Egypt
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.
Egypt
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
WE is the operator to beat for mobile experience in Egypt
WE reaffirms its unmatched performance by sweeping all four awards for Overall Experience — measured across all generations of mobile experience together, including speeds, Video and Games Experience. This means WE users not only enjoy the fastest download and upload speeds but also enjoy the best quality of experience while streaming on-demand videos and playing multiplayer mobile over cellular connections.
The most reliable and consistent experience is with WE
WE is the winner of Opensignal's Consistent Quality and Reliability Experience awards. 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, such as video calling or uploading an image to social media. Meanwhile, Reliability Experience is a measure of Opensignal users’ ability to connect to and successfully complete basic tasks on their devices. It considers the proportion of time they can successfully connect to a network, along with that spent with an internet connection, whether tasks are completed and the probability that (basic) tasks will be executed sufficiently well for the user.
WE surpasses Vodafone to win the 4G Availability award
WE is the outright winner of 4G Availability, with 4G users being able to spend more than 90% of their time connected to 4G. Meanwhile, our e& egypt, Orange and WE users spend a statistically similar proportion of time with a 3G or better connection — 96.8-97%, on average, slightly higher than Vodafone. This is a change from our September 2023 report when e& egypt and Vodafone won the Availability and 4G Availability awards outright, respectively.
4G Availability and 4G Download Speed has improved on three out of four Egyptian networks
Compared to our previous report, WE users have seen the biggest improvement in 4G Availability and average 4G download speeds. On the other hand, Vodafone users observed a slight dip of about one percentage point in 4G Availability, while the 4G Download Speed on e& egypt has declined by 7%.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
Opensignal's latest assessment of Egypt's mobile network landscape highlights WE as the market leader, securing top rankings across all eight key measures of network experience, either outright or jointly. WE stands as the outright winner in seven categories — Download Speed Experience, Upload Speed Experience, Video Experience, Games Experience, 4G Availability, Consistent Quality, and Reliability Experience — while sharing the Availability award with e& egypt and Orange. These findings underscore that WE users not only enjoy the fastest mobile speeds but also enjoy superior quality in other critical aspects of mobile network experience.
WE is also at the forefront of Egypt's 5G rollout. The operator recently announced a partnership with Nokia to upgrade its Radio Access Network (RAN) and deploy 5G in major cities including Alexandria, Aswan, Cairo, Giza, and Luxor. After securing Egypt's first 5G license in January 2024, WE successfully trialed 5G using the 2600MHz band on a Non-Standalone (NSA) basis. Currently, WE is the sole holder of a 5G spectrum license in Egypt, giving it a significant first-mover advantage in the 5G market.
Meanwhile, Vodafone has also begun its 5G preparations by using the 2600MHz Time Division Duplex (TDD) band in combination with the 800MHz and 2100MHz Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) bands to support 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G simultaneously. This initiative, in collaboration with Ericsson, aims to reduce costs, energy consumption, and infrastructure load while speeding up the deployment of 4G and 5G services.
All four operators in Egypt hold spectrum in the 2600MHz TDD band. Vodafone Egypt purchased two 20MHz blocks, while e& egypt and Telecom Egypt each secured two 10MHz blocks in 2020. Orange acquired 30MHz of spectrum in 2022 and is working with Ericsson to modernize its network infrastructure. According to Bloomberg, Vodafone and Orange are in discussions to share network infrastructure in Egypt, a move aimed at reducing costs and expanding coverage in remote areas.
E& egypt is also advancing its 4G capabilities and preparing for 5G by collaborating with Ericsson to integrate advanced EAS antennas. This partnership aims to deliver faster speeds, enhanced reliability, and improved connectivity for its users.
In other developments, Egypt's National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) recently fined all four mobile network operators a total of EGP 33 million (USD 688,948) for failing to meet quality-of-service (QoS) standards. Earlier, in March 2024, Vodafone faced an additional fine of EGP 20.5 million (USD 414,000) for a partial outage of its 4G network. In response to these issues, the NTRA has taken several measures to improve network performance, including approving the construction of 743 new base stations in Q1 2024 and extending voice and data coverage to 63 villages, 11 remote areas, and seven roads as part of Egypt's Decent Life initiative.
In this report, we examine the mobile network experience of the four main mobile network operators in Egypt — Orange, Vodafone, e& egypt and WE — over a period of 90 days starting on June 1, 2024, and ending on August 29, 2024, to see how they stack up against each other.
This report was changed post-publication on 30th September 2024 to accurately reflect e& egypt’s current brand name.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Our users on WE enjoy the best quality of experience while streaming on-demand mobile videos. WE wins the Video Experience award outright with a score of 57.6 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of six points over Vodafone. e& egypt and Orange follow behind with scores below 50 points.
Compared to our previous report, WE's score has increased by two points, while e& egypt's score has decreased by one point. Orange's and Vodafone's scores haven't changed by a significant amount. With these scores, WE, Vodafone and e& egypt earn Fair (48-58) ratings for Video Experience, while Orange rates as Poor (under 48).
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
Our WE users continue to enjoy the best quality of experience while playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections. WE retains its outright win for Games Experience, winning this time with a score of 46 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around three points over Vodafone and e& egypt. Orange comes last with a score of 40.2 points.
Vodafone's and e& egypt's scores have decreased by two points, and Orange's score has decreased by one point since the previous report, while WE's score hasn't changed a significant amount.
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
Our users on WE observe the fastest download speeds in Egypt, 23.2Mbps on average — 52% faster than Vodafone and e& egypt users, and 78% faster than Orange.
Compared to the September 2023 report, the average download speed on WE has increased by about 20%, on Vodafone by 10%, while Orange's score has increased by 6%. In contrast, e& egypt's score has dipped slightly, by 2%.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
The fastest mobile upload speeds are with WE. Our users on its network observe the fastest average upload speeds of 6.2Mbps, which is 2Mbps (over a third) faster than second-placed e& egypt.
Compared to the last report, WE's score has increased by 5%. In contrast, e& egypt's and Orange's scores have declined by 9%, while Vodafone's decreased by 7%.
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).
Coverage
National Analysis
In the previous report, the Availability award was won by e& egypt. However, in the current report, e& egypt, Orange and WE share the top spot for Availability — the proportion of time users connect to a mobile broadband signal (3G or better) — with a score of 96.8-97% and a small lead over Vodafone's score of 96.3%.
Since the last report, Availability on all four networks has improved, with WE users reporting the biggest improvement
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.
National Analysis
WE is now the outright winner of 4G Availability — the proportion of time our 4G users spend connected to an active 4G signal — with a score of over 90%, significantly greater than second-placed Orange’s 87%. This is a change from our previous report, when Vodafone occupied the leading spot. Three out of four operators' scores have improved since then, with WE users seeing the biggest increase of four percentage points, followed by e& egypt and Orange users. Meanwhile, Vodafone's score has decreased by one percentage point, dropping down to third place.
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.
Consistency
National Analysis
WE wins the Consistent Quality award outright with a score of 55.4% and a lead of seven percentage points over e& egypt, which places in second. Orange comes last with a score of 42.1%.
Since the previous report, e& egypt's score has increased by 11 percentage points, while Orange's and WE's scores have increased by six and three percentage points, respectively. In contrast, Vodafone's score has decreased by one percentage point.
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 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.
National Analysis
WE wins the Reliability Experience award outright with a score of 769 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of 25 points over e& egypt, which places in second. Orange comes fourth with a score of 679 points.
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: % time connected — 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.
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