Sylwia Kechiche | September 19, 2022

MTN Performed Best Among Operator Groups in Sub-Saharan Africa

This article explores mobile performance in select countries across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We examine how four operator groups – Airtel, Orange, MTN, and Vodacom – mobile performance compared against each other during Q2 2022 across ten countries. In our previous analysis of the state of the 5G networks South Africa Spearheads 5G in Africa, but the Road is Long and Windy for Others we analyzed mobile performance on modern chipsets during 2021 (full year) across the African continent. We concluded that these are still early days for 5G across the region as challenges remain around affordability and infrastructure. In this article we focus our analysis on these four operator groups which command the majority (62%) of the SSA subscriptions. We also compare mobile performance on modern chipsets across ten countries. Those ten countries account for 59% of the region’s connections, including:

East Africa: Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda;
Southern Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Botswana;
West Africa: Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Nigeria.

Key messages:

Speedtest Intelligence® data shows that MTN South Africa delivered the fastest median download speeds across analyzed operators, at 65.95 Mbps in Q2 2022. However, Vodacom in Johannesburg was the fastest operator considering speeds across top cities, reaching 81.36 Mbps median download speed in Q2 2022. In South Africa, MTN outperformed Vodacom in terms of median mobile speeds during Q2 2022.
Comparing Airtel and MTN performance across the three countries they operate in, Airtel took the top spot in Nigeria, both in terms of median download and upload speed in Q2 2022, while in Uganda and Rwanda there were no winners. Such was the case in Botswana too, where there was no winner between Mascom and Orange.
In Côte d’Ivoire, MTN took the market lead versus Orange in Q2 2022, whereas in Guinea, the situation was reversed and Orange took the top spot.
Vodacom subsidiary Safaricom won the accolade in Kenya vis a vis Airtel, in Tanzania there was no clear winner as Vodacom won the download speed and Airtel the upload.
In the DRC, which is host to three of the operator groups, there was no winner overall, although Orange was the top player in terms of download speeds.
During Q2 2022, South African network performance has been affected by load shedding, which resulted in consumer reporting not having signal and access to mobile internet according to Downdetector®.

MTN South Africa delivered the fastest median download speed in Q2 2022

Using Speedtest Intelligence® data we compared mobile performance in Q2 2022 on modern chipsets across 21 operators. Our results show that median download speeds ranged between 2.89 Mbps (MTN Guinea) and 65.95 Mbps (MTN South Africa). Median upload speeds varied between 1.55 Mbps (MTN Guinea) and 14.84 Mbps (Airtel Uganda).

We can clearly see the impact that 5G has on overall performance as South African operators came first thanks to having 5G networks in place. MTN South Africa was well ahead of the rest of operators, despite facing challenges with load shedding, with median download speed of 65.95 Mbps, followed by Vodacom South Africa with a median download speed of 48.70 Mbps. If we take 5G out of the equation, Safaricom Kenya was the fastest operator among the analyzed operators.

Vodafone in Johannesburg stole the show

When it comes to mobile speeds in capital cities, it is not surprising that cities that have 5G networks came top of the list. As such, Johannesburg led the pack, with a median download speed of 66.54 Mbps, ahead of Cape Town at 49.22 Mbps. Vodacom got ahead of MTN in Johannesburg and was the fastest operator across 12 cities we analyzed, with a median download speed of 81.36 Mbps in Q2 2022 compared to 73.83 Mbps in Q1 2022. MTN was faster in Cape Town. Taking 5G out of the equation, Orange in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana, achieved median download speeds of 39.46 Mbps.

MTN got ahead of Orange, Airtel, and Vodacom

Using Speedtest Intelligence data for Q2 2022, we compared mobile performance on modern chipsets and 4G Availability in the countries where Airtel, Orange, Vodacom, and MTN operate.

MTN outperformed Orange in Côte d’Ivoire and Vodacom in South Africa, both in terms of median download and upload speeds. While MTN had better download speed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Rwanda MTN performed better than Airtel with regards to median download speed. Orange took the top spot in Guinea, Airtel in Nigeria, and Safaricom in Kenya. In the rest of the countries, the difference in mobile performance was either not statistically significant or there was not a single operator that delivered better performance across both upstream and downstream.

We have included a more detailed analysis below.

Airtel versus MTN

Nigeria: Airtel took the top spot in terms of speed, MTN had better 4G Availability.

As of Q2 2022, MTN Nigeria commanded 38.9% of Nigeria’s mobile users, with its 74.1 million subscribers almost double that of Airtel’s 46.0 million.
Yet when it comes to mobile performance, Airtel Nigeria was ahead of MTN; in Q2 2022, Airtel Nigeria recorded a median download speed of 30.35 Mbps and a median upload speed of 10.28 Mbps, both of which topped those of MTN (26.30 Mbps download and 9.13 Mbps upload).
Those speeds are set to increase as both companies have invested heavily into network infrastructure, with a combined investment of N208.5 billion ($502 million). The investment translates into an increase in 4G Availability as well. In Q2 2022, MTN had 83.8% 4G Availability compared to Airtel’s 77.9%.

Uganda: MTN ahead in download speed, Airtel had better upload.

MTN’s 53.9% market share in Uganda translates to 16.3 million subscribers as of Q2 2022. Meanwhile, Airtel Uganda had a 45.1% market share (13.6 million).
In Q2 2022, MTN Uganda was ahead of Airtel in terms of median download speeds, while Airtel had at least a 33% better median upload speed.
In its recent annual report, Airtel announced that its 4G network was available to 90% of the population of Uganda, effectively providing coverage to the entire country. To aid its capacity, Airtel Uganda is also rolling out fiber, which helps to boost data throughput. For example, in the capital – Kampala – 79% of sites are connected through fiber. In terms of 4G Availability, MTN and Airtel came closely together at 83.1% and 80.7%, respectively.

Rwanda: MTN took the top spot for median download and 4G Availability

MTN Rwanda increased its customer base by 1.7% year-on-year (YoY) to 6.6 million as of Q2 2022, expanding its lead in customer market share by 2.7 pp to 65.6%, Airtel controlled the remainder of the market.
MTN Rwanda performed better than Airtel when it comes to median download speed: MTN had a 33% better median download speed.
MTN Rwanda also had the best 4G Availability order to further increase smartphone penetration in the market and stimulate demand for data services, in June 2022, MTN Rwanda and Bank of Kigali (BK Group) signed an agreement to introduce device financing. This program will enable customers to spread over the cost of smartphones over an extended period of time.

MTN versus Orange

Botswana: Mascom and Orange performed similarly.

Mascom (MTN) is the largest operator in Botswana, with 1.8 million subscribers in Q2 2022 and a 42.2% market share. Orange is the second largest operator, ending Q2 2022 with 1.7 million subscribers and 41.2% market share.
Comparing the operators’ performance, the difference in terms of both median download and upload speeds as well as 4G Availability was not statistically significant and there is no winner.

Côte d’Ivoire: MTN stole the show in terms of performance.

MTN had 38.9% subscriber market share in Côte d’Ivoire as of Q2 2022, which equates to 15.8 million subscribers, Orange ended Q2 2022 with 14.6 million subscribers (36.0% market share).
MTN had faster median download and upload speeds compared to that of Orange, and the gap might widen even more going forward. In December 2021, MTN Côte d’Ivoire started 5G trials at nine locations in Abidjan. This was followed by the Ivoirian government adopting a roadmap for the launch of 5G technology in February this year, with 5G networks expected to go live by 2023.

Guinea: Orange commands the Guinean market.

Market leader, Orange, which switched on its 4G network in 2019, accounted for 60% of mobile connections in Q2 2022 in Guinea, ahead of MTN (30.8%). According to telecom regulator ARPT, in Q4 2021, Orange held a 69.9% market share of mobile Internet traffic, while MTN held 26.9%.
Orange was far ahead in terms of performance during Q2 2022. Part of the reason being that Orange is currently the sole provider of 4G services in the country, with MTN awarded a 4G operating license in February 2022 but it has not launched the services yet.

Vodacom versus Airtel

Kenya: Safaricom won across all metrics.

Safaricom is the largest operator in Kenya by a mile, with 67.1% market share (equivalent to 42.7 million connections) ahead of Airtel 25.9% (16.4 million).
Safaricom also exhibited better network performance during Q2 2022, with a median download speed of 36.25 Mbps and upload of 13.83 Mbps, compared to Airtel (28.58 Mbps download speed and 8.44 Mbps upload).
Safaricom has signed a multi-year contract with satellite provider Intelsat to modernize its network and expand LTE coverage. Safricom is focusing more on 4G rather than pursuing 5G as the cost of 5G handsets is prohibitive and slowing down its 5G expansion. In a bid to increase smartphone usage on its network, Safaricom partnered with Google to allow its customers to pay for 4G-enabled phones in installments. Customers pay as little as KES 20 ($0.34) per day over a nine-month period. The operator’s ultimate target is to upgrade about four million 2G and 3G phones to 4G. Safaricom had also partnered with Vivo to sell 4G phones.
Meanwhile, Safaricom’s top competitor in Kenya, Airtel Kenya, paid $5 million as part of an agreement with the regulator to acquire and operate spectrum from 2015 through 2025. The operator has a remaining balance of $10 million to settle over the next three years, with a cumulative payout of $20 million.

Tanzania: Vodacom did better on download speeds.

Tanzania’s mobile market is served by seven mobile operators, making it one of the most competitive markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Vodacom ended June 2022 with 15.6 million subscribers, which translated into a 28.8% market share, GSMA Intelligence estimates that Airtel held a 27.4% market share in Q2 2022, equivalent to 14.8 million subscriptions.
Vodacom’s median download speeds were ahead of Airtel’s – 17.08 Mbps versus 12.89 Mbps. Vodacom’s 4G Availability also topped Airtel’s at 87.1%, compared to 77.7%. To further increase its network reach, in May 2022, Vodacom Tanzania signed a deal with the National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB), a national fiber optic cable network. This will allow Vodacom to increase rural connectivity after an initial investment of €5.82 million ($6.22 million) in October 2021. Furthermore, in September 2022, Vodacom launched 5G mobile service in Dar es Salaam with a target to expand to approximately 230 locations in other cities. In time, as more users migrate to 5G smartphones and tariffs this will lead to Vodacom improving its speeds further.

