Author: Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.
Ookla Research™ Articles
| October 20, 2025

Mexican Consumers Gravitating Towards Higher Speed Fiber Tariffs

fiber

Mexican ISPs look to consolidate their positions following significant network investment

The Mexican market has witnessed a rapid transition to fiber over the last few years, led by market incumbent Telmex, as well as challengers Totalplay and Megacable. While Telmex still holds a sizable lead on its rivals in terms of market share of broadband connections, it is facing intense competitive pressure, with both Totalplay and Megacable seeing sustained increases in net additions, based on Speedtest samples.

Our analysis of Ookla SpeedtestⓇ data reveals a marked transition, particularly among Totalplay’s customer base, towards adoption of higher speed tariffs in excess of 100 Mbps. We also see that fiber connections help deliver improved user experience for key use cases such as online gaming and video calling. However, Wi-Fi remains a bottleneck in the home, with a significant proportion of Mexican households still using legacy Wi-Fi customer premises equipment (CPE).

Key Takeaways

  • Positive net broadband additions for leading fiber ISPs. Totalplay and Megacable are consistently gaining customers, up 3.3% and 2.8% respectively, based on migration of Speedtest users between the ISPs in 1H 2025. Telmex followed with 1% growth, while izzi, which relies more on its older hybrid-fiber coax (HFC) network, has experienced significant user churn over the last several quarters.
  • Leading fiber ISPs are delivering superior speeds and quality of experience. While Telmex continues to lead the market based on broadband connections market share, its rivals outpace it on key performance indicators. Totalplay recorded a median download speed of 160.48 Mbps in 1H 2025, followed by Megacable with 94.08 Mbps, Telmex with 78.00 Mbps, and izzi with 74.50 Mbps. Greater adoption of faster fiber services among its customer base also helped drive leads for Totalplay on gaming latency, where it recorded a median of 66 ms, followed by Megacable with 77 ms, both ahead of Telmex with 82 ms.
  • Consumers are migrating to faster speed tiers, especially on networks supporting faster performance. In Chihuahua, over half of Totalplay’s customers (51.5%) receive speeds over 100 Mbps based on Speedtest data. The provider saw its share of users recording speeds in excess of 300 Mbps grow significantly, from 11.7% in Q3 2024 to 19.2% in Q2 2025. By contrast, Telmex and izzi had more than 70% of users recording less than 100 Mbps, of which, a majority experienced less than 50 Mbps.
  • The benefits of fast fiber are often limited by outdated in-home Wi-Fi CPE. Many users cannot achieve the full speed of their broadband plan because of their Wi-Fi routers. This issue is most pronounced for customers of izzi and Telmex; in Chihuahua, 56% of izzi customers and 46% of Telmex customers use Wi-Fi 4 or older, compared to just 33% for Totalplay.
  • Network quality directly impacts the experience of latency-sensitive applications like online gaming. Fiber providers hold a distinct advantage for gamers. Totalplay delivered the lowest gaming latency at 66 ms in Chihuahua, followed by Megacable with 77 ms, and Telmex with 82 ms. Izzi lagged behind with a median latency of 114 ms, due to reliance on its hybrid-fiber coaxial (HFC) network. For reference, NVIDIA recommends a latency to its data centers of less than 80 ms, for its cloud gaming service GeForce NOW.
  • Net promoter scores (NPS) are remarkably consistent across all major ISPs. For the lowest speed tier (0-50 Mbps), every provider recorded a deeply negative NPS, with an average of -41. In stark contrast, sentiment becomes strongly positive for the highest speed tiers. For customers on plans over 300 Mbps, NPS scores climb to +49 on average. This demonstrates that faster connectivity is not just a technical specification but a key driver of a more positive and valued customer experience.

Mexico lags regional peers in median download speeds

The Mexican broadband market remains heavily weighted towards former incumbent Telmex, which is nearing the end of a transition from DSL to fiber. GSMA Intelligence data shows that Telmex had a market share of broadband connections of just under 40% as of Q4 2024. Telmex competes against three other major ISPs with market shares of close to 20% each— Totalplay, a pure fiber ISP, Megacable, a cable ISP rapidly migrating its user base to fiber, and izzi, a cable ISP which continues to rely heavily on its HFC network.

Despite a relatively high market concentration, the Mexican fixed broadband market has undergone a rapid transformation, driven by aggressive investment in fiber optic infrastructure. Telmex has been central to this by migrating its user base from copper to fiber.  During its Q2 2025 results, Carlos García Moreno, financial director of América Móvil, said that 91% of Telmex users were on fiber, up from 67% just two years ago.

Competition has been fierce, with Megacable also expanding its fiber optic network, maintaining a capex-to-revenue ratio in excess of 30% in 2024, and while this has fallen in 2025, it still remains above 20%. Totalplay is in a similar position, spending in excess of 20% of revenues on capex during 2025, and while it is not focused on further geographic expansion, it continues to reinforce its lead on network speeds in the market, recently launching a symmetrical 10 Gbps rate plan complete with a Wi-Fi 7 CPE, taking advantage of the performance supported by the latest generation of Wi-Fi technologies.

This race to deploy fiber in the last mile in Mexico is helping drive faster median network speeds, however Mexico continues to lag behind many regional peers. It placed 68th globally on the Speedtest Global Index for August 2025, well behind Chile which placed 2nd, Peru in 20th, Brazil in 28th, Colombia in 30th, and Argentina in 56th.

A rising tide of fiber across Mexican cities

Across all ISPs combined, Mexican median download speeds increased by 18.78 Mbps year-on-year, to reach 91.55 Mbps in Q2 2025, fueled by the continued migration to fiber. Upload speeds increased at a faster rate, up 33.73 Mbps to reach 72.50 Mbps, thanks in part to Totalplay’s move to offer symmetrical speeds as covered in a previous Ookla Research article. With Mexican cities the focal point for fiber expansion in the market, we examined ISP performance across a selection of cities – Chihuahua, León, Mexico City, and Puebla, to show the impact of this fiber rollout:

  • Mexico City: Totalplay cemented its lead, with its median download speed increasing significantly from 120.18 Mbps in Q2 2024 to 198.62 Mbps in Q2 2025. Megacable also saw a significant jump to 96.28 Mbps, while Telmex and izzi posted more modest gains.
  • Chihuahua: Totalplay again demonstrated the most dramatic growth, with speeds increasing from 93.79 Mbps to 142.27 Mbps year-on-year, while Telmex and izzi also both made gains.
  • León: The trend continued, with Totalplay’s median speed rising to 138.16 Mbps and Megacable and Telmex both seeing year-on-year improvements.
  • Puebla: Totalplay again recorded the highest median download speed of any provider, reaching 163.79 Mbps in Q2 2025, while Megacable and Telmex both saw more modest improvements.

Median Download Speed by ISP, Select Mexican Cities
Speedtest Intelligence, Q2 2024 – Q2 2025, Mbps

Analysis of speed tiers shows user migration to faster rate plans

Part of the challenge for ISPs is convincing users to upgrade to faster broadband rate plans. Broadband price plans typically start at around 350-400 MXN per month (approximately USD $20), with both Telmex and Megacable offering the lowest priced packages for 50 Mbps, while izzi offers a 30 Mbps service at a similar price point. Totalplay on the other hand has sought to differentiate on performance, with its lowest tier at least double that of its rivals, at 100 Mbps, but for this it charges MXN 529 (closer to $30).

Chihuahua

Examining the spread of Speedtest samples across different speed brackets, shows that a much greater share of Totalplay (51.5%) customers in Chihuahua opt for faster connections (in excess of 100+ Mbps), compared to Megacable (30.2%), Telmex (27.4%), and izzi (21.6%).

There were only minor changes for both izzi and Telmex, based on Q3 2024 vs. Q2 2025 data. izzi shows a minor uptick in the share of users with speeds between 50-100 Mbps, at the expense of the higher speed tier of 100-300 Mbps. Telmex has a slightly more positive outcome, with a decline in its share of users with the slowest speeds (0-50 Mbps), coupled with a rise in those with speeds of 50-100 Mbps, reflecting its continued migration of users from copper to fiber. Totalplay and Megacable recorded more significant swings among their user bases. For Megacable, we saw a decline in users with speeds between 100-300 Mbps, while the share of users with 300+ Mbps, as well as 0-50 Mbps and 50-100 Mbps all increased. Totalplay saw the most positive outcome among the ISPs, with a just under 5% increase in users with speeds between 100-300 Mbps, while its share of users with speeds in excess of 300 Mbps ramped up strongly from 11.7% to 19.2%.

Chihuahua – sample share by speed tier
Speedtest Intelligence, Q3 2024 – Q2 2025, Mbps

León

For León, we compared Telmex, Megacable and Totalplay, but excluded izzi, which did not have sufficient samples to be included. Here we see better performance from Megacable, with 48.9% of its users recording speeds of 100 Mbps or greater in Q2 2025, and with its share of samples with speeds between 100-300 Mbps and in excess of 300 Mbps both picking up, largely at the expense of samples between 0-50 Mbps. Totalplay was a similar story – recording a sizeable decline in samples between 0-50 Mbps, and with both 100-300 Mbps and 300+ Mbps tiers seeing sample share grow strongly.

Telmex, while again exhibiting more marginal changes in its user’s distribution by speed tiers, did record a positive trend of a decline in samples between 0-50 Mbps, with users recording 50-100 Mbps, and 100-300 Mbps both increasing.

León – sample share by speed tier
Speedtest Intelligence, Q3 2024 – Q2 2025, Mbps

Legacy Wi-Fi remains a key limiting factor in the market

While many users subscribe to faster fiber rate plans, their real-world experience can be limited by another factor: the quality of their in-home Wi-Fi network. Data from Q2 2025 shows a significant number of users are still on legacy, slower Wi-Fi standards (Wi-Fi 4 and 5), which can prevent them from realizing the full benefit of fiber broadband performance.

This issue is more prevalent among Telmex and izzi customers. In Chihuahua, 56% of izzi customers and 46% of Telmex customers were using Wi-Fi 4 or worse, compared to just 33% for Totalplay and 38% for Megacable. Conversely, customers of Totalplay and Megacable have much greater access to more modern Wi-Fi CPE. 24% of Totalplay customers in Chihuahua used routers supporting Wi-Fi 6, 6E, or 7, compared to just 2% of izzi customers. A similar pattern is observed in León, where 26% of Totalplay customers utilize more modern Wi-Fi equipment, followed by Megacable with 22%, both far outpacing Telmex with just 6%.

Samples by Wi-Fi generation, Chihuahua and León
Speedtest data, 1H 2025

Advanced fiber providers offer QoE performance gains

For demanding applications like online gaming, raw speed is only part of the equation; low latency is paramount for a smooth, responsive experience. Here, the advantage of advanced fiber providers becomes even clearer.

Totalplay delivered the lowest gaming latency in both Chihuahua (66 ms) and León (81 ms), placing it a step ahead of its peers. Megacable also performed well with 77 ms and 91 ms, respectively. In contrast, izzi’s HFC network recorded significantly higher latency, measuring 114 ms in Chihuahua and 127 ms in León, a level that can negatively impact the gameplay for more immersive, latency sensitive games.

Game latency by ISP (ms), Chihuahua and León
Speedtest Intelligence, Q2 2025

This performance advantage extends to other real-time applications, such as video calling, which requires a low latency and jitter for a seamless experience. In Chihuahua, Totalplay consistently provided lower latency for video calls than its competitors in both Q3 2024 and Q2 2025, while both Megacable and Telmex recorded improvements of approximately 10ms. In León, the improvements were less pronounced, with Megacable and Totalplay recording similar latencies, while Telmex was marginally behind, but showing improvement.

Video calling latency by ISP (ms), Chihuahua and León
Speedtest Intelligence, Q3 2024 – Q2 2025

Market impact: performance driving customer acquisition

The superior network performance offered by leading ISPs has a direct and measurable impact on customer satisfaction, which in turn drives customer loyalty. When we analyze customer sentiment using Net Promoter Score (NPS), a clear and powerful trend emerges: customers on higher-speed tiers consistently report greater satisfaction.

This trend is remarkably consistent across all major ISPs. For the lowest speed tier (0-50 Mbps), every provider recorded a deeply negative NPS, with an average of -41. In stark contrast, sentiment becomes strongly positive for the highest speed tiers. For customers on plans over 300 Mbps, NPS scores climb +49 on average. This demonstrates that faster connectivity is not just a technical specification but a key driver of a more positive and valued customer experience.

Net Promoter Score (NPS) by speed tier
Speedtest data, Mexico (all providers combined, 1H 2025)

Ultimately, customer satisfaction—or lack thereof—is a strong predictor of customer loyalty. When this satisfaction data is viewed alongside customer migration patterns, the market dynamics become even clearer. Looking across the Mexican market, net flow analysis of Speedtest users between Q3 2023 and Q1 2025 shows a consistent pattern of customer churn away from izzi, which posted losses of 11.1%, 11.5%, and 10.2% across the three periods analyzed. Izzi, which has not pursued fiber in the same way as the three other ISPs, is clearly seeing customers opt for more advanced fiber alternatives in the market, with Megacable, Telmex, and Totalplay net recipients. Of the three predominantly fiber ISPs, Totalplay and Megacable consistently recorded net customer gains.

Net flow of Speedtest users, Mexico
Speedtest data, H1 2024 – H1 2025

Market outlook: pressure on ISPs to cater to demand for improved performance

The competitive landscape in Mexico’s fixed broadband market will continue to be defined by the performance of fiber networks. As fiber deployments continue to mature, ISPs will have to carefully manage their customer bases, looking to balance speed tier upgrades with consumer price elasticity. They should not ignore key quality of experience indicators, and other performance bottlenecks such as outdated Wi-Fi CPE, all of which can impact consumer sentiment, and churn. Addressing this challenge by pairing advanced fiber networks with modern Wi-Fi 6 or 7 CPE—as Totalplay has begun to do —will be critical for monetizing network investments and meeting the expectations of a consumer base that is actively migrating to faster, higher-quality service tiers.

