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.
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.
Rogers picks up its second outright win for Reliability Experience, and its fourth for Consistent Quality, making it the only operator to win these awards since their introduction to Canadian mobile network reports. Rogers wins Reliability Experience this time with a score of 916 points on a scale of 100-1000 — it wins Consistent Quality with a score of 80.5%. Both scores are improvements over those seen in the previous report.
Bell takes the lead for 5G Games Experience, breaking out of a statistical tie with Telus to win the award outright. Bell’s score of 85.1 points on a 100-point scale makes it the only Canadian operator to place in the Excellent (85 or above) category for 5G Games Experience, Telus and Rogers place one category lower, in Good (75-85). Additionally, Bell shares the overall Games Experience award with Telus and Rogers, a change from the last report when the award was jointly won by just Bell and Telus.
Rogers keeps hold of both awards for upload speed — Upload Speed Experience and 5G Upload Speed. Our Rogers users enjoy average upload speeds of 12.4Mbps overall and 29Mbps over 5G connections. The gap between first and second place has shrunk between reports, narrowing to 1Mbps for Upload Speed Experience and 5Mbps for 5G Upload Speed.
Telus wins 5G Availability outright — Rogers, the winner in the last report, now places in second, one percentage point below Telus. This means that our Canadian users with an active 5G subscription spend the highest proportion of time with a 5G connection on Telus’ network — 14.2%.
Telus and Bell are joint winners of the Download Speed Experience award with statistically similar tied scores of 77.3-77.5Mbps. Telus caught up with Bell due to its score increasing by 6.3Mbps, while Bell’s score increased by a lesser 4.7Mbps. However, Bell is still the outright winner of the 5G Download Speed award, its score of 189.1Mbps more than 10% higher than second-placed Telus’.
Telus and Bell are joint winners of both coverage experience awards — Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience. The pair share the awards with identical scores due to their network sharing agreements. Telus and Bell retain first place for Coverage Experience with identical scores of 9.44 points on a 10-point scale, and similarly remain top for 5G Coverage Experience with scores of 6.06 points.
Competition remains fierce among Canadian operators, with over a third of awards being shared between two or more operators, and all three operators taking home a sizable haul of wins. Rogers has the largest share of first place finishes, with eight total wins, joint and outright. Additionally, Rogers has the highest number of outright victories, its six wins including both consistency awards — Consistent Quality and Reliability Experience. Bell and Telus take home seven and five awards, respectively. The pair continue to share both coverage experience awards due to network sharing agreements.
A recent Opensignal analysis compared Canada’s 5G experience with that of its Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) peers. The analysis demonstrated how reliance on lower-frequency (less than 3GHz) spectrum bands has caused Canada to lag behind many OECD markets. Canada held a spectrum auction in November 2023, allocating frequencies in the 3.8GHz band to operators. The positive effects are yet to be seen as operators must wait until March 2025 before this spectrum can be deployed in urban areas — 2027 for rural areas.
This report on Canadian mobile network experience combines both overall and 5G metrics into a singular report, a change from the previous structure where we reported on overall and 5G experience separately.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the three main mobile network operators in Canada — Bell, Rogers and Telus — over a period of 90 days starting on October 1, 2024, and ending on December 29, 2024, to see how they fared. Along with our national analysis, we've also examined users' mobile network experience across seven of Canada’s major regions.
Rogers remains the outright winner of the Video Experience award, doing so with a score of 70.8 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of two points over second-placed Telus' 69.1 points. Bell comes third with a score of 67 points.
Scores have increased across all three operators, with Telus' score increasing the most, by two points, Rogers' by one point and Bell's by less than one point.
Telus and Rogers place in the Very Good (68-78) category, while Bell places one category lower, in Good (58-68). A Very Good 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.
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:
Rogers joins Telus and Bell on the winners’ podium for Games Experience. The trio share the Games Experience award with statistically tied scores of 72-72.3 points on a 100-point scale. Rogers manages to catch up to Bell and Telus due to its score increasing by five points between reports. Bell's and Telus' scores increased by four and three points, respectively.
All operators place in the Fair (65-75) category for Games Experience. This means that our users on all three operators find the mobile gaming 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.