Orange versus Vodacom versus Airtel

Democratic Republic of Congo: Orange was the top player in terms of download speeds.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country by population across the SSA and largest by area. It hosts seven mobile operators, including three of the four groups we analyze — Vodacom, MTN, Orange, and Airtel.

In Q2 2022, Vodacom was the largest operator by number of connections with market share of 35.3% and 16.0 million connections, followed by Airtel (12.8 million) and Orange (12.2 million).
Comparing operators’ mobile performance, Orange led in terms of median download speed (29.18 Mbps), ahead of Airtel (11.15 Mbps) and Vodacom (8.00 Mbps). Operators came head to head with regards to 4G Availability.

MTN versus Vodacom

South Africa: MTN outperformed Vodacom in terms of mobile speeds.

Vodacom ended June 2022 with 45.1 million subscriptions equivalent to a 41% market share. MTN is the second largest player with 35.3 million connections, and had a net addition of almost 837,000 in the quarter. MTN noted in their results that: “The overall growth in the base was particularly encouraging given the significant ramp-up in load shedding, which impacts systems and typically constrains new customer acquisitions.”
The South African market might see a consolidation if the proposed acquisition of Telkom by MTN gets the green light. This will change the market dynamics as MTN will become the number one player by number of connections.
In terms of mobile performance, MTN had better median download and upload speeds, while Vodacom led on 4G Availability. We have commented on the state of the 5G market in South Africa in our recent article.

Mobile networks don’t exist in a vacuum

It is important to note that mobile performance is impacted by a number of factors, including underlying infrastructure such as access to fiber backhaul and reliable power supply, spectrum availability as well as end-user devices to name a few. Case in point is the fact that, despite being the regional leaders when it comes to mobile performance, South African operators faced issues related to infrastructure reliability and availability over the past three months. Operating conditions in South Africa were affected by increased incidents of rolling power outages (load shedding) and there are no signs of respite.

We have seen these outages reflected in Downdetector® data, which is the world’s most popular platform for user-reported service status information. During Q2 2022 users reported 46,810 incidents for Vodacom and 34,882 problems for MTN. There were two top issues reported: no signal and no mobile internet: lack of signal accounted for the majority (46%) of Vodacom’s reported outages, followed by inability to access mobile internet (36%). This has been reversed for MTN — majority of issues were related to mobile internet (43%), followed by no signal (40%). Noteworthy is the fact that there were reports of total blackouts: 7% for Vodacom and 5% for MTN.

Vodacom commented in its results call for the quarter ended on June 30, 2022 that they already spent ZAR 1.7 billion ($99.9 million) on batteries and generators to offset the impact of load shedding with further ZAR 500 million ($29.4 million) allocated to battery purchases. Vodacom also continues to optimize site utilization by using IoT.nxt technology to reduce the amount of energy consumption per site but also piloting wind power and solar projects. While its competitor, MTN, stated in its interim results report that it “rolled out a comprehensive network resilience plan including additional batteries, generators and enhanced security features.”

We will continue to monitor mobile networks performance across Africa, looking at how various factors affect it. If you are interested in benchmarking your performance or if you’d like to learn more about internet speeds and performance in other markets around the world visit the Speedtest Global Index™.

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.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles

Sylwia Kechiche | September 6, 2022

South Africa Fixed Broadband Speeds Up as Fiber Takes Off

We recently examined the state of the 5G performance in South Africa, and we now turn our attention to the fixed broadband side. In July 2022, our Speedtest Global Index® ranked South Africa in 95th place, with a median download speed of 35.90 Mbps and a median upload speed of 29.56 Mbps. South Africa has come a long way in the past four years in terms of fixed network performance. In July 2019, for instance, South Africa ranked 112th with fixed median download and upload speeds of 9.95 Mbps and 5.56 Mbps, respectively.

Key messages:

Speedtest Intelligence® data shows that fixed broadband speeds in South Africa have doubled over the past three years – from 15.11 Mbps median download speed in Q1-Q2 2020 to 31.34 Mbps in Q1-Q2 2022, benefiting from increased competition and growth in Fiber to the Home subscriptions.
South Africa still has a long way to go to catch up with other BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Telecom regulator, ICASA, could consider setting a minimum broadband speed to stimulate market adoption outside of urban areas, which are currently underserved.
With only 10% of households connected to broadband, there is substantial room for growth, and operators are looking to extend fiber beyond affluent areas. Furthermore, there is a growing number of mergers and acquisitions in the market. South Africa is home to a complex fiber market with alternative ISPs competing for market share using open fiber networks deployed by Telkom’s wholesale division, Openserve, and alternative FNOs such as Vumatel.
Cool Ideas took the lead in 1H 2022 with a 48.32 Mbps median upload speed and 47.89 Mbps download speed, but its market lead could be soon challenged as many operators are already offering speeds in excess of 30 Mbps.
Gauteng, home to the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, had the best median fixed broadband download speeds of 38.47 Mbps and 27.92 Mbps upload speeds. South African capital city, Johannesburg, was the fastest of the five cities we analyzed.

South African median fixed speeds doubled in the past three years, thanks to fiber growth

Speedtest Intelligence® data shows that fixed broadband speeds in South Africa have more than doubled over the past three years — moving from 15.11 Mbps median download speed in Q1-Q2 2020 to 31.34 Mbps in Q1-Q2 2022; for upload speed, the increase has been more pronounced, improving from a median upload speed of 8.85 Mbps in Q1-Q2 2020 to 24.50 Mbps in Q1-Q2 2022. These improvements are due to increased market competition and a growing number of fiber connections. According to South African regulator Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), fixed line broadband subscriptions increased by 20.4% in 2021, while Fiber to the Home/Building (FTTH/B) subscriptions grew by 34.4%. In fact, FTTH/B subscriptions have increased 44 times over the past seven years: from 31,843 in September 2015 to 1.4 million in September 2021, steadily replacing DSL lines.

However, fixed broadband adoption is still relatively low. There are 17.4 million households in South Africa, and if we translate the overall number of broadband subscriptions into household adoption, this equates to just 10% of South African households having fixed broadband in September 2021. On one hand, this marks an improvement over 2020, when less than one-tenth (8.3%) of households had access to fixed internet at home, according to the General Household Survey. But on the other hand, there was — and is — a significant urban/rural divide. 14% of households in metropolitan areas had access to the Internet at home compared to only 0.8% of rural households according to the same survey.

To help narrow the digital divide, the South African government’s South Africa Connect (SA Connect) initiative was put in place in 2013. Phase One of Digital Development focused on prioritized provision of broadband connection services to government buildings, health facilities, schools, post offices, and police stations in eight districts, but its scope has been reduced due to Covid-19 pandemic. Now, SA Connect entered a second stage, which aims to cover 100% of the population with at least 10 Mbps and 80% of the population with 100 Mbps broadband access by 2030, which forms part of government’s commitment to bridge the digital divide, especially in rural communities, while also advancing the digital economy.

There is still room to grow for South Africa to catch up with other BRICS markets

Using Speedtest Intelligence data, we compared fixed download speeds across the BRICS countries, which include five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa during Q1-Q2 2022. China topped the rankings across the BRICS countries, posting a median download speed of nearly 160 Mbps. South Africa, meanwhile, finished last, indicating that South Africa still has room to grow in terms of fixed broadband performance and adoption.

India has already taken steps to improve fixed broadband performance by setting minimum broadband speeds. We have commented how TRAI, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, published several recommendations designed to increase fixed broadband network rollouts and adoption. The recommendations also aim to help achieve India’s targets of universal broadband provision of 50 Mbps, as well as breaking into the top-50 of the ITU’s ICT Development Index by 2022.

South Africa could also look to Chile for inspiration on how to improve its fixed broadband performance. Currently, Chile tops the ranking in terms of global fixed broadband performance, with a fixed median download speed of 213.73 Mbps. While it took time, Chile’s healthy fixed broadband performance is due to a mix of a supportive regulatory environment and robust market competition. According to Chilean regulator Subtel, 83% of fixed broadband connections comprise speeds of 100 Mbps thanks to a growing penetration of fiber to the home (FFTH).

The rise of fiber network operators

There are multiple drivers behind the growth of fiber in South Africa, ranging from Telkom retiring its legacy infrastructure, consumer demand for faster speeds, and the growing consumption of bandwidth-hungry content, from video streaming services to cloud-based enterprise applications. As such, the fixed incumbent, Telkom, is no longer the default wholesale infrastructure provider, which was the case with DSL. The increasing competition in South Africa gave birth to a very competitive and vibrant fiber wholesale market. In fact, South Africa is experiencing a fiber network operators (FNOs) boom, with over 30 FNOs deploying their own infrastructure and sharing it with other operators on an open-access basis.

It’s important to note the difference between FNOs and ISPs: an FNO manages and owns fiber optic connectivity infrastructure; an ISP handles everything customer related, such as getting customers online, support, billing, and more. ISPs often have relationships with multiple FNOs and negotiate deals with them. FNOs like Vumatel, Fibrehoods, Link Africa, Dark Fiber Africa, Openserve, Frogfoot, and Metro Fiber continue to increase their footprint. The competition between FNOs is heating up, both in terms of geographical footprint and on pricing. For instance, MetroFibre recently introduced pay-as-you-go internet options to target underserved areas, while others are doubling speeds offered at the same price.

Vumatel is the market leader in terms of homes passed — the number of premises to which an operator has the capability to connect — and active subscribers, with a self-reported 39% market share across both measures. Vumatel’s fiber network passes 1.5 million homes and has over 450,000 customers connected to its fiber network, with over 30,000 kilometers of fiber network. Vumatel acquired companies such as SADV and Fibrehoods to expand its reach. Vumatel, so far, has mostly focused on big metropolitan areas, but it is now expanding to high-density lower-income areas by offering prepaid packages. In 2017, Vumatel announced a pilot project where residents of Alexandria township could get access to 100 Mbps speeds for less than ZAR 100 (USD 5.88) per month, but the project hasn’t yet come to fruition.