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fiber

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

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Ookla Research™ Articles
| September 7, 2025

A Deep Dive into Apple’s C1 Modem Performance Across Leading Global Markets

Devices

On the eve of Apple’s Sept. 9 launch event where the company is expected to debut a new generation of iPhone devices, we compared the C1’s performance in the iPhone 16e to the iPhone 16.

Editor’s note: This article was revised on September 10 to include updated details of the new C1X and N1 chips from Apple following the launch of the new iPhone 17 generation of smartphones.

Apple introduced the iPhone 16e, its first smartphone featuring its new Apple-designed C1 modem, last February. After just a few weeks on the market, we analyzed the performance of the new device in the U.S. market and compared it to the performance of the iPhone 16, which has a similar design and screen size. 

Fast-forward six months and we are expanding our analysis of Apple’s C1 modem performance in the iPhone 16e, in advance of the company’s highly anticipated debut of its next generation of iPhone devices, including the iPhone Air featuring an upgraded C1X modem, which Apple claims will be up to twice as fast as the C1 found in the iPhone 16e. 

Using Ookla Speedtest Intelligence® data for Q2 and Q3 2025, we analyzed the performance of the iPhone 16e and compared it to the performance of the iPhone 16 on 5G, across a range of markets where we’ve seen significant uptake of the newer device. We compared the performance of these two devices because the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16e have a similar design and the same 6.1” screen, with the inclusion of the C1 modem in the iPhone 16e being a key difference. 

Key Takeaways

  • The iPhone 16e with the Apple C1 modem performs similarly to the iPhone 16 with the Qualcomm modem in the vast majority of markets we examined. Based on median download speeds, the iPhone 16 saw its widest winning margin in Saudi Arabia, recording 353.49 Mbps to the 16e’s 295.01 Mbps. At the other end of the scale, in Spain the 16e led with a median of 139.88 Mbps, to the iPhone 16’s 110.38 Mbps.
  • The iPhone 16 with Qualcomm modem performs better on more capable mobile networks that have a 5G standalone (SA) footprint supporting higher carrier aggregation combinations and uplink MIMO technology. The iPhone 16e with the C1 modem is not able to achieve the same frontier of performance in these markets due to its technical limitations. Key examples of networks facilitating stronger performance for the iPhone 16 include those in Saudi Arabia, China, India and the U.S..
  • In the U.S., T-Mobile users experienced better performance on the iPhone 16, which supports four-carrier aggregation, than iPhone 16e users with the Apple C1 modem, which supports a maximum of three-carrier aggregation. Median download speed for the iPhone 16 on T-Mobile’s network was 317.64 Mbps, compared to 252.80 Mbps on the iPhone 16e. Ookla RootMetrics® controlled testing in the US during 1H 2025 showed that T-Mobile’s network used four-carrier aggregation across 65.4% of locations tested, giving the iPhone 16 a distinct advantage on its network.
  • The fact that the iPhone 16e performs comparatively, or even ahead in some markets, vs the iPhone 16, indicates that some networks are a bottleneck for Qualcomm’s more advanced modem. We expect the iPhone 16’s performance  to outpace the 16e over time as more networks incorporate higher levels of carrier aggregation on 5G SA, as well as advanced MIMO with 5G Advanced, across both downlink and uplink.
  • The iPhone 16e performs strongly on other key performance metrics. Across the markets analyzed, it tended to record better download speeds among the 10th percentile of users (those with the lowest overall download speeds), and across 10th, median and 90th percentiles for upload speeds. At the lower 10th percentile it’s likely that more users are connected solely to low-band spectrum (sub-GHz) which offers better coverage but slower speeds. This may indicate that the C1 is better optimized for robustness and continuity, squeezing out higher throughput when coverage is marginal.

iPhone 16e’s popularity differs around the globe

United States | India | Saudi Arabia | Japan | France

There are five models in Apple’s iPhone 16 generation of smartphones — the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Plus, the iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max and the more recently launched iPhone 16e. Based on a segmentation of each model using Speedtest data from Q2 – Q3 2025, we see strong variation in the number of Speedtest users of the iPhone 16e vs. Speedtest users of the rest of the iPhone 16 generation.

Japan stands out as the most popular market for the iPhone 16e, with 11.3% of samples from the 16 lineup, followed chiefly by European markets. Adoption of the iPhone 16e depends on a range of factors, including the level of subsidies within a market and to which devices they are directed, level of price sensitivity among consumers, as well as launch timing, and consumer preferences for different form factors and device features.

The combination of these factors likely explains the relatively higher 16e penetration observed in Japan. Beyond the historic appetite for lower-cost, compact iPhones like the SE (to which the 16e is a spiritual successor) and a subsidy structure that favors entry variants, the recent weakness of the yen has made the Pro and Pro Max models more expensive in local terms, prompting elastic buyers (like students and families) to shift down the line-up.

iPhone 16e – share of total iPhone 16 generation samples
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

iPhone 16 beats the 16e in markets with more capable 5G networks

The iPhone 16 surpasses the iPhone 16e in median download speed in 12 of the 21 markets we analyzed. Some notable markets where the iPhone 16 performed the strongest  — Saudi Arabia and China — are known for having some of the most advanced mobile networks. China has widely deployed standalone 5G (SA) and also 5G Advanced.

Median Download Speed, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

iPhone 16e delivers better performance to the 10th percentile 

The iPhone 16e stands out for its performance with the 10th percentile of users (those who experience the weakest performance), typically observed at the cell edge or during times of congestion. In 15 of the 21 markets we examined, the iPhone 16e performs better in 10th percentile download speeds than the iPhone 16. It’s likely that a greater share of these Speedtest samples were taken by users connected solely to low-band 5G spectrum, which in the absence of mid-band spectrum, will negate some of the advantages the iPhone 16 achieves through higher levels of carrier aggregation.

10th Percentile Download Speed, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

Upload speed a winner for iPhone 16e 

The iPhone 16e outperforms the iPhone 16 in median upload speed in 15 of the 21 markets we examined. Canada is perhaps the most dramatic example where iPhone 16e median upload speeds of 23.91 Mbps are more than double the iPhone 16’s median upload speed of 11.57 Mbps. 

However, once again we saw the iPhone 16 perform strongly in median upload speed in countries with advanced 5G networks such as Saudi Arabia and China.  Although in the US market the iPhone 16e outperformed the iPhone 16 in upload speeds, when we drilled down further (see the US section of this report), we found that upload performance varied between the different operators.

Median Upload Speed, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

United States

iPhone 16 beats the iPhone 16e in download speeds at T-Mobile and Verizon

The iPhone 16 performs better than the iPhone 16e in median download speed for T-Mobile and Verizon customers. This is a slight change from our March 2025 analysis when the iPhone 16e performed better for Verizon customers than the iPhone 16. Because the iPhone 16 supports mmWave spectrum and mmWave is part of Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service, it’s likely that this is a contributing factor in the iPhone 16’s better performance on the Verizon network.

U.S. median download speed, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)
The iPhone 16 outperforms iPhone 16e in median download speed for T-Mobile and Verizon.

However, Verizon users on the iPhone 16 only clocked a median download speed of 172.12 Mbps, which is significantly lower than iPhone 16 users on T-Mobile’s network that logged a median download speed of 317.64 Mbps.

As we noted in our March analysis, the stronger performance of the iPhone 16 relative to the 16e, is likely due to T-Mobile being the only US carrier with a nationwide commercialized 5G standalone network (SA) and its deployment of advanced features such as carrier aggregation (CA) on the 5G SA architecture. 

Ookla RootMetrics® data, based on controlled testing across the US shows that T-Mobile used four-carrier aggregation across more than 65% of its network during 1H 2025, up from just over 53% in 2H 2024 – this trend is likely to continue, and will further strengthen performance for the iPhone 16 over time. At the same time, AT&T has ramped up its use of two-carrier aggregation, which both devices can take advantage of, while Verizon has expanded its use of two-carrier aggregation, and has started to incorporate three-carrier aggregation. Performance also depends on the bandwidth being aggregated – in the case of AT&T, with 2 carriers, it utilized 120 MHz on average. For Verizon, with 3 carriers it utilized 170 MHz, while T-Mobile, with 4 carriers, hit 217 MHz.

Carrier Aggregation Use across US Mobile Networks
RootMetrics | 1H 2025

Qualcomm’s mid-tier modems support 4CA downlink carrier aggregation and its more recent top-of-the line X80 and X85 modems support 6CA downlink carrier aggregation (providing up to 400 MHz of sub-6GHz bandwidth). By contrast, the C1 supports just 3x downlink carrier aggregation (providing up to 160 MHz of sub-6GHz bandwidth). Qualcomm’s mid-tier, X80 and X85 modems also support uplink carrier aggregation and uplink MIMO and the Apple C1 does not.

iPhone 16e stronger in upload speeds at AT&T and Verizon

When comparing the median upload speeds of the iPhone 16 and 16e across US providers there’s a much different story than when comparing median download speeds. On Verizon’s and AT&T’s networks the iPhone 16e outperforms the iPhone 16 in upload speeds. Verizon iPhone 16e users experienced median upload speeds of 11.51 Mbps compared to Verizon iPhone 16 users that logged median upload speeds of 9.67 Mbps. Likewise, AT&T iPhone 16e users experienced median upload speeds of 8.47 Mbps compared to iPhone 16 users with median upload speeds of 7.09 Mbps.

Instead of seeing the iPhone 16 outperform the iPhone 16e at T-Mobile, the two devices are nearly equal in median UL performance with 16e users seeing median upload speeds of 11.79 Mbps compared to iPhone 16 users with 11.70 Mbps. These results are very similar to what we uncovered in our March 2025 report where we saw clear differences in the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16 performance for AT&T and Verizon users but nearly equal performance for T-Mobile users. 

U.S. median upload speed, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)
iPhone 16e achieves better median upload speeds than the iPhone 16 across AT&T and Verizon and the two devices are nearly equal in performance on T-Mobile’s network.

iPhone 16e surpasses the iPhone 16 among the 10th percentile

One area where the iPhone 16e shines is among users in the 10th percentile (those with the lowest overall download speeds), with iPhone 16e users on all three networks experiencing better performance than iPhone 16 users.

The results were most apparent with AT&T and T-Mobile customers. AT&T iPhone 16 customers in the 10th percentile experienced download speeds of 13.22 Mbps compared to iPhone 16e users that logged download speeds of 21.63 Mbps. Likewise, T-Mobile 10th percentile customers with the iPhone 16e clocked download speeds of 37.64 Mbps compared to their counterparts with the iPhone 16 that had download speeds of 30.20 Mbps. Verizon’s 10th percentile users on both the iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16e had nearly the same download speeds of 26.45 Mbps and 26.82 Mbps, respectively. 

These results are very similar to what we first uncovered in our March 2025 report. Studying performance at the 10th percentile is important because it often provides a more insightful assessment of a network’s impact on user quality of experience, highlighting performance in poorer RF locations, which is often missed if focusing solely on other metrics such as the median performance. 

India

Jio’s 5G SA network takes full advantage of the iPhone 16’s advanced features 

In the Indian market the iPhone 16e outperforms the iPhone 16 on Vi’s network. However, similar to T-Mobile in the US,  Airtel and Jio’s more capable 5G networks, highlight the impact of higher levels of carrier aggregation for the iPhone 16, allowing them to join more spectrum bands for more bandwidth overall. This is apparent for the median user on Jio’s network. Jio operates a 5G SA network and uses a multi-band strategy using 700 MHz spectrum for its low-band 5G and 3.5 GHz for its mid-band 5G. Jio also operates some mmWave spectrum in the 26 GHz for its 5G SA deployment and  incorporates massive MIMO and carrier aggregation features to optimize its mid-band and low-band 5G coverage. 

At the upper 90th percentile, for users achieving the top 10% of speeds, Jio continues to see a lead for the iPhone 16, and Airtel follows suit —highlighting that in certain locations on its network, it is able to aggregate additional spectrum bands to support faster performance. Vi on the other hand shows very similar performance between both devices, at both the median and 90th percentile.

India – median download speed, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

Saudi Arabia

More advanced Saudi Arabian networks drive improved performance for iPhone 16

Saudi Arabia exhibited the largest lead for the iPhone 16 over the iPhone 16e, based on median download speed. Within the market, stc and Zain, which have both implemented 5G Advanced, show significant leads for the iPhone 16, pointing to higher levels of carrier aggregation. For stc, in particular, this gap increased at the 90th percentile, with the iPhone 16 over 200 Mbps faster than the iPhone 16e. The Saudi Arabian regulator, the CST, has been very proactive in licensing additional spectrum to the network operators, with both stc and Mobily recently acquiring an additional 100 MHz in the 3.8 GHz band , to add to existing 100 MHz assignments in the 3.5 GHz band.

Saudi Arabia – download speeds, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

Despite the lead for the iPhone 16 on download speeds, the iPhone 16e fared better on median upload speeds, with stc and Mobily seeing the largest differences. This was also apparent at the 90th percentile, with all three mobile operators seeing faster upload performance for the 16e.

Saudi Arabia – upload speeds, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

Japan

iPhone 16e consistently delivers in download performance

Japan topped our list of markets with the most iPhone 16e use, based on Speedtest samples, with over 10% of total samples for the entire iPhone 16 range. The relative success of the iPhone 16e in Japan reflects demand for small form factor devices in the market – the iPhone SE (3rd generation) was equally popular in the market upon its launch in 2022. 

