Singapore
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.
Singapore
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
StarHub brings home the largest number of Mobile Network Experience Awards
StarHub wins four awards outright and five jointly of a possible 13 awards, closely followed by Singtel winning three awards outright and sharing three. StarHub swept the Overall Experience awards, solely winning Video Experience and Download Speed Experience while jointly winning Games Experience and Upload Speed Experience. Opensignal also recognized StarHub as a 5G Global Leader in our latest 5G global mobile network experience awards in the 5G Download Speed and 5G Games Experience categories.
StarHub takes home the Consistent Quality award again
StarHub once again wins the Consistent Quality award with 82.6% of tests meeting the requirements of ‘good enough’ for users to maintain various typical demanding tasks on their device. It wins with a lead of only a percentage point over second placed Singtel. StarHub’s lead over Singtel has been decreasing by roughly one percentage point over the last three reports.
Singtel users have the most reliable experience in Singapore
Singtel wins the Reliability Experience award with an impressive score of 905 on a 1000-point scale, beating second-placed operator, StarHub, by 10 points. Singtel improved in reliability by seven points since the most recent report. In Opensignal’s previous report Singtel and StarHub were joint winners of the Reliability Experience Award.
Singtel continues to lead in 5G Coverage Experience.
Singtel places first for 5G Coverage Experience with a score of nine on a 10-point scale. This beats the two operators that are statistically tied for second place, StarHub and M1, by one full point. Singtel improved from a score of 8.7 points in the previous report and a score of 8.3 in November 2023.
M1 users continue to spend the most time connected to 5G
M1 once again wins the 5G Availability award with 5G users having an active 5G connection for 51.4% of the time. M1 has a lead of over nine percentage points over second-placed StarHub.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
StarHub is the most awarded operator in Singapore this time around. StarHub wins nine out of 13 awards. Four of these wins were outright while five were joint wins. These wins include all four of the Overall Experience awards, three out of four 5G Experience awards, a joint win in Availability and the Consistent Quality award. Singtel took home the second most awards with three joint wins and three outright wins, for six awards in total. M1 took home the 5G Availability award for which it was also recognized as a 5G Global Leader 5G global mobile network experience awards. M1 was also a joint winner in Upload Speed Experience and 5G Video Experience.
All of Singapore’s operators have completed the process of shutting down 3G services. StarHub and Singtel retired 3G services on November 1, 2024, while M1 did so on August 1, 2024. This will enable Singaporean operators to improve 4G and 5G services by refarming spectrum. Many countries in the world and especially in Asia Pacific are shutting down 3G services and focusing on 5G deployments. Opensignal recently published an insight on the transition away from legacy spectrum to 5G in APAC.
Improving 5G networks in Singapore is top of mind for all operators. StarHub announced at the end of August that it had ‘successfully conducted Singapore's inaugural Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) call on its 5G network.’ The call was collaborated on by Japan’s NTT DOCOMO. Singtel also claims to be the first operator to fully cover Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit Network with 5G. Innovation will not stop at 5G either, Singtel and South Korea’s SK Telecom agreed to collaborate on the development of 6G technology in July 2024.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the four main mobile network operators in Singapore — Singtel, M1, StarHub and SIMBA — 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
StarHub again wins the Video Experience award outright with a score of 74.1 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of three points over Singtel, which places in second with its score of 71.5 points. M1 comes third with a score of 69.7 points and SIMBA finishes in fourth with a score of 64.9 points.
M1’s score increased by two points while all other operators improved by one point.
Singtel, M1 and StarHub place in the Very Good (68-78) category, while SIMBA places 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
Singtel and StarHub win the Games Experience award jointly with identical scores of 84.3 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around three points over M1, which places in third with its score of 81 points. SIMBA comes fourth with a score of 77.7 points.
All operators place in the Good (75-85) category. 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
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
StarHub again wins the Download Speed Experience award outright, this time with a score of 116.1Mbps and a lead of 6Mbps over Singtel, which places in second with its score of 110.4Mbps. M1 comes third with a score of 92.8Mbps followed by SIMBA with a score of 22.9Mbps.
