Germany
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.
Germany
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
Telekom users have the most reliable mobile experience
Telekom is the first operator in Germany to win Opensignal’s new Reliability Experience award. It does so outright with a score of 903 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of 17 points over O2, which is in second place with its score of 885 points. Vodafone comes third with a score of 876 points. Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on operators’ networks.
Vodafone and Telekom users see the fastest average 5G download speeds
In a change from the previous report, Vodafone and Telekom now share the 5G Download Speed award with statistically tied scores of 165-166Mbps. This change was driven by a 24Mbps increase in Vodafone’s score from the last report while that of the previous winner (Telekom) fell by 7Mbps.
O2 holds onto the Coverage Experience award
Our O2 users continue to observe the best overall geographical coverage in populated areas — those where they would reasonably expect to find coverage. O2 therefore keeps hold of the Coverage Experience award, but it does so by the narrowest margins, as it scores 8.5 points on a 10-point scale, while second-placed Telekom has a score of 8.4 points. In terms of 5G Coverage Experience, Telekom retains the award from the previous report.
Telekom users have the best experience when streaming on-demand video and playing multiplayer mobile games — both overall and on 5G
Telekom keeps hold of both Video Experience awards and the two Games Experience awards from the previous report. It is also the sole German operator to place in the Very Good (68-78) category for overall Video Experience, as Vodafone and O2 place one category lower, in Good (58-68).
Telekom keeps hold of the Availability and 5G Availability awards
Our Telekom users continue to spend the greatest proportion of time with a 3G, 4G, or 5G signal — scoring 97.3% for Availability, which is less than a percentage point ahead of second-placed O2’s 96.5%. In addition, Telekom 5G users once again spend the most time with an active 5G connection — scoring 19.4% for 5G Availability — six percentage points ahead of second-placed Vodafone’s 13.2%
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
Telekom continues to dominate the German mobile network experience. This time it wins 12 awards outright and shares the 5G Download Speed award with Vodafone, out of the 14 total available awards in this report. O2 is the only other operator that wins an award outright — it retains the Coverage Experience award from the previous report.
Telekom now plans to completely switch off its 2G network by June 30, 2028 and will repurpose the spectrum for use with 4G and 5G. The operator says that areas that are currently only covered by 2G will receive 4G/5G coverage prior to the switch-off. As Telekom switched off its 3G network back in June 2021, one complication is that only modern phones that support voice over LTE (VoLTE) and/or Voice over New Radio (VoNR) will be able to make non-over-the-top voice calls once 2G is shut down. There’s also implications for eCall, which currently works over 2G and 3G. However, Telekom has been active in the work to develop Next Generation Emergency Call (NG eCall), which will work over 4G. In July 2023, the operator announced that it was participating in a pilot project with Qualcomm and cetecom — other organizations such as on-board electronics providers can use Telekom’s network to test their NG eCall systems.
Telekom has recently switched from its original target of deploying over 3,000 Open RAN sites by the end of 2026 to an ambition of reaching more than 3,000 such sites in its live network by 2027, with that timeframe being an estimate.
Vodafone recently announced the completion of its nationwide 5G standalone access (SA) network rollout, claiming that it now covers 90% of the German population. The network consists of 16,000 upgraded mobile masts. All of the operator’s 5G mobile masts simultaneously support both 5G SA and 5G non-standalone. This is because not all 5G smartphones support 5G SA. Vodafone is branding 5G SA as ‘5G+’ and claims that it will increase bandwidth and lower latencies.
O2 announced in September that it has completed 4,800 network expansion measures since the start of 2024, which the operator claims has boosted its 5G coverage to more than 96% of the German population. The operator has recently added support for the 3.6GHz band in a number of cities including Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Dresden, Frankfurt am Main, Mannheim, Munich, Essen, Düsseldorf and Cologne.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the three main mobile network operators in Germany — Telekom, Vodafone and O2 — over a period of 90 days starting on July 01, 2024, and ending on September 28, 2024, to see how they fared. We have not included 1&1 in this report as it is still early days for Germany’s newest operator and it began switching its national roaming partner from O2 to Vodafone in late August — part-way through this report’s data collection period. However, given the potential for 1&1 to disrupt the German mobile market, look out for future insights on 1&1 over the coming months.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
As was the case in the previous report, Telekom wins the Video Experience award outright. It does so this time around with a score of 68.5 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around two points over Vodafone and O2, which share second place with their identical scores of 66.6 points.
All three operators’ scores have improved by four points from those seen in the previous report.
Telekom places in the Very Good (68-78) category, while Vodafone and O2 place 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. 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.
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 Telekom users continue to observe the best available overall experience when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections. Telekom therefore remains the outright winner of the Games Experience award. It has a score of 78.4 points on a 100-point scale, giving it a lead of three points over second-placed Vodafone’s 75.1 points. O2 is in last place with a score of 72.7 points.