The iPhone 16e leads the iPhone 16 in median download performance across three of Japan’s mobile operators. iPhone 16e users on DoCoMo’s network experienced the greatest difference in performance clocking in with a median download speed of 135.56 Mbps compared to iPhone 16 users with download speeds of 111.04 Mbps. The same trend was observed for median upload speeds, with all four mobile operators seeing stronger performance for the iPhone 16e versus the iPhone 16.

Japan – median speeds, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

Three of the four operators have fully deployed 5G SA networks and the fourth operator, Rakuten, operates a fully virtualized cloud-native 5G network, and is in the process of upgrading it to 5G SA. All three 5G SA networks use carrier aggregation and DoCoMo was one of the first to offer sub-6GHz carrier aggregation for its 5G network. 

However, the Japanese government has pushed mobile operators to give a priority to expanding 5G coverage beyond the urban areas and has even implemented certain coverage goals (97% of the country by the end of fiscal 2025 and 99% of the country by fiscal 2030). Because of this the Japanese operators have been more focused on prioritizing the expansion of 5G coverage over amplifying headline network speeds.

This focus on coverage has positively impacted the lower 10th percentile of download and upload speeds in Japan. SoftBank in particular shows strong performance at the 10th percentile for download speeds, with the iPhone 16e delivering 34.59 Mbps, and the iPhone 16, 19.34 Mbps. On 10th percentile upload speeds, Rakuten edges ahead with 7.12 Mbps for the iPhone 16e, and 3.78 for the iPhone 16.

Japan – 10th percentile speeds, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

France

Median performance parity for the iPhone 16e and 16, but outcomes differ on SA-rich Free

There is relative performance parity at the median for download speed across the iPhone 16e and 16 in France, suggesting the day-to-day experience is similar for most users irrespective of modem. The notable exception to this pattern is on Free’s network, where the iPhone 16e delivered median speeds that were as much as 11% below the iPhone 16. Similar to other global leaders, Free’s footprint has leaned heavily on 700 MHz 5G and has been first with national SA (3.5 GHz) coverage.

iPhone 16e tops iPhone 16 across every operator at the 10th percentile

Similar to the prevailing global trend, the iPhone 16e performs notably better at the 10th percentile of download speeds in France, with a material lead over the iPhone 16 across all operators except SFR. Nationally, speeds were on average 22% higher on the lower end for the 16e, with a difference over 30% compared to the iPhone 16 on Free and Orange’s networks. This suggests the C1 modem is squeezing out more throughput at the cell edge from low-band SA or NSA where one or two layers is active. 

France – 10th percentile & median download speeds, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

The iPhone 16 wins the peaks on three of four French networks based on 90th percentile download speeds, consistent with a broader, more mature carrier aggregation feature mix compared to the 16e driving better frontier performance. Narrower carrier aggregation combinations or a tendency to enter SA more readily (thus losing the “extra lanes” provided by non-standalone that combines 4G and 5G spectrum) where LTE anchor capacity is lost may be playing a role in pulling down the 16e’s headline speeds across Free, Orange, and SFR.

France – 90th percentile download speeds, iPhone 16 (Qualcomm modem) vs iPhone 16e (Apple C1 modem)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2-Q3 2025 (to date)

Apple carefully managing performance across its smartphone range

Based upon six months of Speedtest data, it’s clear that Apple’s decision to diversify its modem selection within its iPhone device lineup is resulting in slightly different performance between the iPhone 16e and the iPhone 16 on different operator networks. 

But if Apple is looking for consistency across all its devices, then it’s likely that these differences that we have noted in this report will play a role in Apple’s choice of modems for future devices. Its upgraded C1X, available in the new iPhone Air, hints at an expanded feature-set, likely greater levels of carrier aggregation and MIMO, to support its “up to 2x faster” claim. This also indicates that it will have opted for an upgraded Qualcomm modem to support the rest of the iPhone 17 line up.

Apple has also developed its own Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chipset – the N1 – to use instead of the Broadcom chipsets it has used in its iPhone 16 generation of devices. The N1 will support Wi-Fi 7, alongside Bluetooth 6 and Thread, helping Apple gain more control over performance and battery usage.  

Similar to our continued monitoring of the C1 modem, we will be watching Apple’s introduction of the C1X and N1, to uncover how these new chips impact user experience across cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

Ookla analyst Luke Kehoe and editorial director Sue Marek contributed to this piece. 

To find out more about Speedtest Intelligence® data and insights, visit our website.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Devices
Apple

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles
| May 28, 2025

Benchmarking Mobile Performance Across Mexican Cities

5G

This city-level mobile performance benchmark, comparing ten of the largest Mexican cities with a selection of other major cities across Latin America, highlights the challenges facing the Mexican mobile market, with city-level performance lagging, and at risk of falling further behind regional peers.

Key Takeaways

  • 5G continues to underwhelm within Mexican cities. A lack of 5G momentum and a concentrated mobile market structure have negatively weighed on the Mexican mobile user experience. Mexican cities lag their more advanced Latin American counterparts across key metrics like median download speed, with the fastest Mexican city, Monterrey, recording 55.17 Mbps in Q1 2025, a far cry from the 250.71 Mbps recorded in Rio de Janeiro.
  • Year-on-year data indicates the market’s digital competitiveness is eroding. The trajectory for most Mexican cities appears to be one of marginal performance gains, which indicates other regional peers are likely to continue to leapfrog Mexico as attractive inward investment destinations, particularly in cases where mobile digital infrastructure forms a key enterprise requirement.
  • Mexico City and its satellite cities underperform within Mexico. There is wide variation in mobile network performance outcomes between Mexican cities. Mexico City, and surrounding satellite cities including Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Ecatepec de Morelos, as well as Puebla, all perform relatively poorly compared to their peers, with median speeds of approximately 30 Mbps and lower. This is compounded for users experiencing the worst 10% of network performance, where recorded speeds were 3 Mbps and lower.
  • Poor performance drags down web load times. User experienced web page load times exceeded a median of 2.4 seconds in three of the ten Mexican cities included in this analysis, well behind regional leader Buenos Aires, which clocked just 1.44 seconds. The varied outcomes across web page and video streaming performance highlight the challenges operators in the market face in ensuring consistent performance.

Mexican cities lag behind leading Latin American counterparts

Ookla’s Speedtest data recently played a key role in a World Bank study that exposed significant disparities in internet access across Brazilian cities. The research found that wealthier neighborhoods consistently experienced superior internet speeds, particularly on fixed networks. While mobile users across Brazil’s cities have benefited from 5G rollout, with the market placing 6th globally in the Speedtest Global Index based on median download speeds as of April 2025, Mexico, the second largest market by population in Latin America, languishes in 78th place. In this article, we benchmark mobile network performance outcomes across the ten largest Mexican cities, comparing them to a selection of other Latin American cities.

A majority of the population across Latin America resides in urban locations, which comprise 81.8% of the total population across Latin America and the Caribbean, according to World Bank data for 2023. Mexico marginally lags this regional average, at 81.6%, ahead of the EU at 75.7%, but behind other key competitors such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay.

Mexican cities ranked in the middle of the pack compared to regional rivals on median download speed, lagging far behind leading cities in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. The leading Mexican city, Monterrey, recorded a median of 55.17 Mbps in Q1 2025, compared to 250.71 Mbps in Rio de Janeiro. There was a wide variety of outcomes across Mexican cities, ranging from Monterrey’s high, to a low of 26.11 Mbps in Ecatepec. This is reinforced by performance for those users experiencing the lowest 10% of samples (the 10th percentile), with Mexico City and its satellite cities – Ecatepec, Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, as well as Puebla seeing outcomes for these users of 3 Mbps and lower, and with only users in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia faring worse.

It’s clear that users across Latin American cities value mobile network performance, as evidenced by the clear relationship between Q1 2025 download speeds and Net Promoter Score (NPS) data for Q1 2025. Among Mexican cities, this placed Monterrey first, with an NPS of +19.5, followed by Tijuana and Zapopan, and Guadalajara.

Latin American City Benchmark – Mobile Performance
Speedtest Intelligence, Q1 2025

Maps are the best way to clearly illustrate performance differences within cities. Our recent study with Dublin City Council, which aimed to pinpoint areas of poor performance across that city, highlighted how crucial it is for urban leaders to understand the spread of mobile internet outcomes throughout their jurisdictions. This understanding allows them to combine this data with other information, such as the locations of city-owned infrastructure, as they seek to drive improvement.

Comparing Mexico City to São Paulo visually demonstrates these performance differences. In São Paulo, based on Speedtest data for Q4 2024 – Q1 2025, a majority of locations have median download speeds exceeding 50 Mbps (colored dark green). Conversely, a significant portion of locations within Mexico City display median download speeds of 25 Mbps or less, as evidenced by the prevalence of orange and red tiles, especially along its eastern border with the State of Mexico.

Variation in mobile user experience highlights the impact of performance disparities

Key quality of experience (QoE) metrics such as web page load time, video start time, and the share of full HD samples, again show mixed outcomes for Mexican users across the nation’s cities. 

The Mexican cities of Puebla, Zapopan, and Guadalajara had the worst web page load times, alongside Panama City, with median load times exceeding 2.4 seconds. In contrast, Mexico City and its satellite cities performed much better, recording median page load times of 1.75 seconds or less.

Regarding video streaming, only Guatemala City achieved a majority of users recording a fast video start time (where over 50% of samples played in under 2 seconds). Notably, five of the ten Mexican cities in this study recorded 40% or lower for this metric.

Latin American City Benchmark – QoE Performance
Speedtest Intelligence, Q1 2025

5G is yet to deliver on its potential for Mexican cities

Mexican cities underperform based on mobile network speeds compared to other major cities in Latin America, especially given their relatively high adoption of 5G. As of Q4 2024, Mexico ranks third in Latin America for the share of 5G connections per market (9.4%), according to GSMA Intelligence, trailing only Chile (18.6%) and Brazil (25.7%).

However, our data reveals significant disparities in 5G Service within Mexican cities. 5G Service refers to the percentage of locations where an operator provides service and 5G users can access the network. This variation suggests an uneven 5G rollout across the country. Specifically, Mexican cities with the lowest median download speeds consistently show lower 5G Service percentages. For example, Ecatepec recorded only 4.5% 5G Service, while Mexico City stood at 18.5%. In contrast, leading cities like Monterrey achieved nearly 40% 5G Service, highlighting the stark differences in network coverage across the market.

Latin American City Benchmark – 5G Service in Mexican Cities
Speedtest Intelligence, Q1 2025

Mexican cities are disproportionately represented within the benchmark group of cities, among those with the smallest year-on-year improvements in median download speeds, comparing Q1 2024 to Q1 2025. Out of 24 cities included in our study, only Monterrey and Tijuana ranked in the top ten for the largest improvements. In contrast, six Mexican cities appeared in the bottom ten for performance gains.

Latin American City Benchmark – Annual Improvement in Median Download Speed
Speedtest Intelligence, Q1 2024 vs Q1 2025

Mexican cities face significant challenges in driving improved mobile network outcomes, despite 5G launching in the market in early 2022. High spectrum licence fees, which have led to a lack of operator interest, and even the handing back of allocated spectrum, highlight one of the key issues facing the development of 5G in the market. This continues to manifest through strong regional disparities in mobile performance between Mexican cities, in 5G Service across the market, and in the fact that Telcel continues to maintain a market share in excess of 50%. Couple this with the disbanding of the independent telecoms regulator, the IFT, by the government late last year, and it’s clear Mexico faces significant challenges in fostering the development of its mobile networks.

Ookla is attending the GSMA’s M360 Latin America, in Mexico City from 28-29th May. If you’re attending and would like to connect, please reach out to us.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

5G
Analyst Download

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles
| March 12, 2025

Cyclone Alfred Tests the Resilience of Telecom Infrastructure in Queensland, Australia

Network Resilience

Ex-cyclone caused widespread power outages across south Queensland and north New South Wales, putting the focus on Australian network resilience and the efforts of local government, utilities and telecom operators in restoring power and connectivity.

South Queensland and north New South Wales are in recovery mode after ex-cyclone Alfred made landfall over the weekend, leading to widespread flooding and power outages and severely impacted the availability and performance of telecom networks across the region. While the recovery effort is underway, we examine the impact of the ex-cyclone on Speedtest users in the region. Australia is an interesting case.

Key Takeaways:

  • Cyclone Alfred triggered a severe decline in mobile performance across all operators in Queensland. On the day the storm made landfall (early on March 8th local time), we saw a substantial uptick in outages reported on Downdetector across all mobile operators and the National Broadband Network (NBN), while median mobile download speeds declined strongly – Telstra’s dipped from 111.33 Mbps on Thursday March 6th, to a low of 51.76 Mbps on March 8th, with significant declines also observed for Optus and Vodafone.
  • Network hardening efforts and cyclone predictability appear to have helped reduce the impact on network infrastructure. In contrast to other major weather events that have impacted telecom networks, for example Storm Éowyn in Ireland and the UK, network performance in Queensland has shown a somewhat milder impact, and started to rebound quicker. The impact in Ireland was greater — with over 725,000 premises affected vs. over 450,000 in Queensland — but the predictable arrival of the cyclone combined with the targeted grant funding as part of the Mobile Network Hardening program likely played a role in Queensland ability to rebound. The program, currently in its third stage, specifically targets improved resilience and response to network outages from natural disasters.
  • The resulting impact on Starlink’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) service underscores user needs during severe network outages, and reinforces the importance of direct-to-cellular (D2C ) satellite services in outage scenarios. Cyclone Alfred reinforced the importance of planned D2C services as a “game changer,” in ensuring the continuity of connectivity during natural disasters, especially for a market such as Australia, with low population density and vast stretches of rural black spots. This comes hot on the heels of a recent government announcement that mobile operators will need to cover the bulk of the Australian continent by 2027 with voice, SMS and emergency service, as part of as revised Universal Service Obligation. Starlink Speedtest samples climbed by 166% on the day cyclone Alfred made landfall, and performance deteriorated under increased demand, highlighting the severity of the telecoms infrastructure disruptions as consumers scrambled to troubleshoot issues and turned to alternative connectivity solutions such as satellite.