With fiber leveling the competitive field, Telkom created a wholesale fixed-line division, Openserve, in 2015. Openserve’s legal separation will be completed on September 1, 2022 when it will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Telkom Group. There are over 200 ISPs (Internet Service Providers) using its open access network. Openserve reported that by June 30, 2022, its fiber network passed over 890,000 homes — a 45.3% increase from 612,451 a year earlier. At the same time, the number of households connected to its fiber network increased by 35.2% to 414,847, representing an FTTH connectivity rate of 46.6%. Openserve fiber network has the largest reach, with more than 170,000 kilometers of fiber deployed. The operator invested capex to the tune of R 3,472 million (USD 204 million) to modernize and expand the network in 2021 to replace legacy copper networks with fiber. To monetize its investment, Openserve informed ISPs that it plans to stop offering ADSL services from October 2021 in areas within its fiber footprint, with the ultimate goal of shutting down copper based services by 2024.

Frogfoot acquired LinkAfrica’s Western Cape FTTH assets in September 2021 to help its presence in the Western Cape, where Frogfoot increased the number of homes passed to 312,000. Currently, the FNO’s fiber network has passed 336,000 homes, connecting 128,600 homes and 12,500 businesses. In June 2022, Frogfoot announced its Century Promotion, which enables participating ISPs to offer discounted rates on four different line speeds. As a result, end-users can obtain top-tier 1 Gbps connections for less than ZAR 1,000 (USD 58.76). Frogfoot’s ultimate goal is for consumers to subscribe to a 50 Mbps package at well below ZAR 500 (ZAR 29.38) per month.

Vodacom is also looking to increase its market presence in the fixed broadband space. In November 2021, it acquired a 30% stake in a newly combined InfaCo, which combines assets of Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH) and Vodacom’s fiber assets with an option to increase the stake to 40%. The deal, which is currently undergoing regulatory approval processes, gives Vodacom access to the fiber networks of Vumatel and Dark Fiber Africa (DFA), which are both owned by CIVH. Vumatel’s fiber network will be merged with Vodacom’s FTTH and fiber-to-the-business assets.

Cool Ideas took the lead as fiber land grab heats up

Using Speedtest Intelligence®, we compared fixed broadband performance in South Africa during Q1-Q2 2022 across the country’s top providers, those that account for 3% or more of total test samples, which leaves smaller ISPs off our rankings. Our data shows that Cool Ideas led the South African fixed broadband market in the first half of 2022. Cool Ideas reached almost 50 Mbps symmetrical speeds, with 48.32 Mbps median upload speed and 47.89 Mbps download speed. Afrihost, Webafrica, Vox Telecom, Axxess, and rain achieved median download speeds in excess of 30 Mbps. Operator performance in the region can be heavily impacted by the technology offered, with pure FTTH provider Cool Ideas topping our rankings. Fixed download speeds, however, are just one part of the story. Another is coverage. Operators such as Afrihost, MWEB, Vox Telecom, and Axxess use MTN and Vodacom’s mobile networks to offer Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) to expand their coverage in areas where there is no fiber or ADSL coverage.

Cool Ideas, which only offers fiber to homes and businesses, was acquired by Afrihost, but it continues to operate as a standalone brand. The ISP is using Vumatel’s network, which has announced that it will increase speeds for its customers. Cool Ideas customers have recently been notified that their 20/10 Mbps package will be upgraded to 50/50 Mbps for free, while the 100/100 Mbps package will double to 200/200 Mbps.

Afrihost, which finished second in our rankings, offers a range of technologies including FTTH, fixed wireless, ADSL, VDSL, and mobile data. Afrihost and Cool Ideas merged in August 2021 after South Africa’s Competition Commission approved Afrihost buying a majority stake in Cool Ideas. Cool Ideas continues to operate its brand and business separately from Afrihost, with the same employees and management team it had before the merger. Afrihost also owns a majority stake in another South African ISP, Axxess.

Rain, formerly known as iBurst and Wireless Business Solutions (WBS), offers 4G and 5G mobile data to its customers. In November 2019, it became the first company in Africa to launch a 5G Standalone network. Its 5G network currently covers 6 million households in South Africa, including those in Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town, and Potchefstroom in the North West province. Rain plans to expand to new areas and towns along the Garden Route and in Gauteng and Mpumalanga.

MWEB’s technology mix includes DSL, fiber, and LTE. It is a consumer arm of Dimension Data.

HeroTel operates in more than 400 towns and 107 municipalities, with over 150,000 homes passed. It has almost 130,000 broadband subscriptions, 45% of which use fiber, with the remainder using FWA services. CIVH, owner of Vumatel, acquired a 45% stake in Herotel in February 2022, and the company wants to increase its stake in Herotel to 100%. The goal is to expand the footprint of fiber to lower income communities in smaller towns and cities, where Herotel already has a network.

Vox Telecom offers DSL using Telkom’s network and provides fiber using open access fiber networks. Vox Telecom acquired Frogfoot, an FNO, in July 2015.

Gauteng province speeds ahead the country’s average

Across the nine South African provinces, Gauteng is the smallest by land mass, but it’s also the most populous and wealthiest province, home to the country’s largest city, Johannesburg. Given the population and economics of the province, It’s perhaps no surprise that Gauteng had the best median fixed broadband download and upload speeds at 38.47 Mbps and 27.92 Mbps, respectively. Gauteng’s leading speeds are due to several operators posting median download speeds faster than 40 Mbps, such as Afrihost, Axxess, Cool Ideas, Vox Telecom, and Webafrica.

Northern Cape, on the other hand, the largest but most sparsely populated province in South Africa, was home to a median download speed three times lower than the country’s average of 31.34 Mbps.

Residents of Johannesburg had the fastest broadband

Johannesburg performed well across the five cities we looked at in terms of median download and upload speeds. Download speeds in Johannesburg ranged from 25.53 Mbps to 51.49 Mbps, while in Port Elizabeth, speeds were much lower, ranging from 6.36 Mbps to 30.11 Mbps. Typically fiber networks first reach rich and affluent communities that present a fertile ground for their services. For example, a northern suburb of Johannesburg–Parkhurst–was Vumatel’s first suburb.

More is needed to improve fixed networks performance and adoption

Increasing download speeds require more investment in broadband infrastructure from ISPs and FNOs, but most importantly there is a need for reliable underlying infrastructure. Several undersea cables landed in South Africa, including WACS, EASSy, Seacom, SAT3/SAFE, and SACS, with the Equanio and 2Africa cables coming online soon, which helps increase network capacity. However, operators are also facing issues related to infrastructure reliability and availability such as loadshedding (rolling power outages). Affordability is another matter that needs to be addressed.

We will continue to monitor network performance in South Africa to see what effect the fiber race will have on fixed broadband speeds. If you’d like to learn more about internet speeds and performance in other markets around the world, visit the Speedtest Global Index™.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles

Sylwia Kechiche | August 15, 2022

5G in Nordics: Sweden Leads on Speeds, Denmark on 5G Availability

The Nordic region performs well when it comes to median mobile download speeds according to the Speedtest Global Index™. In June 2022, Norway took the top spot in the world in terms of median download speed with 129.96 Mbps, Denmark was eighth place (100.25 Mbps), Sweden ranked 17th and Finland 22nd. Having ambitious digital strategies in terms of bringing high-speed networks to households and businesses, those countries look to 5G too as a driver of digital transformation. To achieve that and enable collaboration across the region, the prime ministers of the Nordic countries signed a letter of intent (LOI) April 2018, which stated that the Nordic region should be the “first and most integrated 5G region in the world,” and the region should become a “common Nordic 5G space.” In this article we examine 5G performance across the region, including the state of 5G spectrum awards, private networks status, 5G mobile performance and 5G Availability at the country and city-level.

Key takeaways

Sweden led the Nordics in 5G median download speeds in Q2 2022, which is partially driven by the Swedish digitalization strategy.
Using Speedtest Intelligence®, we compared 5G Availability, which refers to the percentage of users on 5G-capable devices that spend most of the time with access to 5G networks. In Q2 2022, Denmark’s 5G Availability stood at 36.4%, Norway at 23.3%, Finland at 21.0% while Sweden at 6.2%.
Swedish operators — Telenor, 3, and Tele 2 — topped the median 5G download rankings in Q2 2022, YouSee Denmark inched away in 5G Availability with 61.3% 5G Availability.
The Swedish capital of Stockholm had the fastest median 5G download speed across five cities, whereas Oslo, the capital of Norway, had the best 5G Availability.
Nordic 5G performance benefits from having allocated low-band and mid-band spectrum.
Operators and enterprises in the Nordics look to 5G as a tool to enable digital transformation.

Sweden leads on median 5G download speed

We compared 5G performance using Speedtest Intelligence data from Q2 2022 in the Nordic countries against other European countries. The Nordic region performs well in this ranking, with Sweden first amongst the countries in the chart above. Noteworthy is the fact that only Nordic countries have digital strategies in place, as outlined below, that shape their strategies around networks rolled out to meet their digital goals. While most of these policies focus on fixed broadband, in Sweden 5G was identified as a key technology in Sweden’s quest to achieve 100% high speed broadband access.

Denmark’s 5G Availability on par with the Netherlands

Using Speedtest Intelligence, we compared 5G Availability, which refers to the percentage of users on 5G-capable devices that spend most of the time with access to 5G networks, across Nordic countries and a select sample of European markets. In Q2 2022, Denmark’s 5G Availability stood at 36.4%, Norway at 23.3%, Finland at 21%, and Sweden at 6.2%. Both Denmark and Netherland benefit from being flatter and more densely populated, which in turn results in a greater ability to expand 5G coverage. Other Scandinavian countries have much lower population density than Denmark (139.9 people per km2): Sweden (25.5), Finland (18.2), and Norway (17.7). Denmark has been active in prompting 5G adoption, case in point the Danish Energy Agency published a 5G Action Plan for Denmark, which zeroes in on four building blocks: frequencies, roll-out, regulation, and use cases as foundations for a successful roll-out and utilization of 5G.