Telekom's and O2’s scores have risen by four points compared to their scores in the previous report, while Vodafone's increased by two points.
Telekom and Vodafone place in the Good (75-85) category, while O2 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
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
Once again, Telekom wins the Download Speed Experience award outright. It does so this time with a score of 65.2Mbps and a lead of 8Mbps (14%) over second-placed Vodafone’s 57.2Mbps. O2 is in last place with a score of 40.4Mbps.
Both Telekom's and Vodafone’s scores have risen by 6Mbps (11%) from the last report, while O2's score increased by 3Mbps (7%).
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
As was the case in the last report, Telekom wins the Upload Speed Experience award outright. It does so with a score of 13.9Mbps and a lead of 3Mbps (23%) over second-placed Vodafone’s 11.3Mbps. O2 is in last place with a score of 10.6Mbps.
The average upload speeds seen by our Telekom and Vodafone users have improved by slightly more than 1Mbps, while those experienced by O2 users have very slightly improved from those seen in the previous report.
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
Telekom once again wins the 5G Video Experience award outright, doing so this time with a score of 77 points on a 100-point scale. This gives Telekom a slender lead over second-placed Vodafone’s 76.2 points. O2 is in last place with a score of 75.2 points.
Both Vodafone's and O2’s score has increased by two points, while Telekom's score has risen by one point.
All operators place in the Very Good (68-78) category. This means that 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 Telekom users continue to have the best available experience in Germany when playing multiplayer mobile games over 5G connections. This means that Telekom once again wins the 5G Games Experience award outright. It does so with a score of 89.9 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of two points over second-placed Vodafone’s 87.4 points. O2 comes third with a score of 85.3 points.
O2's score has improved the most compared to the previous report, rising by four points, while our Telekom and Vodafone users have seen more modest improvements of two points and one point, respectively.
All operators place in the Excellent (85 or above) category. This means that the vast majority of users deem this 5G network experience acceptable. Nearly all users feel like they have control over the game and they receive immediate feedback on their actions. There is not a noticeable delay in almost all cases.
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
Telekom has gone from being the outright winner of the 5G Download Speed award in the previous report to sharing it with Vodafone as their scores of 165-166.4Mbps are statistically tied. They have a lead of around 45Mbps (38%) over O2’s 120.3Mbps.
Vodafone's score, compared to that seen in the previous report, has risen by 24Mbps. However, O2's and Telekom’s scores have fallen by 8Mbps and 7Mbps, respectively.
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
As was the case in the last report, Telekom is the outright winner of the 5G Upload Speed award. It wins this time around with a score of 31.5Mbps and a lead of 5Mbps (19%) over second-placed Vodafone’s 26.4Mbps. O2 is in last place with a score of 20Mbps.
Vodafone's score has increased by 2Mbps (8%) from that seen in the previous report. Telekom's and O2's scores have not changed by a statistically significant amount.
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
National Analysis
Our O2 users continue to observe the best overall geographical coverage in populated areas, allowing O2 to retain the Coverage Experience award from the last report. It wins outright with a score of 8.5 points on a 10-point scale and a slender lead over second-placed Telekom’s 8.4 points. Vodafone is in last place with a score of 8.1 points.
All three operators’ scores have increased very slightly from those seen in the previous report.
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.
National Analysis
Telekon continues to be the outright winner of the 5G Coverage Experience award. This means that our Telekom users observe the best 5G geographical coverage in populated areas. Telekom wins this time with a score of 4.6 points on a 10-point scale and a lead of less than a point over second-placed Vodafone’s 3.8 points. O2 is in last place with a score of 3.3 points.
All three operators’ scores have improved by more than a point from those seen in the previous report.
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.
National Analysis
Telekom holds onto the Availability award, still winning it outright. It does so with a score of 97.3% and a lead of less than a percentage point over second-placed O2’s 96.5%. Vodafone is in last place with a score of 96%.
All three operators’ scores have improved by two percentage points from those seen in the last 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.
National Analysis
Telekom continues to be the outright winner of the 5G Availability award, winning it this time with a score of 19.4% and a lead of six percentage points over second-placed Vodafone’s 13.2%. O2 is in last place with a score of 12.5%.
Both Telekom's and O2’s scores have risen by three percentage points from those seen in the previous report. Vodafone's score has increased by two percentage points.
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.
Consistency
National Analysis
Once again, Telekom is the outright winner of the Consistent Quality award. It does so with a score of 80.7% and a lead of three percentage points over second-placed O2’s 77.4%. Vodafone is in last place with a score of 76%.
Our O2 users have seen the largest improvement in the consistency of their mobile experience from the previous report, a rise of four percentage points. Vodafone's score has increased by three percentage points, while Telekom's has risen by one percentage point.
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.
National Analysis
Telekom is the first operator in Germany to win Opensignal’s new Reliability Experience award. It does so outright with a score of 903 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of 17 points over O2, which is in second place with its score of 885 points. Vodafone comes third with a score of 876 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:
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.
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