Regional energy grid operator Energex, which manages the electricity grid in the parts of south Queensland hardest hit by the cyclone, reported “the greatest number of power outages in Queensland history caused by a natural disaster,” with more than 450,000 premises affected. Recovery efforts have proceeded rapidly, with 392,000 premises back online as of Wednesday March 12th. Energex forecasted that theremaining customers in the more challenging locations will have power restored by March 16th.

This cyclone, the first to hit this far south since Tropical Cyclone Zoe in 1974, has reinforced the importance of recent measures to ensure adequate communication with customers around network outages, introduced at the end of last year by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). While outages linked to natural disasters are currently excluded from the ACMA’s rules, it has indicated it is set to examine how to incorporate these kinds of outages in future, but with a view to avoiding impact on critical communications from emergency services. In the meantime, it is clear that the Australian network operators have really stepped up their communications during the outage, and have quickly moved to start restoring connectivity to affected areas. The relatively predictable path and timing of this cyclone has aided preparatory efforts.

Downdetector users highlight the impact of Cyclone Alfred across fixed and mobile services

Analysis of Downdetector® data highlights the uptick in outage reports as Cyclone Alfred made landfall, and began to disrupt the power grid and impact telecommunications infrastructure early on Saturday local time. While Telstra saw the highest number of outage reports, Optus, Vodafone and the NBN also saw spikes in user outage reports, which as of Tuesday, March 11th had still not returned to their pre-cyclone values.

Cyclone Alfred Triggers Surge in Downdetector Network Outage Reports
Downdetector® | March 2025

Mobile users in Queensland see marked declines across all performance metrics, with network impacts continuing

The impact of the cyclone has been significant across all network operators. Optus noted a total of 419 mobile sites down, with just over 60% of those restored as of 8am AEDT on March 12th, via a combination of generators, and satellite-powered mobile base stations (SatCats). At the same time, Vodafone reported they had restored power to more than 100 mobile sites, but that 117 remained without power, of which only 15 lacked overlapping coverage. In addition, Telstra noted on X that it had been able to bring 85% of its impacted mobile sites back online as of the same timeline. The NBN, the national wholesale provider which manages the fixed broadband access infrastructure across Australia, mapped out a peak of 252,000 of its connections (both wired and FWA) impacted by the cyclone on Sunday March 9th, which by March 11th had fallen to 147,000. Network outages such as these present a dual strain: increased network load as fixed broadband outages shift traffic to mobile infrastructure, and a diminished mobile site grid due to power outages at mobile sites. Together, these factors significantly degrade mobile network performance, reducing overall network availability and pushing more subscribers into the cell edge, or into overlapping cells which will tend to have poorer performance.

Analysis of Speedtest Intelligence® data highlights the significant impact of Cyclone Alfred on mobile network performance in Queensland. Download and upload speeds have witnesses sustained declines, accompanied by increased latency and jitter across all operators in the state. While some recovery has been observed from Sunday (March 9th) onwards, all performance metrics remain materially below pre-storm levels. Outages such as this will reinforce calls for greater national roaming provision and mutual assistance in the event of outages, as outlined in the recommendations of a Parliamentary report presented following the review of Optus’ major network outage in November 2023.

Cyclone Alfred Blows Down Mobile Performance in Queensland Across All Metrics and Operators
Speedtest Intelligence® | March 2025

In addition to a decline in metrics like Consistency—designed to measure the proportion of Speedtest samples reflecting a consistent quality of experience (QoE)—the storm-induced network disruptions led to a substantial increase in failed or partially completed Speedtest sessions across all operators on the day of the storm. Similarly, the severe decline in 10th percentile performance—where aggregate download speeds fell, from a high of 9.10 Mbps on March 4th, to a low of 2.56 Mbps on March 8th. 10th percentile upload speeds plummeted to a low of just 0.24 Mbps, while latency rocketed to 293 ms—highlighting the extent of performance degradation experienced by mobile users at the bottom end of the scale.

Cyclone Alfred Triggers Deterioration in Consistency Across All Operators
Speedtest Intelligence® | March 2025

LEO satellites pick up some of the slack

While significant amounts of fixed traffic will have migrated to mobile as power outages occurred, and where mobile signal was still available, we also witnessed an uptick in Starlink Speedtest samples during the ex-cylone’s passage across southern Queensland. Starlink samples hit a high on Sunday March 9th, representing an increase of 166% over samples observed at the start of March. This additional demand on the service pushed performance levels down, hitting a low of 47.11 Mbps median download speed, but recovering swiftly afterwards.

Starlink Performance During Cyclone Alfred – Queensland
Speedtest Intelligence® | March 2025

Starlink’s performance here is interesting to observe in light of the recent Australian government announcement that all mobile providers in the country should provide near nationwide coverage for voice and SMS and Triple Zero (emergency) services by 2027, as part of the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO), itself part of an updated Universal Service Obligation (USO). D2C services via LEO satellites are imminent in the country, with both Telstra and Optus having inked deals with Starlink, while Vodafone (TPG Group) has an agreement in place with Lynk Global. We will continue to monitor network resilience around the world in the face of severe network outages, and highlight best practice. For more information on how Downdetector and Speedtest can help respond to outages, detect areas of poor performance and optimise networks, please contact us.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Network Resilience

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

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Ookla Research™ Articles
| December 22, 2024

Ringing in the New Year - How do 5G Networks Cope Under Stress?

Analyst Download

5G Networks Support NYE Festivities Across Major Cities

Major events present a unique challenge for mobile networks, particularly sporting events where users congregate in concentrated numbers, and where sharing of video to social media, and to friends and family is a key use case. Ringing in the New Year is another case in point – for many years network operators published statistics on the number of voice calls made, messages sent, and the amount of data traffic their networks handled. While the rise of over-the-top (OTT) communications platforms such as WhatsApp have put a damper on these press releases, there remains a sizeable impact on operators’ networks. For example, Belgian operator Proximus noted a 95% increase in mobile data traffic on New Year’s Eve in 2023 compared to 2022. The trend isn’t uniform across markets, with Australia’s Telstra consistently seeing lower data usage on New Year’s Eve, with its customers using 30% less data than average, according to a news source. What is clear is that the New Year presents network operators with the challenge of serving sufficient bandwidth to customers attending major New Year celebrations, allowing them to share the moment, but also to support the mass wishing of “Happy New Year” across a variety of channels.

We reviewed Speedtest Intelligence data for New Year’s Eve 2023/24, to analyse how 5G networks coped with the surge in demand and change in traffic patterns at New Year, across a selection of major cities featuring some of the largest New Year celebrations around the globe. We focused in on median performance alongside the 10th percentile, in order to evaluate the spread of performance from the median user to those experiencing more challenging network conditions which would impact their experience at New Year.

Worst 10% of Speedtest samples reveal network challenges

We zeroed in on 5G upload performance first. Network operators universally allocate more spectral capacity to the downlink, as most mobile use cases lean more heavily on downloading data to the end-user device. However, the usage profile at the New Year is different, with video sharing, video streaming and calling, as well as uploading content to social media, more prevalent. These are all activities that are supported by uplink from the device.

Our data shows a significant gap between upload performance for the median user, and those in the lower 10th percentile – those experiencing the worst 10% of performance samples. Half the cities in our analysis recorded 10th percentile upload performance of less than 1 Mbps, with speeds ranging from 0.30 Mbps in Berlin, to 6.09 Mbps in Dubai. These sub-par speeds make it nearly impossible to upload photos or videos.

User Experience – Assessing the Worst 10% of Performance Samples on New Year's Eve
Speedtest data, New Year's Eve 23/24, 8pm – 1am

It was a similar picture for New Year revellers based on download speeds and latency. Despite more capacity being allocated to the downlink, performance for the lowest 10% of samples tumbled significantly compared to the median experience, with cities in APAC (Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney and Tokyo) in particular suffering, recording 10th percentile 5G download speeds of less than 10 Mbps. Latency was more of a mixed story across cities. At one end of the scale, Tokyo recorded a variance in latency between the median and 90th percentile (the worst 10% of latency samples) of just 19 ms, while Sydney saw a much wider gap of almost 200 ms. At 200 ms of latency users are likely to experience frustratingly slow loading times, unresponsive applications, and poor video quality.

Our data also showed the degree to which New Year usage pulled down 5G performance for the worst 10% of samples. New York, and cities in Europe saw less of an impact at New Year’s Eve compared to their global counterparts. Berlin, London, New York and Paris saw 5G download speeds for 10th percentile drop by between 1.13 Mbps and 6.88 Mbps. In contrast, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Sydney saw performance drop by between 15.13 Mbps and 21.44 Mbps. Dubai and Rio de Janeiro recorded the largest variance, however with faster 5G speeds they still outpaced the remaining markets by a significant margin. Upload performance for the worst 10% of samples followed a similar trend to download, however latency performance was more varied. Berlin, Dubai, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo saw very little difference between New Year Eve latency performance and the Q4 2023 average. However, Paris, Hong Kong and London saw an increase in latency for the worst 10% off samples of between 22 ms and 36 ms, while Bangkok and Sydney fared worst, with an increase of 61 ms and 171 ms respectively.

Impact of New Year's Eve Traffic on Users With the Worst 10% of Samples
Speedtest data, Q4 2023 vs New Year's Eve 23/24, 8pm – 1am

Addressing network pain points

Addressing network pain points for users affected by poor performance in dense urban areas is a challenging task. For major events like the recent Paris Olympics, which we reported on earlier this year, network operators will typically deploy temporary network assets such as cells on wheels (CoWs) to add extra network capacity, which can then be removed once the event concludes. Network operators can also look to build private networks, to provide dedicated capacity to support the operations of the event, including routing traffic for broadcasting purposes. However, city authorities also have an important role to play here, as highlighted in our recent whitepaper with Dublin City Council and the City Telecoms Association. Having a holistic view of network performance and its evolution across a city, as well as international benchmarks, provides city authorities with the data and insights to engage more constructively with network operators and regulators, and help introduce more effective policies to deliver meaningful change for end-users. We’ll continue to benchmark and report on city and state performance, based on Speedtest Intelligence data. For more information, please contact us.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Analyst Download

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles
| August 28, 2024

Paris - Do Major Sporting Events Leave a Network Legacy?

Global Speeds

With the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris having concluded on Sunday 11th August, and the handover to Los Angeles 2028 complete, we look back at how mobile networks performed during the Games, and examine the legacy of other major sporting events. Our data shows a strong increase in upload performance across both 4G and 5G networks in Paris in time for the event. However data from past events shows that this is a common trend, and that not all major sporting events leave a network legacy, with many deployments focussed on adding temporary capacity which is then removed post-event. The African Cup of Nations in Cote D’Ivoire, which took place in January and February 2024, is one exception, with 4G-LTE performance in the capital city of Abidjan increasing in time for the event and being sustained for the six month period afterwards. With so much infrastructure investment targeted at these events, often in congested areas of large cities, operators and organizers should do more to ensure they leave a lasting impact on the network user experience.

Driving network improvements to ensure sufficient capacity for major events

Major sporting events place considerable strain on public mobile networks, necessitating careful planning to anticipate demand. In the case of the Paris Olympics, organizers deployed additional cell sites and backhaul (both permanent and temporary), and added fiber. They also deployed a dedicated private wireless 5G network. Orange, the official connectivity partner of the Paris Olympics, opened up its 5G network to existing 4G consumer and business customers across France, from June to September. In addition to allowing existing 4G users to try 5G, this also freed up capacity on Orange’s 4G network, allowing it to better support 4G roaming users. The mobile operator also implemented an innovative push-to-talk (PTT) service over 4G to allow those organizing the Games to communicate more securely and effectively. For many large events like this, the host city or nation will embark upon significant upgrades to transport links and communication networks, and organizing committees such as the IOC and FIFA are increasingly keen that the events leave a legacy for residents and future visitors.

Network performance, based on consumer-initiated Speedtest samples, showed an increase in median 5G download performance in Paris during the weeks leading up to the opening ceremony on 26th July, as well as sustained performance across the duration of the event. What’s more interesting is the trend in median 5G upload speeds, which ramped up in early July to reach a weekly high of 27.07 Mbps in the week of the opening ceremony, but declined thereafter, down to 23.30 Mbps during the final week. Since the games concluded, 5G performance has picked up again, as the crowds who attended have subsided and the demand on the network abates.

Paris, Summer Olympics 2024 – Weekly Performance Before & During the Games
Speedtest Intelligence® | May – August 2024

 

This stronger proportional uplift in upload performance over download highlights the desire of network operators to adequately serve the anticipated spike in demand from users to upload and stream video content. Despite this, upload performance over 5G remained approximately 1/10th that of download performance, while Orange’s private wireless 5G network, geared to serve the upload of high-definition content from the Games to the International Broadcasting Centre, was configured to have 80% of its throughput dedicated to the uplink. 4G performance followed a similar pattern, showing stable median download speeds and a ramping up of upload performance.