Swedish operators top the median 5G download rankings in Q2 2022, YouSee Denmark inched away in the 5G Availability

The majority of the 14 players operating across the four countries launched commercial 5G networks in 2020, apart from Elisa Finland (July 2019), Telia Finland (October 2019), and Ice Norway (November 2021).

Sweden tops the charts for 5G speeds but lags on 5G Availability

Swedish operators perform well when it comes to 5G speeds, not so much on the 5G Availability, which was below 10% as of Q2 2022. 5G Availability is a function of 5G network coverage, 5G tariffs, and 5G-capable devices adoption. Operators are taking steps to increase across all of these components. According to Swedish communications regulator PTS, just over one million subscriptions used the 5G mobile network in 2021 (four times more than a year before), which is equivalent to 8% of all mobile subscriptions. Operators are intensifying their network investments to expand 5G network coverage as follows:

Net4Mobility is a joint venture between Tele2 and Telenor. Tele2 and Telenor Sweden committed to intensifying 5G network roll out during 2022, planning to extend the reach of Net4Mobility to 90% of Swedish population by the end of 2023 and the rest in 2024.
Telia Sweden in collaboration with its long standing partner, Ericsson, plans to match 5G coverage to that of its 4G network by 2025. The short term target is to cover more than 90% of the population with 5G by 2023; in the longer term extending to 90% geographical and over 99% population coverage.
3 Sweden has a few milestones over the next couple of years: finalizing 5G deployment on its existing network in 2022, upgrading its core to 5G for lower latency (2022-23), network expansion and densification (2023-24), and rolling out network slicing to serve enterprises needs such as hospitals, airports, and factories.

3 Sweden is also taking steps to allow customers to test and become familiar with its 5G network during 2022. It offers at no additional cost its newly launched services called “3Fullfart” that uses the 3.5GHz band, priced at a cost of SEK49 ($5.13) a month.

Denmark performs better than others in 5G data experience but yet to match Swedish operators’ 5G speeds

Networks have evolved to become increasingly complex, catering to both the wealth of new services and increasing consumer demand for data. 5G heightened this complexity, therefore it is ever so important to be able to measure the actual end user experience. To achieve that, CellRebel® developed a scoring framework to allow its customers to benchmark different services and to combine various KPIs into composite KPIs and scores. The 5G Data Experience score consists of real user experience for four different popular services: web browsing, YouTube video streaming, gaming, and video conferencing.

YouTube Video Streaming Score is a weighted average of the proportion of samples with video start time better than two seconds, those that had no rebuffering events, and had a video resolution better than 240P.
Web Browsing Score is a percentage of web pages loaded in less than 1.5 seconds.
Gaming Score is a weighted average of the percentage of samples with a gaming latency better than 60 ms, proportion of those with no packet loss, and percentage of measurement samples with a jitter lower than 10 ms.
Video Conferencing Score is a weighted average of the percentage of samples with latencies of less than 60 ms to popular video conferencing services infrastructure, the percentage of measurements with no packet loss, and the percentage of measurement samples with a jitter lower than 10 ms.

All of these measures are combined into an individual score where 0 is the worst experience and 100 corresponds to the best experience. Looking at the four Nordics markets, Denmark had the best 5G Data Experience score in Q2 2022 but other countries are not far behind. Denmark’s good performance is not a surprise if we consider the fact that it took the top spot across the 27 EU Member States, according to the European Commission’s 2021 edition of the “Digital Economy and Society Index” (DESI). Denmark came first in connectivity, ranked second in integration of digital technology and in digital public services, and fourth in human capital.

Danish operators continue to upgrade their network taking advantage of their spectrum assignments.

Speedtest Intelligence data puts YouSee Denmark as the operator that had best 5G Availability across the Nordics in Q2 2022, with a 61.3% 5G Availability. YouSee (part of TDC Group) partners with TDC NET for 5G network, a legally separate wholesale network operator within TDC Group, which reached 99% of Denmark with 5G in 2021 compared to 78% in 2020 as reported in its 2021 Annual Report.
3 Denmark stated that 60% of its network was 5G-enabled in July 2022, as it continues the upgrade of its 5G network using 2100 MHz and 3.5 GHz frequencies, as well as modernizing 4G.
TT Network (TTN), a joint network between Telia and Telenor, started upgrading the network to 5G following the mid-band spectrum award. In 2021 it upgraded 1,000 mobile masts and an additional 1,400 masts will be upgraded during 2022 out of a total 4,300 sites.
Telenor Denmark’s plans to shut down its 3G network in 2022, which operates using spectrum in the 900 MHz and 2.1 GHz band and refarm the frequencies for 5G. The operator also plans to deploy 5G SA and address the enterprise use case through the recently created separate division for private networks. The first example of such collaboration is connecting robots via a Telenor private 4G network rather than via Wi-Fi for Danish company Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR).

Finland’s 5G coverage is on the rise, other building blocks such as 5G tariffs and handsets need to fall into place to increase 5G Availability

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom, reported that at the end of 2021, 5G network coverage has extended to 82% of Finish households (a six percentage point increase over the previous year). At the same time, 4% of mobile data was transmitted over the 5G network, which means that only a small proportion have so far started using subscriptions or devices supported by the 5G network despite the increase in 5G coverage. Finnish operators are working to increase customer access to smartphones but also working on enabling new use cases with 5G SA.

Elisa’s 5G network reached over 80% of the Finnish population in more than 180 municipalities as of the end of Q2 2022. The operator also reported that 5G smartphones accounted for 10% of smartphones in Q1 2022 compared to 7% in Q1 2021. In June 2022, Elisa in partnership with Nokia and Qualcomm conducted a 5G live demonstration at the Nokia Arena in Tampere in Finland achieving uplink speeds of 2.1 Gbps utilizing Nokia’s AirScale base station in 26 GHz mmWave spectrum, seemingly as the first operator across the region.
In November 2021, Telia Finland launched the first commercially available 5G standalone (SA) core network in the Nordic and Baltic region, creating the opportunity for advanced 5G use cases and a strengthened position in the Enterprise segment. According to Telia’s Q2 Report, the operator achieved a 70% population coverage in Finland, and in Norway.
DNA reported that during the first half of the year, almost 80% of all the phones sold by DNA were already 5G-capable, compared to just over 50% in 1H 2021. Following the activation of the 700 MHz frequency band for 5G use, the 5G network coverage extended to 70% of the population at the end of June 2022. Although all DNA 5G base stations are connected to a standalone 5G core network, the preparation for the 5G SA commercial offering to customers is still underway.
Suomen Yhteisverkko Oy (Finnish Shared Network) has been building a mobile network on behalf of DNA and Telia in northern and eastern Finland. The construction of the Finnish Shared 5G Network started in 2021 and its coverage area was extended towards the inland of Finland. During the spring of 2022, the Finnish Shared Network carried out large-scale 5G network deployment on the 700 MHz frequency in South Savo region, thanks to which 5G coverage has also spread to sparsely populated areas.

Norway shines the brightest when it comes to mobile speeds with good 5G performance

Norwegian operators perform well on 5G speeds and 5G Availability, without being the top providers. Yet, Norway took the first spot in June’s Speedtest Global Index performance ranking for global median mobile speeds, which points to a strong 4G performance and a potential challenge Norwegian operators face in trying to convince its customer base to upgrade to 5G. However, according to Nkom’s “Internet in Norway — Annual Report 2022” 5G traffic is growing as mobile operators continue to roll out 5G and introduce 5G-enabled smartphones. In Q1 2022, around 25% of connected handsets were ready for 5G technology, and 5G connections account for around 5% of total internet traffic. Additionally, operators are expanding into 700 MHz and 2100 MHz bands; during the spectrum auction the winning bidders were able to obtain a discount of up to NOK 40 million ($4 million) if they agreed to certain coverage obligations, e.g. Telia to cover “selected railway lines” and Telenor to cover major roadways including “European roads and the coastal road from Mo i Rana to Bodo.”

Telenor Norway is upgrading its 8,500 base stations, with over 2,500 already modernized resulting in a 5G coverage reaching 50% of population. The operator plans to complete the 5G rollout in 1H 2024, with a total number of 9,000 base stations. Telenor was the fastest 5G operator in Norway in terms of 5G mobile network speed in Q1-Q2 2022, but the operator is also eyeing an enterprise opportunity. Telenor Norway set its sight to become the leading player in private mobile networks in Norway, a business opportunity which it values at over NOK 5 billion in 2025. To achieve that it will provide consultancy services for industrial 5G networks edge computing and private mobile networks. It has begun a trial with Yeti Move to run automated bulldozers at Gardermoen Airport.
Telia Norway plans to have nationwide 5G network coverage by 2023. At the end of Q2 2022, 70% of the population was within its 5G network’s reach. The operator began tests in the 26 GHz band with Ericsson aiming to provide service at almost 4 Gbps. Telia targets the corporate market with the 26 GHz spectrum and is currently testing different use cases for companies across various industries.
Despite being a late entrant into the market, Norway’s third mobile network operator – Ice Norway — recorded a 20.8% 5G Availability. Initially, the operator launched in Oslo across 14 cell sites using 2100 MHz and 700 MHz spectrum bands, which was accessible for most 5G-enabled Android phones. In the short term, the coverage will be extended to the country’s 4-5 largest cities with a longer term plan of reaching 75% population coverage. Alongside other Norwegian operators Ice had opted to undertake regional coverage obligation to receive a discount on the spectrum license fee. Stockholm was the fastest city, Oslo had the best 5G Availability.