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:
Telus and Bell win the Download Speed Experience award jointly with statistically tied scores of 77.3-77.5Mbps. This is a change from the previous report, when Bell won the award outright.
Telus, Bell and Rogers have all seen a boost in average download speeds since the last report — Telus' score has increased by 6Mbps, Bell's by 5Mbps and Rogers' by 1Mbps.
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:
Rogers wins the Upload Speed Experience award outright for a fourth consecutive report. Rogers wins this time with a score of 12.4Mbps and a lead of 1Mbps over second-placed Telus' 11.2Mbps. Bell comes third with a score of 11Mbps. However, Rogers’ lead has shrunk due to Telus’ and Bell’s scores increasing by 1Mbps, while Rogers’ increased by less than 1Mbps.
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:
Rogers continues to win the 5G Video Experience award outright. Rogers’ score of 77.7 points on a 100-point scale gives it a lead of two points over second-placed Telus' 76.2 points. Bell comes third with a score of 74.9 points.
All three operators place in the Very Good (68-78) category for 5G Video Experience. 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.
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.
Bell is the new outright winner of the 5G Games Experience award — in the previous report Bell shared the victory with Telus due to their scores being statistically tied. Bell scores 85.1 points on a 100-point scale, placing it in the Excellent (85 or above) category. Second-placed Telus and Rogers place one category lower — Good (75-85) — with their statistically tied scores of 83.9-84.2 points.
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.
Since the last report, Rogers' score has increased by three points, Bell's score has increased by two points and Telus' score hasn't changed a significant amount.
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.
Our Canadian users once again have the fastest average 5G download speeds on Bell’s network, making Bell the outright winner of the 5G Download Speed award. Bell’s speeds clock in at 189.1Mbps, giving it a lead of 18Mbps over second-placed Telus' 171Mbps. Rogers comes third with a score of 155.1Mbps.
Scores have improved on Telus and Bell, by 6Mbps and 3Mbps, respectively. Rogers' score has decreased by 2Mbps.
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).
Rogers keeps hold of the 5G Upload Speed award, winning outright with a score of 29Mbps and a lead of 5Mbps over second-placed Bell's 23.6Mbps. Telus comes third with a score of 22Mbps.
Since the last Canadian mobile network experience report, Bell's score rose by 1Mbps, Rogers’ score decreased by 1Mbps and Telus' score didn’t change a significant amount.
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).
Telus and Bell remain the outright winners of the Coverage Experience — due to network sharing agreements, the pair have identical scores of 9.4 points on a 10-point scale. Rogers' places in third with eight points. Since the previous report, Rogers’, Telus’ and Bell’s scores have all increased by less than one point.
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.
Telus and Bell once again jointly win the 5G Coverage Experience award due to their network sharing agreements. The pair share the award with identical scores of 6.1 points on a 10-point scale and a lead of around two points over third-placed Rogers' 4.4 points. Rogers’, Telus’ and Bell’s scores have all increased by less than one point.
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.
Bell and Rogers continue to win the Availability award jointly. The pair win with identical scores of 99.4% and a slight lead over third-placed Telus' 99.3%.
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.
Telus moves into first place for 5G Availability, overtaking the winner in the previous report, Rogers. Telus wins the award outright with a score of 14.2% and a lead of one percentage point over now second-placed Rogers' 13.4%. Bell comes third with a score of 12.9%.
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.
Rogers wins the Consistent Quality award outright for a fourth consecutive time — this time with a score of 80.5% and a lead of three percentage points over second-placed Telus' 78%. Bell comes third with a score of 77.2%.
Users on all three networks have seen an increase in score between reports, ranging from one percentage point on Rogers and Bell, to two percentage points on Telus.
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.
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.
Our Canadian users continue to have the most reliable experience on Rogers’ network. Rogers wins the Reliability Experience award outright with a score of 916 points on a 100-1000 point scale and a lead of 21 points over second-placed Telus' 895 points. Bell comes third with a score of 887 points.
Telus' and Rogers’ scores have increased since the previous report, by 10 points and seven points, respectively — Bell's score hasn't changed a significant amount.
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:
% time connected — 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
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.
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.
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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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