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United Arab Emirates

Mobile Network Experience Report
July 2024

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, 2024

United Arab Emirates

Mobile Network Experience Report
July 2024

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, 2024

Key Findings

Etisalat is the first Emirati operator to win the new Reliability Experience award

Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on operators’ networks. Etisalat wins Reliability Experience outright with a score of 863 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of 40 points over second-placed du.

The best multiplayer gaming experience is with du

As was the case in the last report, du is the outright winner of the overall Games Experience and the 5G Games Experience awards. It wins the former with a lead of three points over Etisalat, while du leads its rival by six points for 5G Games Experience. In addition, du places one category higher than Etisalat for both metrics — Fair (65-75) and Good (75-85) for Games Experience and 5G Games Experience, respectively.

Our Etisalat users have the best available experience in the UAE when streaming on-demand video over cellular connections

Etisalat continues to be the sole winner of both the Video Experience and 5G Video Experience awards. It wins Video Experience with a score of 63.3 points on a 100-point scale, giving a lead of three points over du. For 5G Video Experience, Etisalat places in the Very Good (68-78) category, while du’s score puts it in the Good (58-68) category instead.

Du comes top for both availability awards

Du stays in first place for Availability and 5G Availability. Availability is the proportion of time our users have a 3G or better connection, while 5G Availability is the proportion of time that our 5G users have an active 5G connection. Du wins the Availability award with a score of 99.2% and a narrow lead over Etisalat. For 5G Availability, du scores 13.9% — four percentage points ahead of Etisalat.

Etisalat’s customers are able to get a connection in the most places

As was the case in the previous report, Etisalat is the outright winner of both the Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience awards. These recognize operators for the geographical coverage observed by our users in populated areas. Etisalat wins Coverage Experience with a lead of two points on a 10-point scale and comes top for 5G Coverage Experience with a score of 4.7 points, giving it a smaller — but still comfortable — lead, as du scored 3.9 points.

Mobile Experience Awards

July 2024, United Arab Emirates Report
Download Image

Market Overview

Once again, Etisalat has the largest haul of awards, this time winning eight of 14 outright and sharing the Upload Speed Experience and 5G Download Speed awards with du because of statistical ties. Etisalat’s collection of victories includes both coverage experience awards, the two video experience awards, the new Reliability Experience award and Consistent Quality. On the other hand, du wins both availability awards and both games experience awards.

Back in December 2023, du commercially launched its 5G standalone access (SA) service, while Etisalat fully launched its SA service for mobile users in October 2023. SA requires a 5G core network, does not require smartphones to also be connected to 4G when using 5G (as is the case with non-standalone access) and enables advanced capabilities such as network slicing. Network slicing allows operators to provide applications and users with connectivity tailored to their requirements.

Du has signed an agreement with Huawei to work together on the deployment of 5G Advanced technology and the creation of a joint innovation center to expand the large-scale commercial use of new services. In late December 2023, du and Nokia said that they had concluded their trial of 5G Advanced Reduced Capability (RedCap) technology over du’s commercial network. RedCap is aimed at bringing streamed 5G functionality to compact IoT devices such as wearables and health trackers.

In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the two main mobile network operators in the United Arab Emirates — Etisalat and du — over a period of 90 days starting on March 01, 2024, and ending on May 29, 2024, to see how they fared.

Overall Experience
5G Experience
Coverage
Consistency
Video Experience
Games Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience
Video Experience
in 0-100 points
du
60.1
Etisalat
63.3
016.53349.566
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Games Experience
in 0-100 points
du
67.8
Etisalat
64.5
017.53552.570
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
in Mbps
du
40.1
Etisalat
46.3
012.52537.550
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
in Mbps
du
10.3
Etisalat
10.5
0481216
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

National Analysis

In every single previous mobile network experience report we’ve published, Etisalat has won the Video Experience award outright and this report is no exception. Etisalat wins this time with a lead of three points over du.

Both du and Etisalat place in the Good (58-68) category. This means that 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.

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National Analysis

Du wins the Games Experience award outright for the second report in a row, this time with a lead of three points over Etisalat.

Both operators’ scores have increased by around two points compared to the last report.

Du places in the Fair (65-75) category, while Etisalat places one category lower, in Poor (40-65).

A Fair (65-75) rating means that users find the experience to be ‘average’. In most cases the game is responsive to the actions of the player with most users feeling like they have control over the game. The majority of players notice a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game. A Poor (40-65) rating means that most users find this level of experience unacceptable. The majority of users see a delay in the gameplay experience and they do not receive immediate feedback on their actions. Many users feel a lack of controllability.

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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National Analysis

Etisalat’s impressive winning streak for Download Speed Experience remains unbroken. The operator has won the award in every UAE mobile network experience report ever since we first started reporting on the country back in May 2019. This time around, our Etisalat users observe average overall download speeds of 46.3Mbps — measured across all generations of mobile technology — 6Mbps faster than the download speeds seen by du users. However, this is down from the lead of 10Mbps that Etisalat enjoyed in the last report. This is because Du's score has increased by 5Mbps, while Etisalat's rose by a more modest 1Mbps.