Assessing the network legacy of past events

While we wait to evaluate the network legacy of these Games for Parisians, we examined previous sporting events, to assess whether the network infrastructure deployed had a more permanent or transitory impact on users. We looked at network performance six months prior to, during, and six months following the events.

5G Performance – Select Major Sporting Events
Speedtest Intelligence® | 2020-2024

5G uplink performance is clearly prioritized for these major events, which makes sense given the increased demand from visitors to upload and stream live content. With the exception of Tokyo, the other three major events saw a statistically significant improvement in median 5G upload speeds. The World Cup in Qatar led the way with a 34.8% improvement, followed closely by Paris with a 29.5% increase. That said, the improvements appear only temporary, with median upload speeds falling in the six months after each event. The uplift is more muted for median 5G download performance, with an increase recorded for both the Winter Olympics in Beijing and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, while differences in 5G download speeds at the Summer Olympics in Paris and in Tokyo were too close to call. 

4G-LTE Performance – Select Major Sporting Events
Speedtest Intelligence® | 2016 – 2024

4G performance leading up to these major events paints a similar picture to 5G, with more of a focus on improvements to uplink capacity, however there is evidence of more sustained performance post-event. While there was no statistically significant increase in 4G download performance in time for the Summer Olympics in Paris, upload performance ramped up by 9.7%. We also recorded increased upload performance for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the Winter Olympics in Beijing, and for the African Cup of Nations in Cote D’Ivoire. The latter two of these recorded increases in both 4G download and upload performance in time for the events, and in Abidjan this performance uplift was sustained for the six months following the event.

We’ll continue to examine network performance at major events globally. We’re keen to see how the network build advances for LA28, especially given the big focus on major transport initiatives, including “Twenty-Eight by ’28”, which is really placing infrastructure development at the heart of the games.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Global Speeds

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles
| June 24, 2024

5G in the U.S. – Additional Mid-band Spectrum Driving Performance Gains

Global Speeds

5G performance in the United States continues to improve as more mid-band spectrum becomes available. In March, T-Mobile gained access to additional 2.5 GHz spectrum it won at auction 108 in 2022, and we’re already beginning to see the impact of this, adding extra capacity to its 5G network and boosting performance in rural U.S. locations in particular. In just one month, T-Mobile’s median download performance across the U.S. increased by 29.64 Mbps. Its recent agreement to acquire the bulk of US Cellular’s wireless operations and a portion of its spectrum holdings will help it further reinforce its competitive lead. Verizon and AT&T have both benefited from the early vacation of C-band spectrum by satellite providers, the licenses for which were acquired through Auction 107 in February 2021. AT&T acquired additional 3.45 GHz licenses, former U.S. Department of Defense spectrum, made available through Auction 110 which concluded in January 2022. All three major carriers have since been upgrading their sites to support their new spectrum frequencies. This update reviews the latest Speedtest Intelligence® data to highlight the impact of deployments in new spectrum bands for U.S. 5G users.

Key takeaways

  • Recent trends highlight the importance of additional mid-band spectrum for 5G. Speedtest Intelligence data shows a clear correlation between the release of additional mid-band spectrum, 5G performance, and consumer sentiment for 5G networks, with all three national wireless providers benefitting over the past 6 months. This sends a clear message to the FCC and other regulators, of the benefits of allocating additional spectrum for cellular use, as advocated for by industry bodies such as the CTIA, CCA and GSMA.
  • T-Mobile intent on holding its lead. While C-band spectrum allowed Verizon in particular to play catch-up during Q4 2023, T-Mobile has continued to build on its performance advantage and innovate, moving to a 5G Standalone (SA) architecture, testing six carrier aggregation, while also benefiting from deploying in additional mid-band spectrum starting in March. T-Mobile recorded a median 5G download speed of 287.14 Mbps as of March 2024, an increase of 29.64 Mbps in a single month, which helped it extend its lead over Verizon, which recorded 224.67 Mbps, and AT&T with 145.36 Mbps. Additional spectral capacity will also help fuel further growth of 5G Fixed-Wireless Access (FWA) services, as wireless operators have had to be selective in signing up new fixed customers in order to manage capacity.
  • Additional mid-band spectrum helping close the gap on regional disparities within the U.S. While the U.S. ranks highly on 5G performance, 5G Service, and 5G Availability metrics versus other leading 5G markets globally, there have remained wide disparities in 5G performance between U.S. states, and between urban and rural locations. Recent mid-band spectrum deployments are starting to shift the needle for a number of states and rural communities.
  • 5G upload and latency performance need more attention. To date, capacity gains from additional spectrum are being directed almost universally to boost 5G download performance, in part because 5G-NR TDD radios are being used in both 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands. While latency remains relatively static, we do see a consistent improvement from T-Mobile, a trend which will be important if the carrier is to differentiate itself on latency-critical applications in the future.

T-Mobile continues to maintain its national lead on 5G performance

Speedtest Intelligence data for the U.S., covering the last three years, clearly shows how instrumental additional mid-band spectrum has been for all major US carriers. Four points in time stand out very clearly when we look at median download speeds across the market:

  • T-Mobile’s deployment of 5G in both 600 MHz and 2.5 GHz spectrum during 2021 (acquired through the merger with Sprint), giving it a significant early advantage, as AT&T and Verizon focussed more heavily on mmWave spectrum.
  • Verizon performance picked up in January 2022, after it began C-band deployments, which had been delayed due to concerns of interference at airports from the FAA. 
  • The early vacation of the remaining C-band spectrum by incumbent satellite operators in August 2023, giving AT&T and Verizon full access to the spectrum frequencies they acquired at auction in 2021.
  • T-Mobile’s recent deployment following the release of additional 2.5 GHz spectrum as part of Auction 108, beginning in March 2024.

Chart fo U.S. 5G Median Download Speeds | January 2021 - May 2024

T-Mobile had capitalized on its early advantage, building out 5G in 600 MHz spectrum to cover 200 million Points of Presence (PoPs) as of 2020, following that up with wide deployment in its mid-band 2.5 GHz spectrum holdings. Despite performance boosts for AT&T and Verizon from additional C-band spectrum in Q4 2023, T-Mobile still led the pack with a median 5G download speed of 275.50 Mbps as of May 2024, 23% faster than next placed Verizon. Its lead had narrowed since August, with Verizon’s C-band spectrum helping it increase median 5G performance from 133.56 Mbps in June to 215.57 Mbps in December. AT&T also saw performance pick up in the second half of 2023, and at the turn of the year, these trends pointed towards a much more competitive 5G market during 2024, while also driving increased capacity for wireless provider’s 5G FWA services.

T-Mobile has continued to innovate in order to drive performance gains across its 5G network. In addition to deploying a 5G Standalone architecture, it is pushing the envelope on carrier aggregation, most recently completing a test with Ericsson and Qualcomm of six carrier aggregation, stitching together two channels of each of its 2.5 GHz, PCS, and AWS spectrum to achieve download speeds in excess of 3.6 Gbps. Furthermore, having finally gained access to additional 2.5 GHz spectrum it won during auction 108 in 2022, but had not been cleared to use, T-Mobile has rapidly been enabling the new spectrum across its footprint. This has allowed it to extend its lead in the market, recording a median 5G download speed of 287.14 Mbps in March 2024. As cellular providers ramp up their home broadband offerings via 5G fixed wireless access (FWA), as we recently highlighted, they will need to balance fixed net additions carefully in order to ensure cellular performance does not suffer, and will require additional high capacity spectrum over time to meet demand.

Driving improved quality of experience and consumer sentiment

The uplift in 5G performance is driving improved consumer sentiment, as measured by net promoter score (NPS). NPS is a key performance indicator of customer experience, categorizing users into Detractors (score 0-6), Passives (score 7-8), and Promoters (score 9-10), with the NPS representing the percentage of Promoters minus the percent of Detractors, displayed in the range from -100 to 100. Reviewing Speedtest Intelligence data shows that U.S. cellular providers returned either flat or declines in 5G NPS over the period March to August 2023. From September onwards, we see a strong uplift in 5G NPS in particular for Verizon and AT&T following their C-band deployments. T-Mobile on the other hand, has seen a sizable increase in 5G NPS in March, corresponding to its deployment in additional mid-band spectrum.

Chart of 5G Net Promoter Scores, U.S. Wireless Providers

Key to this growth in 5G NPS for all three cellular providers, is the impact that increases in 5G performance are impacting the quality of experience for end users for key use cases such as video streaming and mobile gaming. Both measures, as highlighted by Ookla’s 5G Game Score™ and 5G Video Score™ metrics have seen strong increases over the course of the past year.

5G Video & Gaming Quality of Experience
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2023 – Q1 2024

Positioning the U.S. strongly internationally

Performance gains from all national cellular providers have enabled the U.S. to climb the ranks when compared to its peers internationally. Over the course of just one year, it has moved from 20th place on Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, to reach 11th as of February 2024. This has been driven by increased availability of mid-band spectrum for 5G use, as advocated for by the CTIA, which recently released a report claiming that the U.S. could benefit from an additional $200 billion in economic growth over the next 10 years through allocating additional mid-band spectrum for 5G.

U.S. providers are also continuing to expand the reach of 5G networks across the market. 5G Service, the share of known operator locations where 5G was present (of total locations with cellular service) climbed from 68.4% in Q3 2023 to 76.7% in Q1 2024. Deployment of 5G in low band spectrum is also critical to ensuring high 5G Availability – the share of 5G users that spend a majority of their time connected to 5G networks. The U.S. still tracks as one of the leading markets globally for 5G Availability, despite its comparatively large landmass, although that metric remained level quarter-on-quarter.

5G Service and 5G Availability – U.S. vs Other Leading 5G Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024

Closing disparities in 5G performance between U.S. states & rural locations 

While national median speeds continue to advance, there remain some significant disparities in 5G performance at an individual state level. The Midwestern States fare best, with Illinois, Kansas, North Dakota, and Minnesota all within the top-5 performing states nationally, with median 5G download speeds above 225 Mbps during Q4 2023. At the other end of the scale are U.S. states with the highest shares of rural populations, including Vermont, Maine, Mississippi, and West Virginia, which had median download speeds below 100 Mbps. 

5G Median Download Speed by U.S. State (Mbps)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q4 2023

Differing allocations of spectrum, channel bandwidths, device capabilities, and carrier aggregation options all impact the observed performance of each service provider across the locations they serve. While each network operator has its own 5G deployment strategy, the deployment of mid-band spectrum for capacity in urban locations, complemented with sub-1 GHz spectrum to enable wider and better 5G coverage, is the common approach. While performance gaps will remain as a result of these deployment strategies, recent mid-band spectrum deployments, including in C-band and 2.5 GHz, are beginning to help close the performance gap for some states. 

We examined T-Mobile’s recent performance, comparing data between February and March, as it deploys 5G in its additional 2.5 GHz spectrum. The results show performance has increased across a wide range of U.S. states, with its median 5G performance increasing by more than 10 Mbps within 35 States and the District of Columbia. Among the ten states with the lowest median 5G download speed (based on data for all providers), T-Mobile showed the most significant performance uplifts in West Virginia (+79.73 Mbps), Wyoming (+66.61 Mbps), and New Hampshire (+48.50 Mbps).

T-Mobile’s 2.5 GHz Dividend – Uplift in 5G Median Download Speeds (Top 15 Improving States)
Speedtest Intelligence® | March vs February 2024

Speedtest Intelligence data also illustrates the gap between rural and urban U.S. locations, which has widened over the last three years as mid-band deployments have tended to focus on more urban locations. That is beginning to change, with both T-Mobile and Verizon keen to highlight the impact of their recent spectrum deployments on rural 5G performance. While AT&T only saw a minor increase in median 5G download speeds in rural locations, both T-Mobile and Verizon have targeted significant increases in performance through mid-band spectrum deployments.

Mid-band spectrum driving improvements in urban & rural 5G performance
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2021 – Q1 2024

All eyes on download throughput – upload & latency require attention

Additional spectrum has fueled surges in download performance thanks to the deployment of 5G in mid-band spectrum, but upload and latency metrics have not improved to the same degree. All three cellular providers maintained relatively static median upload speeds across the two year period we examined (Q1 2022 to Q1 2024). 5G latency performance was a mixed picture, with T-Mobile the only provider to consistently improve, reducing its latency from 55 ms in Q1 2022 to 46 ms in Q1 2024. Both Verizon and AT&T saw latency grow over the same period.

5G Median Upload and Latency Performance, (by provider, U.S.)
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2022 – Q1 2024

It’s very clear that U.S. cellular providers are prioritizing improvements in download performance. This will likely continue in 2024, as T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon each seek to gain the upper hand, using any 5G network advantages to capture a larger share of competitive churn. Over time however, we expect the relative importance of upload and latency performance to grow, as 5G download performance begins to exhibit diminishing marginal returns, and increasing importance is given to improving the experience of latency-sensitive use cases such as video calling, mobile gaming, and augmented reality.

2024 is set to drive renewed competitive pressure between all of the service providers in the U.S., with the continuing deployment of 5G in mid-band spectrum, T-Mobile’s acquisition of US Cellular’s assets, and made all the more interesting given the DISH wildcard. We’ll continue to monitor and report on 5G performance trends in the U.S., and their impact on Speedtest users. To learn more about Ookla Speedtest Intelligence, please get in touch.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Global Speeds

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

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Ookla Research™ Articles
| June 17, 2024

ISPs Driving Transformation in Broadband Performance Across the Caribbean

Global Speeds

ISPs in the Caribbean have helped drive a step-change in performance across the region over the past four years. Fiber is at the forefront of this change, helping drive performance gains in terms of throughput and latency in leading markets such as Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands, while Starlink’s LEO service is gaining a foothold in a number of islands too. Outside the leading Caribbean markets, performance varies significantly, but even among those lagging the regional average are advancing rapidly.