Stockholm was the fastest city, Oslo had the best 5G Availability

Stockholm came first across five cities in the Nordics in Q2 2022, with 3 and Telenor achieving mind-blowing download speeds of over 600 Mbps at 637.14 Mbps and 614.48 Mbps, respectively. It is not surprising that Stockholm performs well as it is often a testing ground for innovation — hosting a number of tech startups and scale-ups (such as Skype and Spotify) and one in ten people working in the digital tech sector.

During Q1-Q2 2021 Oslo had the title of the fastest 5G of any world capital across 15 world capitals we analyzed in this article. While this is no longer the case, Oslo took the top spot for 5G Availability across the five Nordic cities in Q2 2022.

Nordic 5G performance benefits from having allocated low-band and mid-band spectrum

Within Europe, the Nordics stand out on 5G performance. Part of this is because of 5G spectrum availability as all four of the Nordic countries on the continent have already assigned low-band and mid-band spectrum. This is ahead of the rest of Europe, as we have reflected on the 5G progress across Europe. Denmark and Finland had also awarded mmWave spectrum. In fact, Denmark scored 99% in the 5G readiness indicator and ranked first on 5G mobile-broadband coverage (with 80% of households covered) as per Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2021. Norway’s National Communications Authority (Nkom) and Sweden’s Post and Telecom Agency (PTS), are also looking to make spectrum available for 5G across low and mid-band spectrum.

Of course, 5G pioneer bands are not the only frequencies that operators use to deploy 5G, as operators shut down legacy networks, they can also refarm sub 3GHz frequencies for 4G or 5G. European operators tend to support 2G in the short term, phasing out 3G networks instead. The primary reason being long term M2M/IoT contracts with enterprises such as utility providers. In Norway and Sweden, a significant portion of smart meters already deployed are connected to 2G networks, therefore operators are obliged to support millions of 2G smart meters until the end of their lifecycle. Case in point: Telenor Norway switched off 3G in 2021 — five years ahead of their planned switch off of 2G, in fact all of the Norwegian operators have switched off 3G networks in 2021 and all of the Finnish operators plan to do so by 2023, while the Danish and Swedish will follow by 2025.

Operators and enterprises in the Nordics look to 5G as a tool to enable digital transformation

As 5G technology will go beyond pockets of high-speed mobile broadband to deliver low latency, high density, industry-specific applications that make use of cloud and edge technologies, it will also play a role in driving digital transformation. Digitization of different sectors of the economy is key to supporting sustainable development and climate goals. However, enterprise requirements differ. Some prefer to retain control over their networks, isolating them from the public network to address higher availability, lower latency, and enhanced privacy needs. We have commented on how the private networks landscape is developing in Europe here. Like other nations, the Nordics are also looking to private networks to address Industry 4.0 objectives as 5G plays an important role in the digital transformation and creating new services and solutions across a variety of sectors, especially manufacturing.

Nordic regulators created an encouraging environment for enterprises to deploy their own networks; all countries have already allocated spectrum for vertical use across mid- and high-frequency bands. It is worth noting that a vertical set aside is not the only option telecom regulators have at their disposal in addressing enterprise requirements. For example, the Finnish regulator in addition to allocating spectrum in the 2300-2320 MHz and 24.5-25.1 GHz band on a first-come, first-served basis, had also included a leasing option provision in the 3.5 GHz band license. Mobile operators are obliged to lease their spectrum assets: either participate in tenders for vertical contracts in localized areas or sub-license their spectrum to the vertical so they can build their own network.

However, simply assigning or making spectrum available to verticals isn’t enough to drive market adoption. Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) in its report on Private Mobile Networks released in June 2022, identified 794 organizations deploying private mobile networks. In terms of a number of private networks, the United States ranked first internationally, Germany was second, while Finland came in sixth (with 20 networks).

Finland actively promotes the development of 5G services, via 5G Momentum, driven by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom. The main target of the initiative is to bring together vertical industries stakeholders — Finnish companies, research organizations, and the public sector — to run 5G trials and develop new 5G solutions and use cases. On its home turf of Finland, Nokia has been working on a number of private LTE projects, together with edge connectivity provider Edzcom (formerly Ukkoverkot), port machinery maker Kalmar, and port operator Steveco, delivering private networks in the ports of Kokkola and Oulu, as well as Steveco Kotka harbor. Although mobile operators are no longer the de facto service providers, they are involved in delivery of private networks. We have collated a few recent deals with regards to private 5G networks in the region, which show a growing demand from enterprises and also increased operators involvement. Furthemore, despite the fact that the majority of private networks across the Nordics are currently LTE-only (55.3%), a growing proportion is 5G ready (LTE and 5G, 21%), with a few deployed as 5G from the get go.

Location	Partners	Solution	Details	Date
Finland	Edzcom and lighting company Signify	A private 5G wireless smart network in the city of Tampere	A long-term project to use the Tampere’s streetscape assets to create a high-performance wireless private network.	June 2022
Norway	Telia and the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency	A private 5G network for the Armed Forces as part of a cooperation with the Defense Materiel Agency.	A pilot private and separate 5G mobile network to run alongside a military slice within Telenor’s commercial network.	June 2022
Norway	Telia and Herøya Industrial Park	A strategic cooperation within 5G and private mobile networks.	Telia will roll out a private mobile network on the new industrial spectrum 3.8-4.2 GHz and in the industrial park’s test laboratory there will be a separate 5G facility with the option of edge computing.	May 2022
Norway	Telenor and the Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency	A private autonomous 5G network will be established for the Armed Forces.	The partnerships involve planning, designing, developing, and operating a pilot on a mobile, autonomous private 5G network, which cooperates with a defense-specific network slice (‘Defense slice’) in the public mobile network.	May 2022
Sweden	Tele2 and X Shore	A private 5G network in X Shore newly built factory in Nyköping.	X Shore will use its 5G network to wirelessly connect production equipment to collect data and maintain and control production.	May 2022
Finland	Telia, Nokia and Digita	A 5G private network for Posiva Oy for the needs of the nuclear fuel disposal process in Eurajoki.	The private 5G network will enable the operation of an advanced automation system in the disposal process as well as improve safety and processes for employees.	May 2022
Sweden	Telia and Svenska Cellulosa AB (SCA)	Dedicated LTE private mobile network, which is a 5G ready.	Telia supplies an Enterprise Mobile Network (EMN) with Local Breakout, based on 4G equipment that can be upgraded to 5G. The solution leverages the scalability and operational reliability of the public mobile network, but with dedicated capacity.	January 2022

Operators in the region continue to roll out 5G but they are also casting their eyes on 5G SA, which offers the most benefits related to eMBB, massive IoT, and critical IoT. This in turn allows support for a wide range of devices and applications with more demanding bandwidth and latency requirements. The recent acquisition of CellRebel by Ookla® helps us expand our ability to help improve the end-user experience. We’re at a key inflection point in which the industry is recognizing the importance of assuring that any network expansion or optimization is actually tied to improving the customer experience. Looking only at network KPIs without understanding their impact on what the customer experiences isn’t enough. Network complexity, moreover, is only increasing with 5G deployments. With CellRebel, we will be able to better monitor and help improve not just radio networks but the entire end-to-end chain, which in turn leads to a stronger customer experience.

We’ll be watching 5G performance closely across the Nordics using Speedtest Intelligence. If you want to learn more about how Speedtest Intelligence can help you benchmark your 5G performance against competitors, please inquire here. If you are interested in how CellRebel can help you measure your network please inquire here.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles

Sylwia Kechiche | August 7, 2022

89% of Indian Smartphone Users Are Ready to Upgrade to 5G

India’s long awaited 5G spectrum auction has just come to a close

Four players participated in the 5G auction — Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio), Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (Vi), and transport and utility infrastructure firm Adani Group – spending a grand total of Rs 1.5 trillion (US$ 19bn) for spectrum across 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz frequency bands. MmWave spectrum is capable of delivering super-fast speeds (thinking Gigabits), but is limited in terms of range. Low-band (sub-1GHz) spectrum is able to travel farther, cover a greater geographical region, and provide deeper penetration within buildings. But, low band spectrum lacks the capacity to deliver true 5G speeds. The so-called “sweet spot” for 5G is mid-band spectrum (1-6 GHz spectrum, and in particular C-band), which offers the best of both worlds in terms of coverage and capacity.

Jio acquired the most spectrum, especially in the sought after C-band spectrum (2,440 MHz), but it was the only operator that acquired the 700 MHz band. This will give Reliance Jio an advantage compared to providers who have acquired only C-band, especially since low-band spectrum allows for better indoor signal penetration in urban areas and also better coverage in rural areas. Now that operators have acquired 5G spectrum, they start their race to become the first operators to go to market with 5G, with some already hinting that 5G deployments will begin in the next few months.

5G has been a long time coming

While mobile users in India are among the most data-intensive users in the world, India’s 4G/LTE networks have become a bottleneck for demand. Only 1.4% of respondents stated that they are satisfied with the existing network performance and are not planning to upgrade to 5G. The promise of 5G is that it will unlock a world of possibilities beyond just a faster network connection. In order to understand how 5G can change the current mobile behavior of Indian consumers, we commissioned a survey in the run up to the spectrum auction. Ookla’s Consumer Survey spans a sample of 2,000 smartphone users aged 18 and above across urban and rural areas of India.

So what do Indian consumers expect from 5G?

Consumers have an appetite for video streaming and gaming

Our survey shows that if mobile internet connections were better, 70% of respondents would increase their use of video streaming, while 68% stated they would boost their mobile gaming. Operators acquired a total of 44,960 MHz of spectrum in the 26 GHz spectrum band (mmWave), which due to its high throughput, is particularly useful for streaming and gaming. It will also lend additional capacity in dense areas such as stadiums. Better connectivity will also have a wider reaching effect on a consumer’s ability to communicate more often. That’s especially true for social media and using phones for work, which are currently the top two use cases among consumers in India. Meanwhile, other consumer behaviours such as online shopping, mobile money, and watching esports aren’t impacted as much by high network speeds. Indeed, just over half of the respondents said they would use these services the same amount of time despite network upgrades.

