Kuwait
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.
Kuwait
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
Zain leads the pack in Consistent Quality and Reliability Experience
Zain wins the Consistent Quality award, with a score of 77.6% — almost 15 percentage points greater than Ooredoo. This indicates that Zain users continue to see the greatest proportion of tests that meet the minimum thresholds to support demanding commonly used mobile applications, such as video calling or uploading an image to social media. Additionally, Zain also wins Reliability Experience award outright, scoring 904 points on a 1000-point scale
Zain users enjoy the top video streaming and multiplayer mobile gaming experience
Zain is the outright winner of the 5G Video Experience awards and joint winner of the overall Video Experience award alongside stc. Meanwhile, Zain and Ooredoo share the awards for overall and 5G Games Experience.
Ooredoo users observe the fastest overall mobile speeds
Once again, Ooredoo wins the Download Speed Experience award, with users observing the fastest download speeds of 84.3Mbps, on average — around 16% faster than stc and Zain, which tie for second place. Similarly, Ooredoo wins the Upload Speed Experience award with a score of 19.1Mbps, 13% faster than Zain. Our users In Kuwait have seen notable improvements in overall mobile speeds since the last report, with users on all three networks observing 34-48% faster download speeds and 15-22% faster upload speeds, on average.
Zain is the winner of 5G Download Speed award
Zain achieves an outright win with an average 5G download speed of 318Mbps, outpacing Ooredoo by over 60Mbps and stc by over 100Mbps. The 5G Download Speed on stc has improved by 11%, while Zain and Ooredoo have decreased by over 4% and 12%, respectively, compared to the last report.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest analysis of Kuwait’s mobile network experience, Zain has emerged as the leading operator, winning 11 out of 13 awards this time — either jointly or outright. Zain claims outright victory in five categories, including Consistent Quality, Reliability Experience, 5G Download Speed and 5G Video Experience, while Ooredoo continues to lead outright in overall download and upload speeds, while sharing the top spot with Zain in four award categories, including Availability — the proportion of time users spend connected to mobile broadband services — for which all three operators are closely matched.
Kuwait currently relies mostly on 3.5GHz band for 5G, which aligns with global best practices from advanced markets such as South Korea, further reinforcing its competitive position in the GCC, where users’ 5G Experience consistently outpaces most of their EMEA peers in terms of high-speed mobile connectivity. GCC regulators, including Kuwait’s Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), have prioritized the 3.5GHz band for 5G deployment, with almost all operators in the region, including those in Kuwait, will all three operators having access to at least 100MHz of this band.
Kuwait’s proactive approach to 5G is in line with other GCC markets, which are swiftly shifting to 4G and 5G by phasing out older 2G and 3G networks. For instance, Kuwait’s Resolution No. 297/2023 has restricted imports of 2G/3G-only devices, encouraging the adoption of modern 4G and 5G-compatible technology. CITRA is also committed to a full 3G sunset by mid-2025, reallocating spectrum from legacy networks to boost the capacity of 4G and 5G networks. In addition to expanding 5G, Kuwait is preparing for 5G-Advanced, with CITRA allocating new frequencies in the 2300MHz and 2600MHz bands, targeting commercial deployment by the end of 2024. These efforts align with Kuwait’s Vision 2035, which aims to position the country as a leader in digital infrastructure and emphasizes digital transformation as a central national objective.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the three main mobile network operators in Kuwait — Zain, Ooredoo and stc — over a period of 90 days starting on August 01, 2024, and ending on October 29, 2024, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
In the previous report, Zain, Ooredoo and stc were joint winners. However, all three operators’ scores have increased since then — Zain’s and stc’s have improved by five points, while Ooredoo’s score has improved by 4 points. As a result, Zain and stc win the Video Experience award jointly with statistically tied scores of 68.7-69.6 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around one point over Ooredoo.
All operators place in the Very Good (68-78) category. 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.
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
Ooredoo was the outright winner of Games Experience award in February 2024. However, this time, Zain and Ooredoo share the podium for Games Experience award with statistically tied scores of 74.8-74.9 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around three points over stc.
This change is due to Zain users observing a greater improvement compared to those on Ooredoo. Zain’s score has improved by almost twice as much as Ooredoo’s score. Meanwhile stc users have seen the biggest improvement of around 11%, compared to last time.
With these scores, all three operators place in the Fair (65-75) category.
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
Ooredoo remains the winner of Download Speed Experience award, winning this time with a score of 84.3Mbps, representing the average speed observed by our users across all generations of mobile technology on its network. The Download Speed Experience on Ooredoo is around 16% higher than that seen on stc and Zain, which tie for second place.
Compared to the previous report, all three operators have seen a significant uplift in their overall download speeds. The Download Speed Experience of Ooredoo and stc users has risen by 47-48%, while those on Zain have seen a 34% improvement since February 2024.
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
Ooredoo retains the Upload Speed Experience award with a score of 19.1Mbps — a lead of 12% over Zain. Stc places third with a score of 14Mbps.
Since the last report, the Upload Speed Experience on Ooredoo and stc have increased by 22%, while Zain’s has improved by 15%.
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
Once again, Zain is the outright winner of the 5G Video Experience award, this time with a score of 77.3 points (on a scale of 0-100), slightly ahead of Ooredoo and stc.
All operators place in the Very Good (68-78) category. 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.
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
Zain and Ooredoo are the joint winners of the 5G Games Experience award, as both operators remain statistically tied — this time with scores of 80.7-81.1 points on a 100-point scale, placing in the Good (75-85) category. Meanwhile stc 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.
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
Zain remains the outright winner of the 5G Download Speed award with a score of 318Mbps, leading Ooredoo by over 60Mbps and stc by over 100Mbps.
Compared to the last report, stc's score has increased by 11%, while Ooredoo's and Zain’s scores have decreased by 12% and 4%, 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
Zain and Ooredoo are winners of the 5G Upload Speed award with statistically tied scores of 31.3-31.7Mbps and a lead of around 26% over stc.
Stc's score has increased by 31% since the last report. While Zain's and Ooredoo's scores haven't changed a significant amount since the previous report.
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
Zain wins the Coverage Experience award outright with a score of 7.9 points on a 10-point scale and a lead of one point over Ooredoo, which places in second with its score of 6.5 points. Stc is in last place with 6.3 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.
National Analysis
We see a close-run race for 5G Coverage Experience, with Zain and stc jointly winning the 5G Coverage Experience award with identical scores of 3.6 points on a 10-point, slightly ahead of Ooredoo’s score of 3.4 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.
National Analysis
All of the operators continue to share the Availability award with statistically tied scores of 98-98.3%. This means users in Kuwait spend over 98% of their time connected to mobile broadband services — 3G or higher.
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.
Consistency
National Analysis
Zain is the new winner of the Consistent Quality award with a score of 77.6% and a lead of 15 percentage points over Ooredoo, while stc comes third scoring 54.2%.
Compared to the last report, Zain's score has improved by 13 percentage points, while Ooredoo's and stc’s scores have decreased by a small margin.
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
Zain wins the Reliability Experience award outright with a score of 904 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of 28 points over Ooredoo. Stc comes third with a score of 825 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.
Check how your internet connection impacts your favorite apps with the Meteor App
Journalists, please retain the Opensignal logo and copyright
(© Opensignal Limited) information when using this image.
This image may not be used for any commercial purpose, including use in advertisements or other promotional content, without prior written consent.
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