Key takeaways

  • Growing availability of faster broadband across the Caribbean. The last four years have seen a transformation in broadband performance in the Caribbean. Across the markets in this analysis, network Consistency – the share of Speedtest samples exceeding a threshold of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload – increased from 45.3% in Q1 2020, to 73.3% as of Q1 2024.
  • Fiber adoption driving performance gains. Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands led the Caribbean region on fixed broadband performance, recording median download speeds of 110.26 Mbps, 109.79 Mbps, and 104.88 Mbps, respectively during Q1 2024. Strong fiber performance from a number of ISPs, including Digicel+ (across a range of markets), Amplia (Trinidad and Tobago), as well as Flow, Logic, and C3 Pure Fiber (Cayman Islands), helped drive this, with all recording median download speeds approaching or above 100 Mbps.
  • Latency performance varies hugely across the Caribbean. Key for real-time applications such as online gaming and video calling, latency performance varied significantly across the region. Thanks to the availability of fiber to most broadband users, markets such as Trinidad and Tobago hit median latency lows of just 15 ms in Q1 2024, while at the other end of the scale, markets such as Aruba and Haiti struggled with median latency approaching 100 ms.
  • Markets behind the curve are quickly catching up. The majority of Caribbean markets currently below the regional average for fixed network Consistency are catching up fast, led by markets such as the Dominican Republic, Sint Maarten, and the British Virgin Islands, which all increased network Consistency by more than 25 percentage points over the last two years. 

Fixed network performance varies dramatically across the Caribbean

Ookla Speedtest Intelligence® data shows a wide disparity in median fixed broadband performance across Caribbean markets, ranging from lows of 2.72 Mbps and 25.21 Mbps in Cuba and Sint Maarten respectively, to highs of 110.26 Mbps and 109.79 Mbps in Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda respectively. Median upload performance mimicked this trend, with a low of 1.02 Mbps for Cuba and a high of 89.15 Mbps in the Cayman Islands.

Fixed Broadband Performance Across Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024

Latency performance showed even greater variance, with some markets being able to access high-speed international links, and with others relying on multiple hops of undersea cables. Eight of the markets we examined recorded median multi-server latency below 50ms, with Trinidad and Tobago leading with 15ms, followed closely by Curaçao with 16ms. At the other end of the scale, a cluster of nine markets recorded latency ranging from 71 ms to 95 ms, while Cuba was the only market with median latency greater than 100 ms, recording 133 ms in Q1 2024. This marks an improvement year-on-year, down from 164 ms in Q1 2023, with the Arimao submarine cable (connecting Cuba to Martinique), helping drive some improvement, however, the island’s aging telecoms infrastructure continues to hold it back.

Fiber is the natural next step for many Caribbean ISPs

A number of Caribbean ISPs, led by groups such as Digicel, are transitioning to fiber access across their fixed operations. The transition from legacy broadband access technology to more modern, faster connections such as fiber takes time. In addition to network rollout and the significant public works this entails, operators and regulators need to ensure users are given enough incentive and education on the benefits of technologies such as fiber, in order to help drive adoption. Digicel+ in Bermuda stands out as a clear leader in the region on median download performance, followed by Digicel+ in Trinidad and Tobago. Beyond Digicel+, Logic, and C3 Pure Fiber in the Cayman Islands, and Amplia in Trinidad and Tobago all offered median download speeds approaching 100 Mbps. 

ISP Fiber Performance, Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024

Drive for broadband expansion puts leading Caribbean markets on par with the U.S. and Canada

Caribbean ISPs have made great strides in advancing the rollout of broadband services over the last four years. Ookla uses the network Consistency metric to gauge how prevalent acceptable broadband speeds are across a network, based on the percentage of Speedtest samples exceeding a threshold of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload performance. Cuba was rooted to the foot of the table based on Consistency, with just 4.0% of samples exceeding the threshold. Of the remaining Caribbean markets in this analysis, network Consistency climbed from 45.3% in Q1 2020 to 73.3% in Q1 2024.

The majority of Caribbean nations in this analysis recorded Consistency above 70% as of Q1 2024, with leading Caribbean nations such as Bermuda, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, and Barbados posting Consistency values approaching those of more advanced fixed markets in the Americas, such as the U.S. (89.8%) and Canada (88.7%).

Fixed Broadband Consistency Across Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024

This positive trajectory looks set to continue for many markets at the lower end of the scale too, as they look to catch up with their peers. The vast majority of those Caribbean markets recording less than 75% Consistency in Q1 2024, had increased their Consistency significantly over the past two years, led by Haiti, Sint Maarten, the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic.

Change in Fixed Network Consistency, Select Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2022 vs Q1 2024

Leading Caribbean markets face slowing Consistency growth and competition from non-traditional fixed ISPs

We see a mixed picture for leading Caribbean nations on further increases in network Consistency as they begin to approach other leading markets globally. Despite strong fixed broadband performance in many Caribbean markets, increases in network Consistency have been relatively static in some, including Bermuda, Aruba, and Grenada, which all saw network Consistency increase by less than 3 percentage points in the last two years. This indicates a tranche of users in these markets remain below the 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload performance thresholds used in our measure of Consistency.

While growth will naturally slow as markets approach nationwide availability of fixed broadband services exceeding 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, operators in these markets need to zero in on locations where performance lags the rest of the market and identify root causes. For regulators, the priority may lie in encouraging the sunsetting of legacy fixed technologies, and facilitating the rollout and adoption of faster technologies such as fiber.

Change in Fixed Network Consistency, Leading Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2022 vs Q1 2024

LEO satellite broadband is emerging as a viable home broadband alternative

We are beginning to see some alternative fixed broadband technologies make inroads within the Caribbean, following on the heels of their success in North America. While we see some instances of GEO and MEO satellite internet use across the Caribbean, the majority of satellite internet within the region, based on Speedtest samples, is from Starlink’s LEO service. Over the course of the last year (comparing Q1 2024 with Q1 2023), samples from Starlink among the markets in this analysis grew by 85.8%, and it continues to expand its service availability across Caribbean markets. According to its website, Starlink operates across a range of Caribbean markets, and of those included in this analysis, it is available in the Bahamas, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Starlink performed on par with, or faster than, the median download speed in each market it operated within, recording significant leads in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Bahamas. However, Starlink does tend to lag the rest of the market on upload speeds and latency. While the cost of Starlink equipment and its subscriptions are often higher than for terrestrial broadband options, which will put it out of reach of some broadband users, it offers a viable alternative, especially in locations where legacy fixed broadband access is still prevalent, and where users prefer faster download performance.

Starlink Performance, Median Download Speed, Mbps
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024

With a range of cellular providers launching 5G across the Caribbean, we may begin to see 5G fixed-wireless (FWA) access begin to take root, as it has done in the U.S. Given the wide range of performance across the Caribbean, 5G FWA could offer users an uplift in speeds versus traditional fixed networks, and it will give cellular providers the opportunity to upsell home internet services to their existing mobile customer bases. While it’s still early days for these rival technologies, we’ll continue to monitor their progress and provide updates on the state of fixed broadband connectivity across the Caribbean. For more information about Ookla’s data and insights, please get in touch.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Global Speeds
U.S. Virgin Islands
Bermuda
Aruba
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Curacao
Sint Maarten

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles
| January 16, 2024

52 New Ookla Market Reports Available for Q4 2023

Global Speeds

Ookla® Market Reports™ identify key data about internet performance in countries across the world. This quarter we’ve provided updated analyses for 52 markets using Speedtest Intelligence® and summarized the top takeaways below. Click through to the market report to see more details and charts about the countries you’re interested in, including the fastest fixed broadband providers and mobile operators, who had the most consistent service, as well as 5G and device performance in select countries during Q4 2023. Jump forward to a continent using these links:

Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania

Africa

  • Côte d’Ivoire: Orange recorded the fastest median mobile and fixed download speeds during Q4 2023, at 30.13 Mbps and 65.90 Mbps, respectively. Moov Africa recorded the lowest mobile median multi-server latency at 83 ms, while CANALBOX recorded the lowest latency over fixed broadband at 70 ms. Of Côte d’Ivoire most populous cities, Abidjan had the fastest median fixed download speed of 58.88 Mbps.
  • Mozambique: Tmcel recorded the fastest mobile median download speed of 27.80 Mbps in Q4 2023, and also the highest mobile Consistency at 91.6%. Of Mozambique’s most populous cities, Maputo had the fastest median mobile and fixed download speeds at 26.33 Mbps and 14.65 Mbps, respectively. SpaceX’s Starlink recorded the fastest fixed broadband median download speed in Q4 2023 at 36.13 Mbps, along with the highest Consistency at 49.7%. Meanwhile, TVCABO recorded the lowest latency over fixed broadband at 16 ms.
  • Senegal: There was no winner of fastest median mobile performance in Senegal during Q4 2023, with Free and Orange both tied. Orange led the market for median fixed broadband download performance, with 21.46 Mbps in Q4 2023. Orange also had the lowest latency at 90 ms and highest Consistency of 45.4%. Of Senegal’s most populous cities, Dakar had the fastest median fixed download speed of 27.11 Mbps.