Consumers want faster speeds

42% of respondents believe that faster speeds would most improve service currently being provided to them. The good news is that the operators’ spectrum holdings in the C-band will help them do just that. Both Airtel and Jio splurged on C-band spectrum at auction, acquiring spectrum in all of the 22 telecom circles, while Vodafone acquired spectrum only in its priority circles. Having access to contiguous spectrum helps to achieve faster, lower latency, and greener 5G services. In addition to faster speeds, 24% of respondents desire a more reliable connection, while 21% want better indoor coverage. However, only one in 10 respondents pointed to better outdoor coverage as a factor that would be most beneficial.

Delay to India’s 5G auction did come with some benefits

Namely, the decrease of the cost of 5G hardware as the technology and vendor ecosystem continues to mature. Following the spectrum auction, Bharti Airtel has already contracted Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung to deploy 5G services in August 2022. Indian operators’ move to embrace Open RAN will drive network costs even lower. Another key factor is the 5G device ecosystem, with 5G smartphone prices falling since the technology launched. We’re already seeing a growing number of tests taken with Speedtest® that are running on 5G-capable devices in the market. According to our Consumer Survey, almost half of respondents have a 5G-ready handset. This offers operators an existing customer base that they can target from day one.

Indian telcos are set for a disruptive year ahead once 5G launches

Consumers are keen to upgrade, with 89% of respondents intending to upgrade to 5G and only 2% stating that they don’t intend to upgrade to 5G at all. It’s worth noting that almost half of the respondents (48%) plan to upgrade to 5G as soon as it is available in their area and would consider switching providers if necessary. Twenty percent will do so as soon as their current provider offers 5G, 14% when they have a 5G-capable phone, and 7% plan to wait for their current contract to end. Those that aren’t sure about the new technology will likely wait to see how attractive it is once other people start using it. Indian operators are already voicing their plans regarding network rollout, with Jio targeting a pan-Indian rollout coinciding with the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” Independence Day while Airtel plans to start 5G services in key cities across the country.

Cost, lack of education, and 5G phones are the main hurdles

As with any new technology, there will be a number of challenges that must be addressed, including affordability, coverage, and consumer education. Our survey results also informed us that the key reason for not upgrading to 5G is the perceived cost of the 5G tariff. Just over a quarter of those who don’t plan to upgrade said that they think the 5G tariff cost would be too expensive. Beyond tariffs, 24% of those that don’t plan to upgrade to 5G stated lack of 5G knowledge as an issue, while 23% don’t have a 5G-capable phone. Only 1.4% of the overall respondents are satisfied with the existing network performance and would not upgrade to 5G.

We will continue to share more insights and takeaways from our latest study, including our analysis on 5G perception broken down by age, location, and operator. Subscribe to Ookla Research™ to be the first to read our analyses.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles

Sylwia Kechiche | June 30, 2022

The Philippines is a Duopoly No More: Assessing DITO’s Impact on 4G and 5G Performance

The Philippines is a country with the highest number of social media users globally. Filipinos also spend a lot of time online —according to the Digital 2022 report, internet users aged 16 to 64 spent an average of 10 hours and 27 minutes using the internet each day. Yet, the Philippines suffer in terms of having relatively low mobile internet speeds due to challenging geography and affordability. Recently, the Filipino mobile market witnessed the arrival of a third mobile player, DITO whose ambitions are to disrupt a duopoly of Globe and Smart, owned by PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company). In this article we will review the current state of the Filipino mobile market, one year after it became a three-player market.

Key takeaways

The third operator, DITO, entered the market in March 2021 and is working to expand its market share. The operator has met all of its coverage and performance obligations, and it plans further investment and expansion of its 4G and 5G networks.
Overall 4G performance improved in the country thanks to a mix of more operator investments and regulatory reforms. Smart led on median 4G download speed in Q1 2022 at 18.57 Mbps. DITO, a 4G/5G player, had the best 4G Availability in Q1 2022 at 91.2%.
5G Availability improved partially thanks to easing of the Right of Way (RoW) rules but also operators’ investment into 5G networks. Smart won both in terms of 5G speeds and 5G Availability in Q1 2022, it recorded 200.43 Mbps median download speed and 25.5% 5G Availability, ahead of Globe with 121.29 Mbps download speed and 15.3% 5G Availability. DITO has just started rolling out a 5G network.
Consumer attitudes shifted in a positive direction in the past year, both in terms of NPS score and rating of mobile operators.

Reintroducing a third player into the Filipino market

In 2011, PLDT acquired Digitel, which meant that the Philippines turned into a two-operator mobile market. This didn’t fare well for the Filipino consumers. A 2014 study by the think tank LIRNEasia found that internet users in the Philippines have paid more for worse connectivity compared to other Asian countries with investment into the telecom sector held back. A third player was introduced to the market to add competition, to improve network performance, and to reduce prices in the market. In November 2018, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) declared Mislatel (now DITO Telecommunity Corporation), a new major telco player. DITO’s launched commercial operations in March 2021 in Visayas and Mindanao.

DITO market share after a year of commercial availability

Entering an already saturated telecom market wasn’t an easy task. According to GSMA Intelligence, Filipino market penetration stood at 137.5% with an average of 2.1 SIMs per user in Q1 2021. In addition, the new operator’s license came with coverage and performance obligations, which are tracked by technical audits performed on behalf of the NTC. Repetitive failure to deliver on its commitments would result in the loss of its franchise and the forfeiture of a multi-billion-Peso bond. DITO committed to a five-year network rollout plan as follows:

First Year: commitment to reach more than 37.01% country population with a minimum average broadband speed of 27 Mbps — DITO achieved 37.48% population coverage as per February 2021 Audit
Second Year: DITO exceeded its 51.01% population coverage target (achieved 52.57% population coverage) as per September 2021 Audit.
Third Year: 70% population coverage audited in July 2022, DITO’s current coverage is around 64%-65%.
Fifth Year: 84% population coverage obligation, which the operator itself has increased to over 90% by the end of its five-year network rollout program and average mobile internet speed of 55 Mbps speed.

As a result, the newcomer’s strategy wasn’t to start a price war with the incumbent operators. Rather, the goal is to win consumers’ mindshare by delivering faster speeds, differentiated customer experience and simpler products. The operator tapped into its parent company’s distribution network — retail stores of Udenna Group and gasoline stations of Phoenix Petroleum to distribute its services. It also leveraged China Telecom’s know-how and funding.

One year on, in Q1 2022, Globe was the market leader by subscriber numbers, with 87.4 million, Smart followed with 70.3 million. The newcomer, DITO, held a 1% market share — on March 15, 2022 it announced it had 7 million subscribers, which is lower than we would expect from a new market entrant. DITO targets 12 million subscribers by year end, which seems within its reach, as it has recently announced reaching 9 million customers as of June 2022. Its gains are aided by its promotional packages such as unlimited data for 30 days promotion with 25 GB of data, unlimited text and 300 minutes of calls. One of DITO’s challenges is that it doesn’t operate 2G and 3G networks so its customers have to have 4G-capable phones.

Furthermore, the introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in September 2021 could shift the landscape. MNP allows subscribers to keep their existing mobile number when changing mobile providers, helping to remove the hassle of losing an existing number when switching operators. This hasn’t been as successful as expected — with only 5,000 requests being made in a space of three months (September to December 2021). In time, and with more customer education, we foresee MNP to have more of an impact on the market.

Philippines catching up on 4G

Using Speedtest Intelligence® data, we compared 4G performance in the Philippines against that of its regional peers in Q1 2022. Singapore came first with a 44.11 Mbps median 4G download speed ahead of Vietnam (34.89 Mbps), followed by Thailand (24.86 Mbps) and Malaysia (22.41 Mbps). Across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia, the 4G median speeds were well under 20 Mbps, with the Philippines coming with a 15.53 Mbps median download speed and a 5.14 Mbps median upload speed.

Smart leads on median 4G download speed; DITO on 4G Availability

Using Speedtest Intelligence® data, we analyzed LTE Performance in the Philippines comparing Q1 2021 (when DITO commercially launched), and Q1 2022 (almost one year of DITO being in operation). The overall LTE performance has improved — increasing from 11.15 Mbps in Q1 2021 to 15.53 Mbps in Q1 2022. Smart came first in terms of median LTE download speed in Q1 2022, at 18.51 Mbps followed by DITO (15.77 Mbps) and Globe (12.59 Mbps). However, Dito’s median 4G speeds have decreased over a space of a year, which is quite common as a network gets more congested. Latency, on the other hand, has improved across all operators, especially DITO which recorded latency of 26 ms in Q1 2022 versus 35 ms in Q1 2021.

Analysis based on data from Speedtest Intelligence shows that 4G Availability — the proportion of users on all devices who spend the majority of their time connected to 4G technology — has also improved to 84.8% in Q1 2022 from 80.6% in Q1 2021. One important distinction to bear in mind is that while 4G/5G Availability measures the time users spend on a 4G or 5G technology, coverage is a measurement of space and geo-spatial availability. Therefore, operator’s network coverage is just one part of the story. Compatible handsets, SIMs, and tariffs are important factors that influence it.

Since DITO is a 4G-only operator, it is not surprising that it also had the best 4G Availability in Q1 2022 (91.2%), ahead of Globe (84.9%) and Smart (83.8%) that provide access to all network technologies 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G. Additionally, DITO, despite facing challenges raising funding, plans to invest PHP 50 billion ($915 million) during 2022 in the network roll out in order to adhere to its license obligations, which we outlined here, that specify its population coverage and network speeds.

Other operators also continue to commit capital expenditures for network investment. For instance, Globe Telecom earmarked PHP 89 billion ($1.6 billion) for CAPEX this year, and in Q1 2022 already spent PHP 21 billion ($384 million) — 10% higher than a year before, of which 82% was dedicated to data network builds “to help boost mobile and internet experiences for a greater number of Filipinos.” The operator has set a goal of building more than 1,700 new cell sites across the country in 2022 to extend its geographic reach and to expand beyond the 1,407 sites it deployed in FY21. In the first three months of this year it built out 234 cell sites nationwide, upgraded 2,344 mobile sites to 4G, and installed 380 5G sites.

