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Mexico

Mobile Network Experience Report
October 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: Rupert Bapty, Analyst Data Collection Period: Jun 01 - Aug 29, 2024

Mexico

Mobile Network Experience Report
October 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: Rupert Bapty, Analyst

Data Collection Period: Jun 01 - Aug 29, 2024

Key Findings

The most reliable experience is with Telcel

Telcel is the first Mexican operator to take home Opensignal’s Reliability Experience award, doing so with a score of 848 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of 108 points over AT&T. Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete basic tasks on operators’ networks.

AT&T’s lead lengthens for Consistent Quality

AT&T pulls further ahead for Consistent Quality due to an increase in score of 13 percentage points, while Telcel’s score has remained statistically unchanged. AT&T wins the award as its users continue to see the greatest proportion of tests that meet the minimum thresholds to support more demanding commonly used mobile applications, such as video calling or uploading an image to social media. AT&T now commands a lead of 14 percentage points over Telcel.

The fastest speeds are with Telcel

Telcel is once again the winner of all four speed awards — Download Speed Experience, Upload Speed Experience, 5G Download Speed and 5G Upload Speed. Average download speeds on Telcel continue to significantly outpace those on AT&T. Telcel’s score for Download Speed Experience is almost 50% faster than AT&T’s and its 5G Download Speed is over three times faster.

AT&T wins 5G Games Experience outright

In the previous report, 5G Games Experience was shared by both AT&T and Telcel. Now, AT&T is recognized for its multiplayer mobile gaming on 5G networks — winning the award outright with a score of 76.7 points on a 100-point scale. Telcel is a couple of points behind AT&T, but both operators’ experience rates as Good (77-85).

Telcel is unbeaten for Coverage Experience

Telcel scoops up both Coverage Experience awards once again, defending its outright wins for both. AT&T has some catching up to do, with its Coverage Experience score almost half that of Telcel’s 8.8 points on a 10-point scale. These awards recognize operators for the geographical coverage observed by our users in populated areas.

Mobile Experience Awards

October 2024, Mexico Report
Download Image

Market Overview

Telcel continues to take home the lion’s share of awards in Opensignal reports on the mobile network experience of our Mexican users. The operator remains unchallenged for speed, taking home all four awards, and also obtains Opensignal’s newly introduced award for measuring network stability — Reliability Experience. AT&T’s smaller haul boasts its ability to provide entertainment over 5G networks, winning 5G Games Experience and 5G Video Experience outright. Additionally, AT&T has gained ground on the lead in three of the four speed metrics, with only Download Speed Experience bucking the trend.

The regulatory landscape of Mexico may undergo a change in the near future. The Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies has proposed that the functions of the Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) be absorbed by the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT). If the IFT survives this vote it may still be eliminated by Mexico’s new president Claudia Sheinbaum, who included the measure in her election manifesto.

In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the two main mobile network operators in Mexico — Telcel and AT&T — over a period of 90 days starting on June 1, 2024, and ending on August 29, 2024, to see how they fared.

We have ceased reporting on Movistar because it no longer has its own radio access network (RAN) and spectrum. Movistar completed the migration of its users’ traffic to AT&T’s RAN network in July 2022 and relinquished the last of its spectrum licenses.

Overall Experience
5G Experience
Coverage
Consistency
Video Experience
Games Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience
Video Experience
in 0-100 points
AT&T
55.2
Telcel
56.4
015304560
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Games Experience
in 0-100 points
AT&T
57.6
Telcel
58.5
015304560
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Download Speed Experience
in Mbps
AT&T
23.7
Telcel
34.4
09182736
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Upload Speed Experience
in Mbps
AT&T
7.8
Telcel
9.0
02.557.510
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

National Analysis

It is a close race for the Video Experience award, with Telcel once again emerging the victor — Telcel has won this award outright since its introduction to Mexican mobile network experience reports in 2019. AT&T has gained ground due to its score increasing by five points since the previous report, while Telcel’s score increased by two points.