Americas

  • Argentina: Personal had the fastest median download speed over mobile at 36.59 Mbps, while also registering the lowest latency of 39 ms during Q4 2023. In the fixed broadband market, there was no statistically fastest network, with Movistar and Telecentro delivering median download speeds of 106.41 Mbps and 105.98 Mbps, respectively. Movistar recorded the lowest latency of 9 ms. Among Argentina’s most populous cities, Mendoza recorded the fastest mobile median download speed of 37.75 Mbps, while Buenos Aires recorded the fastest fixed download speed of 109.79 Mbps.
  • Belize: Digi had the fastest median mobile download and upload speeds of 17.50 Mbps and 9.28 Mbps, respectively during Q4 2023. Digi also recorded the highest Consistency of 80.3%, while smart! recorded the lowest median latency of 56 ms. There was no statistically fastest fixed network in the market based on download speed, however NEXGEN recorded the fastest median upload speed at 47.47 Mbps.
  • Canada: Bell was the fastest mobile operator in Canada with a median download speed of 121.33 Mbps in Q4 2023. Bell also had the fastest median 5G download speed at 194.23 Mbps. Rogers had the fastest median mobile upload speed of 15.10 Mbps, and the highest Consistency of 88.2%. Bell pure fibre was fastest for fixed broadband, recording a median download speed of 307.77 Mbps and a median upload speed of 264.97 Mbps. Bell pure fibre also recorded the highest Video Score, of 87.90. Of Canada’s most populous cities, St. John’s recorded the fastest median mobile download speed at 171.76 Mbps, while Fredericton recorded the fastest median fixed broadband download speed of 247.89 Mbps.
  • Colombia: Movistar was fastest for fixed broadband with a median download speed of 210.46 Mbps in Q4 2023. ETB had the lowest latency over fixed broadband at 7 ms. Of Colombia’s most populous cities, Cartagena recorded the fastest median fixed download speed of 146.74 Mbps.
  • Costa Rica: Claro had the fastest median download speed among mobile operators at 40.56 Mbps during Q4 2023. Liberty recorded the fastest median upload speed at 10.73 Mbps, the lowest mobile latency at 33 ms, and the highest Consistency at 78.6%. Metrocom was fastest for fixed broadband download and upload performance, at 225.94 Mbps and 179.66 Mbps, respectively. Metrocom also recorded the lowest latency, at 6 ms.
  • Dominican Republic: Claro had the fastest median download and upload speeds among mobile operators at 34.27 Mbps and 9.84 Mbps, respectively. Claro also recorded the highest Consistency, at 77.0%. Viva had the lowest mobile latency at 43 ms. SpaceX’s Starlink was fastest for fixed broadband download performance at 48.08 Mbps, while Claro recorded the fastest median upload speed at 25.38 Mbps, and the lowest latency at 41 ms. Altice recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency, at 66.6%.
  • Ecuador: CNT recorded the fastest median mobile download speed during Q4 2023, at 26.22 Mbps, while Movistar recorded the lowest mobile multi-server latency at 41 ms. Netlife was fastest for fixed broadband, with a median download speed of 91.56 Mbps. Netlife also recorded the lowest latency over fixed broadband at 8 ms. Xtrim recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency at 84.8%. Of Ecuador’s most populous cities, Santo Domingo recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 31.58 Mbps, while Guayaquil recorded the fastest median fixed download speed of 88.59 Mbps.
  • El Salvador: Claro had the fastest median download speed among mobile operators in El Salvador, at 40.97 Mbps, along with the highest Consistency of 90.4%. Movistar registered the fastest median mobile upload speed of 13.35 Mbps and lowest latency at 73 ms. Cable Color recorded the fastest median fixed download speed at 55.57 Mbps, the top median upload speed at 57.04 Mbps, and the lowest median latency of 51 ms. Of El Salvador’s most populous cities, Santa Tecla showed the fastest median mobile and fixed download speeds during Q4 2023 at 39.27 Mbps and 54.98 Mbps respectively.
  • Guatemala: Claro was the fastest mobile operator in Guatemala during Q4 2023 with a median download speed of 41.63 Mbps and a median upload speed of 19.61 Mbps. Claro also had the highest Consistency at 87.9%, while also leading the market for 5G performance, with a median 5G download speed of 388.34 Mbps. Tigo recorded the lowest median mobile latency at 79 ms. SpaceX’s Starlink was fastest for median fixed download performance at 54.32 Mbps, while Cable Color was fastest for fixed upload performance at 33.45 Mbps. Cable Color also had the lowest median latency on fixed broadband at 27 ms. Claro recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency at 73.1%. Of Guatemala’s most populous cities, Escuintla showed the fastest median mobile download speed during Q4 2023 at 44.16 Mbps, while Villa Nueva recorded the fastest median fixed download speed, at 60.83 Mbps.
  • Guyana: There was no winner of fastest median mobile performance in Guyana during Q4 2023, with ENet and Digicel posting median download speeds of 24.64 Mbps and 23.53 Mbps, respectively. ENet recorded the fastest median mobile upload speed at 18.49 Mbps and offered the lowest median latency at 143 ms. In the fixed broadband market, ENet recorded the fastest median download and upload speeds, of 70.20 Mbps and 52.25 Mbps, respectively, while also recording the lowest median latency of 130 ms. GTT recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency during Q4 2023, at 69.2%.
  • Haiti: Digicel was the fastest mobile operator in Haiti with a median mobile download speed of 14.26 Mbps, a median upload speed of 10.52 Mbps, and Consistency of 67.2%. Natcom recorded the lowest mobile latency, of 62 ms. SpaceX Starlink had the fastest median fixed download speed at 41.73 Mbps. Natcom had the fastest median fixed upload speed at 31.89 Mbps, the lowest median fixed latency at 47 ms, and the highest fixed broadband Consistency of 64.0%.
  • Honduras: Claro recorded the fastest median mobile download and upload speeds during Q4 2023, of 53.06 Mbps and 16.22 Mbps, respectively, while also recording the highest Consistency at 87.2%. Tigo recorded the lowest median mobile latency at 93 ms. Claro had the fastest median fixed download speed at 47.26 Mbps during Q4 2023, and the highest fixed broadband Consistency at 80.2%. TEVISAT recorded the fastest median upload speed, of 22.36 Mbps, and the lowest median fixed latency at 20 ms. Of Honduras’ most populous cities, El Progreso recorded the fastest median mobile download speed during Q4 2023, of 41.69 Mbps, while Tegucigalpa showed the fastest median fixed download speed at 41.97 Mbps.
  • Jamaica: There was no winner of fastest median mobile download performance in Jamaica during Q4 2023, with Flow and Digicel tied. Digicel recorded the fastest median upload speed of 8.37 Mbps and highest Consistency of 81.9%. Flow had the lowest mobile median latency at 38 ms. SpaceX Starlink had the fastest median download speed over fixed broadband at 84.10 Mbps, and the highest fixed broadband Consistency at 77.8%. Digicel+ recorded the fastest median upload speed of 46.14 Mbps, while Flow recorded the lowest median fixed latency at 25 ms.
  • Mexico: Telcel had the fastest median download and upload speeds over mobile at 52.06 Mbps and 13.50 Mbps, respectively, and the operator also delivered the fastest median 5G download speed at 233.82 Mbps. Telcel also had the lowest mobile median latency at 62 ms and highest Consistency at 87.2%. Totalplay was fastest for fixed broadband with a median download speed of 88.87 Mbps and a median upload speed of 30.50 Mbps. Totalplay also had the lowest median fixed broadband latency at 28 ms and the highest Consistency at 84.0%. Among Mexico’s most populous cities, Monterrey recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 38.36 Mbps, while Guadalajara recorded the fastest median fixed broadband speed of 80.32 Mbps.
  • Panama: MasMovil was the fastest mobile operator with median download and upload speeds of 27.24 Mbps and 15.18 Mbps, respectively, as well as the highest Consistency of 79.3%. Digicel recorded the lowest median mobile latency, at 34 ms. There was no winner of the fastest median fixed download performance, with both Tigo and MasMovil tied. MasMovil recorded the fastest median upload speed of 33.38 Mbps and the lowest median latency at 16ms. Among Panama’s most populous cities, David recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 21.57 Mbps, while La Chorrera recorded the fastest median fixed broadband speed of 156.71 Mbps.
  • Peru: Claro was the fastest mobile operator in Peru with a median download speed of 23.30 Mbps during Q4 2023, and also had the highest mobile Consistency in the market with 80.6%.
  • Trinidad and Tobago: Digicel had the fastest median download speed over mobile at 33.29 Mbps and the highest Video Score in the market at 74.86. bmobile recorded the fastest median mobile upload speed of 12.17 Mbps, and the lowest median latency at 32 ms. Digicel+ had the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds at 118.53 Mbps and 107.24 Mbps, respectively. Digicel+ also had the lowest median latency at 7 ms.
  • United States: T-Mobile was the fastest mobile operator with median download and upload speeds of 188.96 Mbps and 12.19 Mbps, respectively. T-Mobile also recorded the highest mobile Consistency at 87.3%, and the lowest median mobile latency of 50 ms. T-Mobile also led the market with the fastest median 5G download speed at 238.87 Mbps, as well as the lowest 5G latency of 48 ms. T-Mobile secured the highest Video Score across all technologies with 78.21, and for 5G, with a Video Score of 81.54. Cox led the market as the fastest fixed broadband provider with a median download speed of 261.27 Mbps, while AT&T Internet recorded the fastest median fixed upload speed of 195.64 Mbps, and Verizon had the lowest median latency over fixed broadband at 15 ms.
  • Uruguay: Antel was the fastest mobile operator in Uruguay during Q4 2023 with a median download speed of 117.79 Mbps, and recorded the lowest median latency of 44 ms.
  • Venezuela: Digitel was the fastest mobile operator with a median download speed of 14.37 Mbps and a median upload speed of 6.97 Mbps during Q4 2023. Digitel also recorded the highest Consistency in the market, with 68.0%, and the lowest median latency of 97 ms. Airtek Solutions had the fastest median fixed download and upload speeds of 94.76 Mbps and 94.89 Mbps, respectively. Airtek Solutions also recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency of 86.0%, and the lowest median latency at 7 ms. Among Venezuela’s most populous cities, Maracaibo recorded the fastest median mobile and fixed download speeds of 17.17 Mbps and 82.35 Mbps, respectively.

Asia

  • Afghanistan: The fastest mobile operator in Afghanistan was Afghan Wireless with a median download speed of 6.68 Mbps in Q4 2023. The operator also had the lowest median latency at 77 ms and the highest Consistency of 51.0%.
  • Bangladesh: Banglalink was the fastest mobile operator in Bangladesh with a median download speed of 26.74 Mbps in Q4 2023. Banglalink also recorded the highest Consistency of 89.0% and the lowest median latency of 33 ms. DOT Internet was the fastest fixed broadband provider with a median download speed of 91.35 Mbps, while also recording the highest Consistency at 87.5% and the lowest median latency at 5 ms.
  • Bhutan: There was no statistical winner for fastest mobile download performance during Q4 2023 in Bhutan, with TashiCell and BT both tied with speeds of 31.52 Mbps and 28.15 Mbps, respectively. TashiCell recorded the lowest median mobile latency of 52 ms.
  • Brunei: There was no statistical winner for fastest mobile download performance during Q4 2023 in Brunei, with DST and Imagine both tied with speeds of 97.34 Mbps and 91.53 Mbps, respectively.
  • Cambodia: Cellcard recorded the fastest median mobile download speed at 33.74 Mbps during Q4 2023, while Metfone recorded the highest Consistency at 80.8% and the lowest median latency at 38 ms. MekongNet was the fastest fixed broadband provider, with a median fixed download speed of 48.29 Mbps. MekongNet also recorded the highest Consistency at 71.1%. OpenNet recorded the lowest median latency over fixed broadband, at 7ms.
  • China: China Broadnet was the fastest mobile operator in China during Q4 2023, with a median download speed of 248.77 Mbps, and median 5G download speed of 305.61 Mbps. China Mobile recorded the lowest median mobile latency, at 42 ms. There was no statistical winner for fastest fixed download performance, with China Unicom and China Mobile both tied with speeds of 246.93 Mbps and 245.59 Mbps, respectively. China Mobile recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency, of 93.4%, while China Telecom recorded the lowest median fixed broadband latency at 22 ms. Among China’s most populous cities, Beijing recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 232.41 Mbps, while Tianjin recorded the fastest median fixed download speed of 326.07 Mbps.
  • Georgia: Geocell recorded the fastest mobile download performance during Q4 2023 in Georgia, at 50.52 Mbps, and the lowest mobile latency at 37 ms. MagtiCom had the fastest median fixed download speed at 27.81 Mbps and the highest Consistency of 66.5%. Among Georgia’s most populous cities, Tbilisi recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 36.17 Mbps, while Rustavi recorded the fastest median fixed download speed of 27.38 Mbps.
  • Hong Kong (SAR): China Mobile Hong Kong was the fastest mobile operator in Hong Kong (SAR) during Q4 2023, with a median download speed across all technologies of 98.94 Mbps, and a median download speed over 5G of 177.96 Mbps. csl recorded the fastest median mobile upload speed, at 16.89 Mbps.
  • Indonesia: Telkomsel was the fastest Indonesian mobile operator with a median download speed of 31.14 Mbps. Telkomsel also had the lowest median mobile latency at 45 ms.
  • Japan: Rakuten Mobile recorded the fastest mobile download and upload speeds during Q4 2023 in Japan, at 51.16 Mbps and 20.21 Mbps, respectively. Rakuten Mobile also recorded the highest Consistency in the market at 90.6%, while SoftBank recorded the lowest median latency at 43 ms. So-net had the fastest fixed download and upload speeds, at 296.29 Mbps and 219.53 Mbps, respectively, as well as the lowest median latency over fixed broadband at 9 ms. SpaceX Starlink recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency in the market at 96.4%.
  • Kazakhstan: Tele2 recorded the highest mobile Consistency in Kazakhstan during Q4 2023 with 85.3% and the lowest median mobile latency at 39 ms.
  • Malaysia: TM was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Malaysia with a median download speed of 112.00 Mbps in Q4 2023. TIME recorded the lowest fixed broadband latency at 9 ms.
  • Pakistan: Jazz delivered the fastest median mobile download speed in Pakistan at 21.38 Mbps in Q4 2023. Zong recorded the highest mobile Consistency, at 83.2%, and the lowest median mobile latency of 45 ms. Transworld recorded the fastest median fixed broadband download speed at 22.08 Mbps and the highest Consistency at 46.1%, while Connect Communications recorded the lowest median fixed broadband latency at 12 ms.
  • Philippines: Smart delivered the fastest median mobile download speed in the Philippines at 37.64 Mbps in Q4 2023.
  • South Korea: SK Telecom recorded the fastest median mobile download speed at 192.67 Mbps, while also recording the highest Consistency in the market at 89.1%. LG U+ had the lowest median mobile latency in the market at 76 ms. In South Korea’s fixed broadband market, LG U+ delivered the fastest median download speed at 146.20 Mbps, and the lowest median latency of 57 ms.
  • Sri Lanka: There was no statistical winner for fastest mobile download performance during Q4 2023 in Sri Lanka, with Dialog and SLT-Mobitel both tied with speeds of 23.98 Mbps and 23.89 Mbps, respectively. Dialog delivered the lowest median mobile latency of 36 ms. SLT-Mobitel recorded the fastest fixed download speed of 37.46 Mbps, as well as the highest fixed broadband Consistency of 57.9% and the lowest fixed broadband latency at 13 ms.
  • Vietnam: Viettel was the fastest fixed provider in Vietnam during Q4 2023, with a median download speed of 107.40 Mbps. Viettel also recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency at 94.8% and the lowest median fixed broadband latency of 4 ms.