Our analysis suggests that DITO’s entry combined with regulatory changes, resulted in more network investment and an overall improvement in 4G coverage and performance across all operators. As such, Smart reported that on December 31, 2021, Smart had a total of 38,600 4G/LTE base stations, which has further increased to 39,500 in Q1 2022. This corresponds to population coverage across Smart’s 3G, 4G and 5G networks of 97% in Q1 2022. The majority of devices (81%) are “latched” onto the operator’s 4G network.

Caloocan led on 4G speeds and 4G Availability

In the Philippines, up to one third of its population resides within Metro Manila, which comprises 16 cities, including the three most populous cities: Quezon (2.9 million), Manila (1.8 million), and Caloocan (1.6 million). Manila, the capital city, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Caloocan, Quezon, and Manila came closely together in terms of 4G performance. Smart came first in those three cities: Caloocan (28.66 Mbps), Quezon City (28.24 Mbps), and Manila (30.88 Mbps). DITO was fastest in Cebu, it recorded a 16.60 Mbps median download speed in Q1 2022 but its median upload speed was on par with Smart. While in Davao City, the biggest city outside of Metro Manila, DITO and Smart went head to head with 7.17 Mbps and 6.86 Mbps median download speed, respectively.

Based on Speedest Intelligence data, Caloocan performed best in terms of 4G Availability but 4G Availability improved across all five cities. Quezon and Manila showed the best year-on-year improvement, increasing its 4G Availability from 81.8% in Q1 2021 to 86.7% in Q1 2022 (Quezon) and 83.5% to 88.2% (Manila). Despite being a challenger, DITO managed to come first in terms of 4G Availability in a number of locations: Caloocan (98.3%), Cebu (80.0%), and Davao City (88.9%). Globe won 4G Availability in Quezon (88.3%) while there was not a sufficient statistically significant difference in Manila to declare a winner.

The Philippines fared well in 5G performance and 5G Availability

According to Speedtest Intelligence data, Singapore led Southeast Asian on median 5G upload speeds in Q1 2022, Thailand and the Philippines followed with 207.27 Mbps and 163.51 Mbps median download speed, respectively. We commented on the Singaporean roll out strategy in our recent article.

In terms of 5G Availability, (the proportion of users on 5G-capable devices who spend a majority of their time on 5G networks), Thailand came first among its regional peers. Thailand was one of the first markets to launch 5G in the Asia Pacific region, with AIS and TrueMove H both launching commercial 5G services in Q1 2020, shortly after the conclusion of the country’s 5G auction. In the Philippines, 5G Availability was 18.1% in Q1 2022, ahead of Singapore (8.9%) and Indonesia, where operators launched 5G in select cities in June 2021, which explains the very low 5G Availability in Q1 2022 at 0.4%.

The Philippines looks to 5G to achieve imperative digital transformation

The importance of 5G technology and its role in enabling digital transformation is one of the pillars of the National Broadband Plan (NBP) approved in 2017. It outlines strategies and initiatives that should be taken to increase accessibility, affordability, and network quality. NBP also addresses policy and regulatory issues, such as spectrum, infrastructure policy, and modernizing regulations. Apart from the release of 5G spectrum in 3.3 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands, the Filipino government also supports 5G via a technology neutral policy, where all existing frequency bands can be used for 5G deployment.

Spectrum is one part of the puzzle

Various blocks of spectrum in and around 3.5 GHz have been awarded on a technology-neutral basis and are suitable for 5G usage. For instance, Smart, in its Q1 2022 results, reported that its 1800 MHz frequencies, previously used for 2G service, were being reallocated to provide 4G LTE service to handle the increased volume of data traffic. In addition, the newcomer, DITO, was awarded various blocks of frequencies, including spectrum at 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 2000 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2600 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 3500 MHz.

Sharing passive infrastructure

The terrain of the country poses substantial challenges related to network deployments — the Philippines comprises around 7,640 islands — about 2,000 of which are inhabited. To expedite the construction of telecom towers, especially in the unserved and underserved areas, the DICT issued guidelines on Shared Passive Telecommunications Tower Infrastructure (PTTI). The Philippines government has been pushing since September 2018 to attract investment from international tower companies by promising to streamline the cumbersome procedures required to build and connect towers. Operators are also looking to rationalize their tower portfolio: in April 2022, PLDT sold its towers for PHP 77 billion ($1.4 billion) to Axiata’s Edotco unit and EdgePoint Infrastructure. This is to support DICT’s goal of improving tower density via tower sharing. PLDT/Smart retained ownership of the active infrastructure such as antennas, radios and fiber backhaul, TowerCos own the passive infrastructure. Globe isn’t averse to selling its passive infrastructure either, as it works with various tower companies for its network rollout. The newcomer, DITO, had to catch up pretty fast in terms of network buildout — since 2019 it built close to 5,000 cellular towers, over 100 data centers, and laid out more than 30,000 kilometers of fiber cable.

Fortifying infrastructure to ensure network resiliency

Another challenge is the country’s propensity to natural disasters. Ookla’s data showed that the country’s internet speed saw a slight decline in January 2022, due to infrastructure damages brought in 22 provinces by Typhoon Odette. To future-proof the network for that, PLDT launched a project to deploy additional submarine fiber links to upgrade connectivity in Luzon. The project will replace old domestic fiber optic network (DFON) links and enhance the resiliency of PLDT’s network, and fortify existing aerial cables with underground inland cables to ensure network resiliency.

Furthermore in March 2022, DICT unveiled a plan to spend PHP 50 billion ($915 million) over the next three years, to improve the country’s digital infrastructure, as within two years only 2,000 towers out of 50,000 needed have been built.

Smart wins the 5G game in the Philippines

5G continues to advance in the Philippines. The operators have launched 5G mobile networks in 2020, not long after the Thai operators. Globe initially launched 5G technology for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) in selected towns in June 2019, followed by 5G enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) in February 2020 in Metro Manila, at the start available to premium “Globe Platinum” customers. Smart launched 5G network in July 2020, originally targeting postpaid subscribers in Metro Manila that had Smart-certified handsets — including devices from Huawei, Samsung, RealMe and Vivo — and 5G-activated SIM. Both operators utilized spectrum in the 3,500 MHz band, which is considered the sweet spot in terms of 5G network capacity and coverage. Our data shows that Smart recorded 200.43 Mbps median download/19.67 Mbps median upload speed in Q1 2022 ahead of Globe’s 121.29 Mbps download/ 9.93 Mbps upload.

Country-level 5G Availability almost doubled within a space of a year — from 9.4% in Q1 2021 to 18.1% in Q1 2022. Part of this is related to easing of the Right of Way (RoW) rules, which were adapted and rewritten in March 2021, when the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) issued an order lifting the ban on the construction of critical infrastructure, particularly cell sites, along national roads. The Philippines are not the only country that benefits from RoW reform. In October 2021, India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) revised the Indian Telegraph Act Right of Way (RoW) rules which makes it easier to install aerial optical fiber cable in the country. To circumvent digging into the streets to lay fiber, the idea of deploying overhead fiber on street furniture such as light poles and traffic lights has been put forward.

Smart led in terms of 5G Availability, it reached 25.5% in Q1 2022, ahead of Globe (15.3%), due to different spectrum deployment strategies these operators take. Smart had 1.6 million connected 5G unique devices on its network in Q1 2022, more than triple the level than a year prior (376,000 in Q1 2021) while at end-March 2022, Globe logged over 2.0 million devices in its 5G network.

The operators plan further investment in 5G. In its Q1 2022 results, Smart’s parent company — PLDT — revised its 2022 CAPEX guidance to PHP 85 billion from PHP 76-80 ($1.39 – $1.46 billion) due to increased investment in the 5G rollout in different parts of the country. In December 2021, the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a grant to Smart to expand 5G to 96% of population and to support Smart’s investment in equipment and services from Cisco Systems. In Q1 2022, Smart reported its mobile data traffic grew 30% year-on-year to 1,010 petabytes. The number of its 5G base stations increased from 5,000 in 2020 to 7,300 in February 2022, corresponding to 66% 5G population coverage in Q1 2022. Aside from boosting its 5G network rollout, Smart introduced new 5G services to attract and migrate more data users to 5G, Signature Plans+, the first postpaid line-up in the country featuring Unlimited 5G, and also introduced the country’s first Unli 5G data offers for prepaid subscribers in April 2021.

Globe added 390 new sites in the first three months of 2022, extending its 5G network reach to 95% of NCR (National Capital Region) and 84% of key cities in Visayas and Mindanao. In 2021, Globe spent PHP 92.8 billion to achieve 2,000 5G outdoor sites and in-building solutions, build 1,407 new cell sites, and install 1.4 million fiber-to-the-home lines. Globe’s 5G services utilize a virtual 5G core network to deliver both FWA and mobile broadband service in areas where fiber deployment is challenged by various permit and RoW issues.

DITO selected Nokia to deploy 5G services in the island of Mindanao in May 2021 to augment an existing partnership on 4G roll out. In March 2022, Dito started the rollout of its 5G home Wi-Fi service pilot in 146 villages in the Metro Manila area. Villages in the City of Manila, Caloocan City, and Quezon City will be the first to access up to 500 Mbps of download speed through the Dito 5G Home WiFi Starter Kit. DITO 5G network isn’t available widely, we have however seen some 5G tests in Caloocan, where the operator reached a 5G median download speed of 512.66 Mbps in Q1 2022.

Consumer attitudes improve

To assess whether there has been a shift in the consumer’s attitude towards mobile operators over the past year, we utilized Speedtest® Consumer Sentiment^™ data, which is gathered from single-question surveys presented to users at the end of a Speedtest. This dataset provides rich insights into customer satisfaction over time, as well as competitive benchmarking, by providing data on both Net Promoter Score (NPS) and customers’ rating of their providers. Upon its entry into the market, DITO was rated most highly, which reflected its approach to winning customers’ mindshare. This, however, has changed — as of Q1 2022, Smart came first in ratings. Noteworthy though, is the overall improvement across operators, which is also linked with the mobile speeds increase.