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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National Analysis

Du has caught up with Etisalat in terms of Upload Speed Experience. The average overall upload speeds seen by our du and Etisalat users are statistically tied and as a result, the two operators share the Upload Speed Experience award with statistically tied scores of 10.3-10.5Mbps.

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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5G Video Experience
5G Games Experience
5G Download Speed
5G Upload Speed
5G Video Experience
in 0-100 points
du
67.9
Etisalat
69.2
017.53552.570
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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5G Games Experience
in 0-100 points
du
77.3
Etisalat
71.4
020406080
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Download Speed
in Mbps
du
260.2
Etisalat
261.0
066.5133199.5266
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Upload Speed
in Mbps
du
24.3
Etisalat
29.1
07.51522.530
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

National Analysis

Etisalat continues to win the 5G Video Experience award outright. The operator has been the sole winner ever since our May 2022 report and before that it statistically tied with du in our first ever look at the 5G experience of our users in the UAE. Etisalat wins this time around with a score of 69.2 points on a 100-point scale, giving it a lead of one point, down from the lead of four points it commanded in the last report.

Etisalat places in the Very Good (68-78) category, while du places one category lower, in Good (58-68).

A Very Good (68-78) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling when connected to 5G. A Good (58-68) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p 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.

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National Analysis

Our du users continue to have the best available experience in the UAE when playing mobile multiplayer games over 5G connections. As a result, du wins the 5G Games Experience award outright for the third report in a row, this time with a lead of six points over Etisalat.

Both operators’ scores have increased modestly from those seen in the previous report. Du's has increased by three points, while Etisalat's score has risen by two points.

Du places in the Good (75-85) category, while Etisalat places one category lower, in Fair (65-75).

A Good (75-85) rating means that most users deem the experience acceptable. The gameplay experience is generally controllable and the user receives immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game. A Fair (65-75) rating means that users find the experience to be ‘average’. In most cases the game is responsive to the actions of the player with most users feeling like they have control over the game. The majority of players notice a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game.

Definitions

5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.

5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.

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National Analysis

Due to a drop of 34Mbps in its score, Etisalat now shares the 5G Download Speed award with du rather than winning it outright — as was the case in the previous report. Both operators share the 5G Download Speed award with statistically tied scores of 260.2-261Mbps.

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).

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National Analysis

Our Etisalat users continue to observe the fastest average 5G upload speeds and as a result, Etisalat remains the outright winner of the 5G Upload Speed award. It wins this time with a lead of 5Mbps over du, up from the lead of 3Mbps it commanded last time.

Both Etisalat's and du’s scores have risen since the last report, rising by 4% and 3%, respectively.

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).

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Coverage Experience
5G Coverage Experience
Availability
5G Availability
Coverage Experience
in 0-10 points
du
7.1
Etisalat
9.0
02.557.510
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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5G Coverage Experience
in 0-10 points
du
3.9
Etisalat
4.7
01.534.56
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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Availability
% of time
du
99.2
Etisalat
99.0
0255075100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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5G Availability
% of time
du
13.9
Etisalat
9.8
0481216
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

National Analysis

As was the case in the last report, Etisalat wins the Coverage Experience award outright. It does so this time around with a lead of two points over du.

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.

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National Analysis

Etisalat remains the sole winner of the 5G Coverage Experience award. Its score of 4.7 points on a 10-point scale gives it a comfortable lead over du’s 3.9 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.

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National Analysis

Du wins the Availability award outright for the third report in a row. It does so with a score of 99.2% and a narrow lead over Etisalat, given the latter’s score of 99%. Availability is the proportion of time our users spend with a 3G or better connection.

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.

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National Analysis

Du remains the only operator in the UAE to win the 5G Availability award. It does so this time with a score of 13.9% and a lead of four percentage points over Etisalat.

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.

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Consistent Quality
Reliability Experience
Consistent Quality
% of tests
du
62.1
Etisalat
70.5
019385776
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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Reliability Experience
100-1000 points
du
823
Etisalat
863
100292.5485677.5870
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

National Analysis

Etisalat is once again the outright winner of the Consistent Quality award. It does so this time around with a lead of eight percentage points over du.

Both operators’ scores have increased since the last report, with our Etisalat and du users seeing improvements of one and two percentage points, respectively.

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.

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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National Analysis

Etisalat wins the Reliability Experience award outright with a score of 863 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of 40 points over second-placed du.

Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on operators’ networks. It consists of the following components: Signal Availability — The proportion of time Opensignal users can successfully connect to a mobile network Data Connectivity — the proportion of time when the network is available and the device can connect to the internet Task completion — whether tasks initiated by the user’s device are completed Sufficiency — The probability that (basic) tasks will be executed sufficiently well for the user

Definitions

Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of Opensignal users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on communication service providers’ (CSP) networks. It analyzes how much Opensignal users’ experience is affected by the radio access and core network, along with issues that prevent them from connecting to the internet even if they have a connection to their CSP’s network. It also factors in users’ ability to successfully use lower performance applications including SD video, over-the-top voice calls and web browsing.

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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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