly identical scores of 8.5-8.6Mbps, while Plus brings up the rear, scoring 6.6Mbps. Plus’ score drops by 0.3Mbps, while other operators observe no statistical changes in their scores.
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
The four-way statistical tie for 5G Video Experience in Poland persists and all four Polish operators are joint winners of this award for the second time in a row, with scores of 73.7-74.4 points on a 100-point scale.
All Polish operators place in the Very Good (68-78) category. This means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
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
Our Polish users observe no statistically significant differences between Polish operators in terms of 5G Live Video Experience and as a result, all four become joint winners in this report — the first one on the Polish mobile network experience to include the new award — with scores of 68.6-69.6 points on a 100-point scale.
Regardless of their choice of a mobile operator, our users in Poland enjoy Excellent (58 and above) 5G Live Video Experience. They are, on average, able to stream video at least at 1080p with low loading times, little stalling and a satisfactory live offset.
5G Live Video Experience score is calculated using a range of measures that impact users’ perceived live streaming viewing experience over 5G connections, including picture quality, video loading time, and stall rate, but also live playback offset — the time difference between real-time and the current playback position a viewer sees.
Unlike 5G Video Experience, which represents on-demand video streams, 5G Live Video Experience quantifies live video streaming used for current events. For example when users watch live sports, game streams, music concerts, or news where the event is happening at that moment in time.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Live Video Experience quantifies the quality of real-time video streamed to mobile devices by measuring video streams over an operator's network. The metric extends the existing International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach used for Opensignal's on-demand Video Experience metric, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including live playback offset, picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived live video experience as reported by real people. To calculate live video experience, we are directly measuring live video streams from end-user devices and using this extension of ITU's approach to quantify the overall live video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
5G Live Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world live video streams when they were connected to 5G.
National Analysis
In the previous report, Opensignal observed a four-way statistical tie between all Polish operators for 5G Games Experience. Play and Plus slip off the winners’ podium, while Orange and T-Mobile remain firmly on the top spot, with tied scores of 81.4-82.7 points on a 100-point scale.
Orange, Play, Plus and T-Mobile all rate as Good (75-85) for 5G Games Experience. This means most users deem the experience acceptable and do not experience a delay between their actions and 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
Plus remains unbeatable for the 5G Download Speed award since Opensignal first introduced it in November 2021. It claims it outright for the fifth time in a row, winning with a score of 113.9Mbps. This is nearly twice as fast as other Polish operators, which are all locked in a three-way statistical tie for second place, with scores in the 58.2-58.8Mbps range.
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
In the previous report, Orange and Play shared the winners’ podium for 5G Upload Speed. However, this time Play ends up as the sole winner, with a score of 23.2Mbps, beating statistically tied Orange and T-Mobile by around 2.6Mbps. Plus comes fourth, with a score of 16Mbps.
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
Orange
Play
Plus
T-Mobile
National Analysis
Oranges comes first for Coverage Experience with a score of 7.1 points on a 10 point scale — beating Play by 0.1 points and Plus by 0.4 points. T-Mobile lags behind its competitors with a score of 6.1 points.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses 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.
National Analysis
Plus is the first winner of 5G Coverage Experience in Poland, with a score of 1.2 points on a 10-point scale. Play is the runner-up, 0.2 points behind the outright winner. T-Mobile takes third place, scoring one point, ahead of fourth-placed Orange and its score of 0.8 points.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
5G Coverage Experience shows the proportion of places 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
Orange and Play remain locked in a statistical tie for first place for Availability, with nearly identical scores of 98.3-98.4% — which is the proportion of time our users on these networks spend connected to either 3G, 4G or 5G services. Plus takes third spot with a score of 95.6%, ahead of T-Mobile’s result of 93.7%. All of the Polish operators’ scores remained statistically unchanged since the previous report.
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
Plus takes home 5G Availability for the second time with a row, this time with a score of 15.9% — this result reflects the proportion of time our 5G users with an active 5G subscription connect to 5G services. Plus claims the award with a winning margin of around 2.8 percentage points over Orange and T-Mobile which are in a statistical tie for second place with scores of 12.8-13.5%. Play comes last with a score of 9.7%.
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.
Consistency
National Analysis
T-Mobile takes home Consistent Quality with a score of 76.5% — two percentage points ahead of Orange and 4.7 percentage points ahead of Play. These scores reflect the proportion of tests that pass the requirements of Consistent Quality, along with the proportion of completed tests to all tests conducted.
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