The on-demand streaming experience for both operators rates as Fair (48-58). A Fair (48-58) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and substantial 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

Telcel returns as the outright winner of the Games Experience award. Telcel keeps its lead with a score of 58.5 points on a 100-point scale. Both operators have had increases in score between reports, however AT&T’s larger increase of three points has whittled down Telcel’s lead to just one point.

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

Telcel continues to dominate for Download Speed Experience. Our users on Telcel’s network enjoy average download speeds that are almost 50% faster than those on AT&T. Additionally, download speeds have increased by 6Mbps on both networks since the last report.

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

Telcel hangs on to its outright win for Upload Speed Experience, winning with a score of 9Mbps and a lead of 1Mbps over AT&T.

Our users have seen a boost in average upload speeds on both networks — 0.6Mbps on AT&T and 0.2Mbps on Telcel.

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
AT&T
74.1
Telcel
67.3
019385776
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Games Experience
in 0-100 points
AT&T
76.7
Telcel
75.1
020406080
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Download Speed
in Mbps
AT&T
55.2
Telcel
187.0
047.595142.5190
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Upload Speed
in Mbps
AT&T
24.1
Telcel
26.6
07.51522.530
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

National Analysis

Our Mexican users have the best experience streaming on-demand video over 5G connections on AT&T’s network. The operator’s score of 74.1 points on a 100-point scale puts it in the Very Good (68-78) category, while Telcel places in the Good (58-68) category with a score of 67.3 points.

Since the previous report AT&T's score has increased, conversely, Telcel has seen a decrease in its score.

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.

Learn more

National Analysis

In the previous report, AT&T shared 5G Games Experience with Telcel. AT&T now wins the award outright with a score of 76.7 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of two points over Telcel.

Both operators place in the Good (75-85) category for 5G Games Experience. This 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.

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

Telcel is once again the clear winner for 5G Download Speed. Telcel’s score of 187Mbps is more than three times faster than AT&T’s score. However, Telcel’s lead has shrunk between reports, down to 132Mbps, due to a 25Mbps decrease in its score.

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

Telcel retains its win for 5G Upload Speed. Average 5G upload speeds decreased on both operators, with Telcel’s score dropping by 4Mbps and AT&T’s by 2Mbps. AT&T is now only 3Mbps behind Telcel.

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
AT&T
4.6
Telcel
8.8
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
AT&T
0.3
Telcel
1.1
00.511.52
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
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Availability
% of time
AT&T
98.9
Telcel
97.7
0255075100
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
5G Availability
% of time
AT&T
5.2
Telcel
8.8
02.557.510
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

National Analysis

Telcel wins the Coverage Experience award for the second consecutive report, this time with a score of 8.8 points on a 10-point scale. AT&T’s score is almost half that of Telcel.

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

As was the case in the previous report, Telcel is the outright winner of the 5G Coverage Experience award. It wins this time with a score of 1.1 points on a 10-point scale. The Coverage Experience awards recognize operators for the geographical coverage observed by our users in populated areas.

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

Our Mexican users continue to spend the highest proportion of time with a 3G or better connection on AT&T’s network. This is the third report in a row that AT&T has won this award outright, this time scoring one percentage point more than Telcel.

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

Telcel's lead has increased for 5G Availability due to its score increasing by two percentage points since the previous report, while AT&T’s score has not changed a significant amount. Our 5G users on Telcel’s network spend 8.8% of their time with an active 5G 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.

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
AT&T
48.2
Telcel
34.3
012.52537.550
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image
Reliability Experience
100-1000 points
AT&T
740
Telcel
848
100287.5475662.5850
The brackets represent confidence intervals.
Read why confidence intervals are important.
Download Image

National Analysis

AT&T pulls further ahead for Consistent Quality due to an increase in its score of 13 percentage points, while Telcel’s score has remained statistically unchanged. AT&T wins with a score of 48.2% and now commands a lead of 14 percentage points over Telcel.

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

Telcel is the first Mexican operator to take home Opensignal’s Reliability Experience award, doing so with a score of 848 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of 108 points over AT&T.

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:

% of time — 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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