Singtel saw the largest nominal (13Mbps) and percent increase (13%). M1's score improved by 5Mbps (5%) and SIMBA's score rose by 1Mbps (5%).
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
M1 and StarHub win the Upload Speed Experience award jointly with statistically tied scores of 17.1-17.3Mbps and a lead of around 1Mbps over Singtel, which places in third with its score of 16.3Mbps. SIMBA comes fourth with a score of 5.3Mbps.
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).
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: Singapore, Mobile Network Experience Report, December 2024
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5G Experience
National Analysis
M1 and StarHub win the 5G Video Experience award jointly with statistically tied scores of 78.7-79 points on a 100-point scale. Singtel places in third with its score of 78.6 points. SIMBA comes fourth with a score of 73.3 points. StarHub's score has increased by two points.
Singtel, M1 and StarHub place in the Excellent (78 or above) category, while SIMBA places one category lower, in Very Good (68-78).
An Excellent (78 or above) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with fast loading times and no stalling. 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
Singtel and StarHub win the 5G Games Experience award jointly with statistically tied scores of 91.8-92.1 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around one point over M1, which places in third with its score of 90.8 points. SIMBA comes fourth with a score of 85 points.
Singtel, M1, StarHub and SIMBA all place in the Excellent (85 or above) category.
An Excellent (85 or above) rating means that the vast majority of users deem this 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. 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
Singtel again wins the 5G Download Speed award outright with a score of 359.5Mbps and a lead of around 15Mbps over M1 and StarHub, which share second place with their statistically tied scores of 344.5-344.9Mbps. SIMBA comes fourth with a score of 40.2Mbps.
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
In the previous report, the award was won by Singtel. StarHub is the new outright winner of the 5G Upload Speed award, replacing Singtel. StarHub wins with a score of 31.7Mbps and a lead of around 2Mbps (5%) over Singtel and M1, which are in joint second place with statistically tied scores of 29.9-30.5Mbps. SIMBA comes fourth with a score of 8.8Mbps.
StarHub's score has increased by 3Mbps (12%) while M1's score has improved by 2Mbps (7%).
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).
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: Singapore, Mobile Network Experience Report, December 2024
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Coverage
National Analysis
Singtel wins the 5G Coverage Experience award outright with a score of nine points on a 10-point scale. M1, SIMBA and StarHub all tie for second place with statistically tied scores.
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
Singtel and StarHub again are joint winners of the Availability award, this time with statistically tied scores of 99.4-99.5% while M1 and SIMBA place in third with their statistically tied scores of 99-99.2%.
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
M1 again wins the 5G Availability award outright with a score of 51.4% and a lead of nine percentage points over StarHub, which places in second with its score of 42.3%. Singtel finishes in third with a score of 38% while SIMBA comes fourth with a score of 19.7%.
Singtel's score has dramatically increased by seven percentage points while SIMBA's score has improved 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.
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: Singapore, Mobile Network Experience Report, December 2024
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Consistency
National Analysis
StarHub again wins the Consistent Quality award outright, on this occasion with a score of 82.6% and a lead of one percentage point over Singtel, which places in second with its score of 81.3%. M1 comes third with a score of 78% while SIMBA places fourth with a score of 72.6%. SIMBA’s score has increased by two percentage points from the last report.
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
Singtel is the new outright winner of the Reliability Experience award — a change from the previous report, when the award was shared between Singtel and StarHub. Singtel wins with a score of 905 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of around 14 points over M1, StarHub and SIMBA, which share second place with their statistically tied scores of 889-895 points. Singtel's score has increased by eight points from that seen in the last report.
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:
a) Signal Availability — the proportion of time Opensignal users can successfully receive mobile network signal,
b) Data Connectivity — the proportion of time when the network is available and the device can connect to the internet,
c) Task Completion — whether tasks initiated by the user’s device are completed,
d) 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.
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: Singapore, Mobile Network Experience Report, December 2024
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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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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