Europe

  • Albania: Vodafone recorded the fastest median mobile download speed in Albania during Q4 2023, of 53.36 Mbps. One Albania recorded the highest mobile Consistency of 86.1%. Digicom was the fastest fixed broadband provider with a median download speed of 94.74 Mbps. Abissnet recorded the lowest fixed broadband latency, at 7 ms. Among Albania’s most populous cities, Vlorë recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 75.34 Mbps, while Shkodër recorded the fastest median fixed download speed of 69.91 Mbps.
  • Belgium: Proximus recorded the fastest median mobile download speed in Belgium during Q4 2023, at 89.67 Mbps. Proximus also recorded the highest mobile Consistency in the market at 89.8%. There was no statistical winner for fastest fixed download performance, with Telenet and VOO both tied with speeds of 158.08 Mbps and 156.00 Mbps, respectively. VOO recorded the highest Consistency at 89.8%. Among Belgium’s most populous cities, Ghent recorded the fastest median mobile and fixed download speeds, of 168.89 Mbps and 90.14 Mbps, respectively.
  • Denmark: Telia was the fastest mobile operator in Denmark during Q4 2023, with a median download speed of 163.41 Mbps. Hiper was fastest for fixed broadband, with a median download speed of 277.56 Mbps.
  • Estonia: The fastest mobile operator in Estonia was Telia with a median download speed of 92.39 Mbps in Q4 2023. Elisa recorded the highest mobile Consistency of 91.9%. Elisa was the fastest fixed broadband provider, with a median download speed of 100.13 Mbps. Elisa also recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency, of 86.3%. Infonet recorded the lowest median fixed broadband latency of 5 ms.
  • Finland: DNA had the fastest median mobile download speed at 113.57 Mbps in Q4 2023, and the highest Consistency of 95.4%. DNA also recorded the fastest median 5G download performance, at 247.54 Mbps. Telia recorded the lowest median mobile latency of 31 ms. Lounea was fastest for fixed broadband with a median download speed of 171.31 Mbps. Lounea also recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency in the market at 91.5%, as well as the lowest median fixed broadband latency at 13 ms.
  • Germany: Telekom was the fastest mobile operator in Germany during Q4 2023, with a median download speed of 90.26 Mbps, as well as the top median download speed over 5G at 179.25 Mbps. Telekom also recorded the highest mobile Consistency in the market at 92.1% and the lowest median mobile latency of 38 ms. Deutsche Glasfaser recorded the fastest fixed broadband performance, with a median download speed at 201.43 Mbps. Deutsche Glasfaser also recorded the highest fixed broadband Consistency in the market at 90.5% and the lowest latency of 14 ms.
  • Latvia: There was no statistical winner for fastest mobile download performance in Latvia during Q4 2023, with BITĖ and LMT both tied with speeds of 81.56 Mbps and 81.11 Mbps, respectively. BITĖ recorded the highest mobile Consistency in the market of 91.3%, while LMT recorded the lowest mobile latency at 27 ms. Balticom was fastest for fixed broadband with a median download speed of 275.19 Mbps, while also leading with the highest fixed broadband Consistency of 93.7%, and the lowest median latency at 4 ms. Among Latvia’s most populous cities, Olaine recorded the fastest median mobile download speed, of 170.18 Mbps, while Salaspils recorded the fastest median fixed broadband download speed of 94.64 Mbps.
  • Lithuania: Telia was the fastest mobile operator in Lithuania during Q4 2023, with a median download speed of 116.58 Mbps in Q4 2023. Telia also recorded the highest Consistency in the market at 94.7%, and the lowest median mobile latency at 32 ms. Cgates was fastest for fixed broadband with a median download speed of 177.14 Mbps. Cgates also recorded the highest Consistency over fixed broadband in the market at 90.9%, while Penki recorded the lowest fixed broadband latency, at 4ms. Among Lithuania’s most populous cities, Panevėžys recorded the fastest median mobile download speed, of 106.34 Mbps, while Klaipėda recorded the fastest median fixed broadband download speed of 138.34 Mbps.
  • Poland: T-Mobile was the fastest mobile operator in Poland during Q4 2023, with a median download speed of 49.10 Mbps. T-Mobile also recorded the highest Consistency in the market at 88.4%. Plus recorded the fastest 5G performance in the market, with a median 5G download speed of 133.34 Mbps. Plus also recorded the lowest median mobile latency, at 43 ms. UPC was the fastest provider for fixed broadband with a median download speed of 232.36 Mbps, while Netia recorded the lowest fixed broadband latency, at 16 ms. Among Poland’s most populous cities, Łódź recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of  46.53 Mbps, while Wrocław recorded the fastest median fixed download speed of 172.86 Mbps.
  • Turkey: Turkcell was the fastest mobile operator in Turkey with a median download speed of 56.73 Mbps in Q4 2023, and Turkcell also recorded the highest Consistency of 91.3%. Türk Telekom had the lowest median mobile latency at 39 ms. TurkNet was fastest for fixed broadband, with a median download speed of 66.57 Mbps. TurkNet also recorded the lowest median fixed latency at 13 ms, and the highest Consistency at 81.5%. Among Turkey’s most populous cities, Istanbul recorded the fastest median download speeds across mobile and fixed, at 38.50 Mbps and 47.81 Mbps, respectively.

Oceania

  • New Zealand: There was no statistical winner for fastest mobile download performance during Q4 2023 in New Zealand, with One NZ and Spark both tied with speeds of 73.52 Mbps and 70.23 Mbps, respectively. 2degrees led the market with the highest Consistency of 91.0% and the lowest median mobile multi-server latency at 40 ms.

The Speedtest Global Index is your resource to understand how internet connectivity compares around the world and how it’s changing. Check back next month for updated data on country and city rankings, and look for updated Ookla Market Reports with 1H 2024 data in July.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Global Speeds
Bhutan

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

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Ookla Research™ Articles
| December 20, 2023

U.S. - The Rise of 5G FWA & The Battle for Fixed Broadband Customers

Global Speeds

Fixed-wireless access (FWA) has emerged as a key 5G use case. Cellular providers in many markets are using FWA to easily enter and compete in fixed broadband markets, while fixed ISPs with access to 5G spectrum are utilizing it as a complementary access technology, allowing them to target locations where fiber access networks are not present. FWA can also be a solution to help bridge the digital divide in more remote locations where it’s uneconomical to lay fiber to connect premises.

The U.S. is at the forefront of fixed wireless access (FWA) development, with many of its major wireless carriers, including T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and UScellular targeting expansion. T-Mobile has built up a lead in terms of 5G fixed-wireless market share, with Verizon following closely, and AT&T recently launching a new FWA service – AT&T Internet Air. We examined Ookla Speedtest data to understand how FWA performance is evolving in the U.S., and how it is impacting churn in the market.

Key takeaways

  • T-Mobile & Verizon 5G FWA performance holding up well nationally. Despite strong customer growth, both T-Mobile and Verizon have maintained performance levels over the past year according to Speedtest data. Both ISPs recorded similar median download speeds in Q3 2023, although T-Mobile maintains an edge on median upload performance. Despite this, there are significant differences in performance at a State-level, and for urban versus rural locations.
  • Cable & DSL providers bear the brunt of user churn. The FWA value proposition is clearly resonating most with existing cable and DSL customers, which make up the vast bulk of churners to both T-Mobile’s and Verizon’s FWA services. It’s not one-way traffic however, with T-Mobile’s larger user base in particular showing some attrition to cable providers. In rural locations where options are more limited, FWA services are increasingly going head to head, with over 10% of users joining Verizon’s FWA service coming from T-Mobile.
  • Clear signs that download performance could be a key contributor to churn in the market. Our analysis of the customers of major ISPs in the US that have churned to T-Mobile’s FWA service shows that their median download performance before churning was below the median performance of all customers of these ISPs, indicating a performance short-fall that is likely contributing towards churn.
  • Further C-band spectrum will serve to strengthen FWA’s case. The release and deployment of additional C-band spectrum for all three national cellular carriers, and AT&T’s new FWA service will drive further performance gains, and further competitive pressure in 2024.

T-Mobile and Verizon FWA scaling strongly and national performance holding up well

Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, FWA services from T-Mobile and Verizon have seen strong growth over the past three years. Aided by disruptive pricing strategies, no annual contracts, and ease of installation (self-install), net additions remain strong for both ISPs. T-Mobile’s current FWA plan retails for $50/month, but that falls to $30/month for customers subscribing to its Magenta MAX mobile plan. Verizon prices at a slight premium to T-Mobile, with its FWA service currently retailing for $60/month, but falling to $35/month with select 5G mobile plans. On the back of their success we’ve also recently seen AT&T update its FWA strategy, launching AT&T Internet Air in August 2023, with a similar pricing strategy.

Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Customers – T-Mobile & Verizon
Company Reporting | Q3 2020 – Q3 2023

Utilizing the same 5G spectrum that its mobile customer base accesses, both T-Mobile and Verizon have been at pains to point out how they manage the on-boarding of new FWA customers, in order to limit any negative impact on performance for both cellular and FWA customers. The release and rollout of additional C-band spectrum for all three operators will provide extra headroom and the potential for improved 5G FWA performance, while T-Mobile has begun testing 5G Standalone mmWave, and has indicated that this could be utilized for 5G FWA in the future. 

Performance on T-Mobile’s and Verizon’s 5G FWA services has held up well to date, although it lags behind median download performance of the major cable and fiber ISPs. The median download speed across the US for all fixed providers combined in Q3 2023 was 207.42 Mbps. T-Mobile has recorded consistent median download speed over the past four quarters, reaching 122.48 Mbps in Q3 2023 based on Speedtest data, but saw its median upload performance erode slightly, down from 19.76 Mbps in Q4 2022, to 17.09 Mbps in Q3 2023. Verizon on the other hand improved its median download performance when compared to Q4 2022, reaching a similar level to T-Mobile, of 121.23 Mbps in Q3 2023. However, its upload performance remained lower than T-Mobile’s, at 11.53 Mbps.

U.S. 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Performance
Speedtest® Data – Custom Analysis | Q4 2022 – Q3 2023

Churn data shows Cable & DSL providers losing out to FWA

In order to understand the impact of these 5G FWA services on the U.S. fixed broadband market, we examined Speedtest data to identify users that had churned since Q2 2022 – when these services started to scale and really impact the rest of the market.

Our data shows that the bulk of churn to both T-Mobile’s and Verizon’s 5G FWA services in that time was from cable and DSL providers. Furthermore, it doesn’t skew towards rural locations, with both T-Mobile and Verizon seeing approximately 80% of their gross additions in urban locations. The aggressive pricing strategies of FWA providers have driven prices down across the market, with cable providers for example offering slimmed down broadband and content packages at competitive prices, while AT&T Fiber now prices its entry fiber package of 300 Mbps at $55/month.

Fixed Wireless Access New Recruits – Distribution of 5G FWA Gross Additions by ISP
Speedtest® Data – Custom Analysis | Q2 2022 – Q3 2023

While cable operators bear the brunt of churn to 5G FWA services at present, their strategic response in competing on price is seeing some FWA subscribers move back to cable – a trend which the availability of FWA services with no annual contracts makes easier. Speedtest data shows that Cox for example, saw 7.3% of gross additions come from previous users of T-Mobile’s FWA service, while for Spectrum and XFINITY, former T-Mobile FWA users accounted for 6.3% and 6.0%, respectively. 

In rural locations where FWA performance lags that of urban locations, and where cable providers have less overlap with FWA service, there is a more even spread of churn to FWA, between cable and DSL providers. In addition, we see stronger churn to rival FWA services, with Verizon’s FWA service attracting 11.1% of its gross additions from T-Mobile, and T-Mobile recording 2.7% of its gross additions from Verizon’s FWA users.

Users that churn experience improved network performance

With the larger FWA customer base, we ran an analysis of Speedtest data of users churning to and from T-Mobile’s 5G FWA service over the period Q2 2022 – Q3 3023, to understand if there were clear drivers for this churn. We found that the median download speed for the subset of users churning to T-Mobile, was consistently below the median of all users, for each ISP, highlighting the importance of ISPs ensuring consistent performance across their user base.

Targeting Churn – Performance Prior to Churning to T-Mobile's 5G FWA Service
Speedtest® Data – Custom Analysis | Q2 2022 – Q3 2023

Users moving to T-Mobile’s 5G FWA service, and those churning away from it, experienced an increase in median download performance. Those users joining T-Mobile’s FWA service over the period Q2 2022 – Q3 2023, recorded an increase in their median download speed of 13.04 Mbps. On the other hand, those users churning away from T-Mobile saw their median download performance increase by 85.53 Mbps. Users joining Spectrum, Optimum, Cox and XFINITY from T-Mobile’s 5G FWA service experienced median download speeds in excess of 100 Mbps faster, highlighting the significant performance advantages that cable and fiber providers maintain over FWA.

Targeting Churn – Performance for Customers Churning Away From T-Mobile’s 5G FWA Service
Speedtest® Data – Custom Analysis | Q2 2022 – Q3 2023

State and urban/rural analysis reveal 5G FWA performance gaps

While median performance has remained relatively stable for both operators over the past year, regional performance, and between urban and rural locations, varies significantly. The performance of 5G FWA services depends heavily on the spectrum bands available in each location, as well as the fact these FWA services do not rely on outdoor consumer premise equipment (CPE), with wireless signals having to navigate into the home. The deployment of additional C-band spectrum will help improve performance over time, however, users and ISPs who do not locate CPE externally, will have to continue to navigate the intricacies of available spectrum bands and CPE positioning within the home.

Rural locations predictably fared worse than urban locations for both T-Mobile and Verizon 5G FWA service, given differences in spectrum availability, and also distance from cell sites, although the difference was starker for Verizon’s FWA service, which recorded a median of 155.77 Mbps in urban locations during Q3 2023, but only 51.41 Mbps in rural locations. T-Mobile increased rural FWA performance, up from 82.20 Mbps in Q4 2022, to 91.96 Mbps in Q3 2023. Verizon on the other hand focussed more heavily on urban locations, with the 155.77 Mbps it achieved in Q3 2023 a sizeable increase on the 125.55 Mbps it recorded in Q4 2022.

Urban vs Rural 5G FWA performance
Speedtest® Data – Custom Analysis | Q3 2023

Setting a minimum threshold of 100 samples for Q3 2023, Speedtest data showed Verizon recorded a median 5G FWA download speed of 181.77 Mbps in Nebraska, followed by 160.56 Mbps in Colorado, and 150.24 Mbps in Kansas. At the other end of the scale, Verizon 5G FWA users in Mississippi recorded median download speeds of 31.54 Mbps, of 36.72 Mbps in Wyoming, and 46.92 Mbps in West Virginia. Upload performance followed a similar trend, with a high of 16.74 Mbps in Nebraska, and a low of 4.20 in Mississippi.

T-Mobile’s 5G FWA service saw median download performance hit a high of 189.58 Mbps in Hawaii during Q3 2023, and like Verizon was strong in Nebraska, with 150.53 Mbps, while Oregon followed with 145.11 Mbps. States with lower median download speeds for T-Mobile included Vermont with 63.31 Mbps, South Dakota with 65.38 Mbps, and like T-Mobile, West Virginia with 67.23 Mbps. Median upload performance for T-Mobile’s 5G FWA service also varied significantly, reaching 41.62 Mbps in Hawaii, but falling to 9.74 Mbps in North Dakota.

We’ll continue to monitor the progress of FWA in the U.S., and the competitive response from cable, DSL, fiber and even satellite providers, as the battle for users intensifies. To find out more about Speedtest Intelligence data and insights, please contact us here.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Global Speeds
5G

About the author

Mark Giles

Mark Giles heads up Ookla Research™, leading a team of expert analysts in transforming the world's largest repository of network performance data into authoritative insights. Mark is passionate about using data to illuminate the state of global connectivity, in order to advocate for a better, more accessible internet for all.

More Articles