Qatar
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.
Qatar
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
Ooredoo is top for both overall and 5G Video Experience
Our Qatari users observe the best quality of experience while streaming on-demand videos with Ooredoo, both with 5G and overall. This makes Ooredoo the outright winner of the overall and 5G Video Experience awards. Both Ooredoo’s and Vodafone's scores have improved since the last report, with those on Ooredoo reporting greater improvements in both categories.
The fastest overall and 5G mobile speeds in Qatar are with Ooredoo
Once again, our Ooredoo users clock the fastest average download speeds in Qatar — 63.8Mbps on overall networks and an impressive 422.1Mbps on 5G. Compared to Vodafone, Ooredoo's average overall download speeds are 23% faster, and average 5G download speeds are 35% faster. Likewise, Ooredoo users enjoy the fastest average upload speeds — 16.6Mbps overall and 38.6Mbps when connected to 5G.
Vodafone edges out Ooredoo to win overall and 5G Games Experience
Our Vodafone users observe the best quality of experience while playing multiplayer mobile games over mobile networks. Vodafone has outperformed Ooredoo in overall and 5G Games Experience, as Vodafone users have reported a greater improvement compared to its peers on Ooredoo, who did not see a significant difference compared to the last report. As a result, Vodafone wins both awards outright this time, leading over Ooredoo by around one point.
Ooredoo leads in terms of Consistent Quality
Ooredoo retains the Consistent Quality award, with a score of 62.4% — six percentage points greater than Vodafone. This indicates that Ooredoo 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.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest review of Qatar's mobile networks, Ooredoo shines as the top performer, earning the title of Best Network — leading outright in Download Speed Experience and Consistent Quality, and sharing the top spot alongside Vodafone for Reliability Experience and Coverage Experience.
Ooredoo was also recently recognized in Opensignal's 2024 5G Mobile Network Experience Awards, where it was named a 5G Global Leader for 5G Download Speed and a 5G Rising Star for 5G Games Experience. Among countries with smaller land mass area, Ooredoo's 5G users saw average download speeds above 400Mbps and the biggest year-on-year boost in 5G Games Experience in percentage terms, between H1 2023 and H1 2024.
Ooredoo leads with eight outright wins out of 13 categories this time. While Ooredoo remains in front for 5G download and upload speeds, Vodafone holds the top spot for Availability and has slightly edged ahead in overall and 5G Games Experience. Vodafone's Games Experience scores have improved since the last report in March 2024, while Ooredoo's scores haven't changed significantly.
Ooredoo and Vodafone are actively investing in network enhancements to maintain Qatar's competitive edge globally. Qatar's Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) is also driving a strategic push to optimize network resources for 5G. Under the CRA's recent decision, domestic mobile operators, including Ooredoo and Vodafone, must phase out 3G services by the end of 2025 to free up spectrum for 4G and 5G networks, which are central to the country's digital transformation strategy — Vision 2030. As part of this strategy, Qatar has restricted imports of legacy devices to encourage widespread 4G and 5G adoption. Additionally, by March 2025 , operators are required to transition the 2.6GHz spectrum band from Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) to Time Division Duplex (TDD), aligning with international standards and regional trends seen across the GCC.
This approach is in line with proactive network modernization efforts in the GCC, where markets are implementing similar network sunsets and spectrum-refarming strategies to support 5G. Qatar's focus on maximizing the efficiency of its existing spectrum, including leveraging the 3.5GHz band — the region's primary spectrum for 5G — also positions it as a leader among small landmass markets in EMEA .
In this report, we examine the mobile network experience of the two main mobile network operators in Qatar — Ooredoo and Vodafone — over a period of 90 days starting on July 01, 2024, and ending on September 28, 2024, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Ooredoo users continue to observe the best on-demand Video Experience. As a result, Ooredoo is once again the outright winner of the on-demand Video Experience award with a score of 59.5 points on a 100-point scale — an improvement of 6.2% compared to the last report.
As a result, Ooredoo rates as Good (58-68) for Video Experience, upgrading from the Fair (48-58) rating it had in the previous report. Vodafone's score also improved by 3.7%, but it remains in the Fair category (48-58) with 54.1 points.
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
In the previous report, Ooredoo was the sole winner of the Games Experience award. However, Vodafone's score has improved by 5% since then, while Ooredoo's has not changed significantly. As a result, Vodafone wins the Games Experience award outright with a score of 70.3 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of less than one point over Ooredoo.
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 smartphone users experience the fastest overall download speeds in Qatar with Ooredoo, 63.8Mbps on average. Compared to the last report, our users on Vodafone have observed 15.5% faster speeds this time, rising from 45.1Mbps to 52.1Mbps, while those on Ooredoo saw a 2% improvement. As a result, the overall download speeds seen by our Ooredoo users are 23% faster than those observed with Vodafone, down from 39%.
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 is the winner of the Upload Speed Experience award. Our users on Ooredoo's network see the top overall upload speeds in Qatar, averaging 16.6Mbps — over 30% faster than Vodafone.
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
Ooredoo is top in Qatar when it comes to the quality of experience while streaming on-demand video over a 5G connection. Ooredoo wins the 5G Video Experience award with a score of 66.4 points (on a scale of 0-100) and a lead of six points over Vodafone.
Compared to the previous report, Ooredoo's score has increased by four points, while Vodafone's score has increased by two points. Both operators place in the Good (58-68) category, meaning users, on average, are able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
5G Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
In the previous report, the award was won by Ooredoo. However, this time, Vodafone wins the 5G Games Experience award outright with a score of 76.6 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of one point over Ooredoo. This has resulted from a 4.3% improvement seen on Vodafone compared to last time, with no significant change seen on Ooredoo.
Both operators place in the Good (75-85) category. 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
Ooredoo remains the undisputed winner of the 5G Download Speed award in Qatar with a notably high score of 422.1Mbps and a lead of 109Mbps (35%) over Vodafone. Ooredoo's and Vodafone's scores haven't changed a significant amount since the previous report.
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
Our users on Ooredoo observe the fastest 5G upload speeds, 38.6Mbps on average — 9Mbps (30%) faster than the speeds seen by Vodafone users. Ooredoo is therefore the outright winner of the 5G Upload Speed award.
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
Ooredoo and Vodafone are joint winners of the Coverage Experience award with identical scores of 8.8 points on a 10-point scale.
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
Ooredoo wins the 5G Coverage Experience award outright with a score of 5.7 points on a 10-point scale ahead of second Vodafone's score of 5.5 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
Our Vodafone users continue to spend the largest proportion of their time connected to a 3G or better cellular signal — 99.5% on average, and less than one percentage point greater than Ooredoo.
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
Ooredoo is the outright winner of the Consistent Quality award outright with a score of 62.4% and a lead of six percentage points over Vodafone.
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
Ooredoo and Vodafone remain joint winners in terms of Reliability Experience with statistically tied scores above 800 points on a 100-1000 point scale.
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