Comparing NPS score to providers’ performance it is clear that better speeds impacted customer perception of operators. In Q1 2021, NPS for all cellular technologies was -34.53 with an average download speed of 6.47 Mbps, which improved to -25.32 in Q1 2022 (8.75 median download speed).

We’ll continue using data from Speedtest Intelligence to see how 4G and 5G in the Philippines improves with additional operator investment and how consumers benefit.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles

Sylwia Kechiche | June 27, 2022

Dtac and True Merger Talks Point to a Need to Address Unequal Footing in Thailand's 5G

The planned merger between True Corporation (“True”) and Total Access Communication (“dtac”) in Thailand is currently awaiting regulatory approval. The announcement of the merger or “amalgamation” as the involved companies like to call it, wasn’t unexpected as rumors around dtac’s owner Telenor’s plans to exit Thailand circulated for a while. Besides, Telenor hopes to merge its Malaysian operations and it sold its operations in Myanmar in March 2022. On November 20, 2021, True and dtac entered a non-binding memorandum of understanding to pursue the “amalgamation.” In April 2022, the two companies received the approval from their shareholders for the merger and to create a new listed company — NewCo — despite not knowing what the conditions or measures of the deal will be. In June 2022, a legal subcommittee of NBTC concluded that the telecom regulator has the power to approve or dissolve the planned merger. In this article we will assess the impact of the proposed merger on the Thai telecommunications market by examining its current state.

Key takeaways

Thailand’s 5G performed well compared to its regional counterparts due to a timely 5G network roll out and dedicated 5G spectrum availability.
Based on mobile performance, Thailand is a market dominated by one player — AIS. It had a lead in terms of 4G performance and that lead has been extended further with 5G. The third operator in the market, dtac, is not competitive on 5G due to its limited spectrum holdings (dtac’s 5G performance is equivalent to AIS’ 4G).
The merged operator, NewCo, could provide more robust competition to AIS while also having the scale to invest in 5G. While this will turn Thailand into a two-player market, examples of mergers and acquisitions in other countries suggest a number of measures will be most likely put in place: spectrum divestment, more capacity allocated to MVNOs, converged and innovative offerings, all of which can potentially offset its negative impact.

Thailand’s 5G performs well compared to its regional counterparts

5G deployment in Thailand is comparable in terms of 5G speeds and 5G Availability with more developed countries in the region such as Singapore, even though the country previously lagged behind its peers in assigning 3G and LTE spectrum.

In our recent article, we concluded that the country’s regulator, The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), has been instrumental in establishing Thailand as a leading 5G market in the region. In fact, Thailand was one of the first markets to launch 5G in the Asia-Pacific region, with AIS and TrueMove H both launching commercial 5G services in Q1 2020, shortly after the conclusion of the country’s 5G auction. The Thai government plays an active role in ensuring 5G can bring societal benefits, e.g., improving government services and extending healthcare access. Some of the campaigns include establishing a telemedicine center, setting up a 5G network for smart city management, developing a pilot project on digital farming in Songkhla Lake Basin, and using 5G connectivity for pandemic related measures as tourism was reopening in Phuket.

In Q1 2022, Speedtest Intelligence® data put Thailand on par with its regional peers such as Australia and China and ahead of the Philippines, Japan, Singapore and New Zealand in terms of 5G Availability (the proportion of users on 5G-capable devices who spend a majority of their time on 5G networks).

In February 2020, NBTC assigned spectrum for 5G use across low (700 MHz), mid (2,600 MHz), and high (26 GHz) frequency bands. It also plans a further auction of mid-band spectrum in 2022 in the 3.5 GHz band, which was vacated in September 2021 by Thaicom, a satellite provider. All of the countries in the comparison above assigned spectrum in the mid-band frequency, which is the sweet spot for 5G in terms of coverage and capacity. In South Korea, which came first in terms of median 5G download speed, the government allocated a total of 2,680 MHz of spectrum including 280 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band and 2,400 MHz in the 28 GHz spectrum band. Korean provider KT is also using a standalone 5G network, a form of 5G that doesn’t rely on 4G LTE as the foundation of the 5G experience, which should provide faster speeds and lower latency than non-standalone (NSA) 5G networks. In fact, a few operators in the analyzed countries have launched 5G SA including China (all operators), Singapore (M1, Singtel, and Starhub), Australia (Telstra and Vodafone), Japan (Softbank), and Thailand (AIS).

AIS wins on 5G performance in Thailand, TrueMove H on 5G Availability

In Q1 2022, AIS came as the fastest operator in terms of 5G speeds, this was also the case in Q4 2021 as per our recent article. According to Speedtest Intelligence, AIS recorded a median 5G download speed of 261.19 Mbps and 5G upload speed of 40.57 Mbps during Q1 2022. AIS launched 5G NSA (non-standalone) in February 2020 using the 700 MHz, 2.6 GHz and 26 GHz bands, followed by 5G SA in July 2020 in cooperation with Huawei. AIS deployed 5G CA (New Radio Carrier Aggregation) by integrating its mid-band (2600 MHz) and low band (700 MHz) spectrum. This in turn gave a 1.7x boost to the operator’s data transmission capabilities. TrueMove H was second for 5G download speed, with a median of 197.79 Mbps and a 5G upload speed of 25.52 Mbps. The lack of mid-band spectrum limits dtac’s performance, which showed a median 5G download speed of 32.70 Mbps and 19.18 Mbps upload.

The ranking shifts when we compare 5G Availability – the percentage of users on 5G-capable devices that spend a majority of time with access to 5G networks. TrueMove H came first for 5G Availability at 37.9% during Q1 2022, a three percentage point improvement over Q4 2021. This was well above the rest of the Thai operators: AIS (18.7%), and dtac (7.9%). Based on our data AIS & TrueMove H had 5G Availability in all 77 provinces but TrueMove H 5G Availability was higher in most of the provinces as per Q1 2022.

This disparity we see between TrueMove H and AIS is largely down to the fact that AIS requires users to subscribe to a 5G tariff, as opposed to TrueMove H which allows greater access to 5G-enabled devices on its network. TrueMove H’s 5G Availability remains the highest via a combination of coverage and 5G handsets. The operator’s initial focus was to roll out 5G to most densely populated areas such as the Bangkok metropolitan area, in which over 90% of population is covered by 5G, followed by key locations. At the time of 5G network launch, TrueMove H offered 30 models of 5G smartphone under promotional prices, True 5G VR4K vision and True5G VR Headset, IoT equipment as well as gadgets. AIS rolled out a 5G network out to all 77 provinces, covering 78% of the population in Q1 2022, with a year end target of 85% population coverage.

At the same time, Thai operators continue to grow the number of 5G users, expanding the addressable market beyond early adopters; for example TrueMove H saw its 5G user base increase to 2.6 million in Q1 2022, AIS had 2.8 million 5G package subscribers and 3 million 5G handset on AIS network in Q1 2022.

Songkhla tops the charts for median 5G download speed

Every operator takes a unique approach to regional strategy, so we looked closely at 5G performance in select regions during Q1 2022. Songkhla came top when it comes to median 5G download speed (253.44 Mbps), but ranked last in 5G Availability (8.9%), which points to low network congestion due to a lower number of users.

We removed dtac from the operator level comparison due to the low sample size. AIS came top in almost all regions, apart from Khon Kaen. AIS’s fastest median 5G download speed (313.35 Mbps) was in Songkhla.

Bangkok has the highest 5G Availability

In Q1 2022, Bangkok had the highest 5G Availability (30.1%), Songkhla ranked last in 5G Availability (8.9%). Ookla 5G Map® shows 215 commercial 5G deployments in the Bangkok area. What’s more, because Bangkok is more affluent than the rest of the country, smartphone adoption, including 5G, is higher than in the rest of the country. Due to the pandemic, Thai operators have actually accelerated their 5G rollout, starting with hospitals in Bangkok. At the end of 2021, AIS reported that its 5G network covered more than 99% of the population in Bangkok compared to 76% across the whole country. At the end of Q1 2022, dtac’s 5G network covered 34 provinces, though we have excluded dtac from the above ranking due to low sample count. Dtac has been focusing on network expansion using the 700 MHz band, resulting in capacity and coverage uplift, yet it is still lagging behind competition in uptake. Dtac reported that it will prioritize 5G expansion by expanding coverage to all of Thailand’s 77 provinces within the Q3 2022.

4G Availability close enough, AIS in the lead for 4G speeds

The leaderboard for 4G LTE performance in Thailand looked very similar to the 5G one during Q1 2022. AIS was in the lead (31.16 Mbps for download/17.51 Mbps upload), followed by TrueMove H (23.38 Mbps for download/10.80 Mbps for upload), and dtac (13.57 Mbps for download/ 5.05 Mbps upload), there was a major difference, however, when 4G performance is considered separately to that on 5G. AIS’s median download speed on all technologies combined was almost eight times higher than dtac’s, but AIS’s median download speed on 4G was just double of dtac’s. Furthermore, there was no substantial difference in terms of 4G Availability – the percentage of users on all devices who spend the majority of their time connected to 4G technology both roaming and on-network – across Thai mobile networks.

Consolidation wave across Asia-Pacific could stifle competition

Merger and acquisitions activity is heating up across the Asia-Pacific region with deals on the table across a number of countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Indonesia. Thus far, only the merger between Indosat and Tri in Indonesia has received regulatory approval and been completed. This is true in Europe as well, as we discussed in our recent article, with recent examples including the agreed joint venture between MasMovil and Orange in Spain and Iliad’s recent bid for Vodafone Italy.

A number of studies have attempted to assess the impact of mergers. For instance, in 2017 GSMA analyzed the impact of the 2012 Hutchison/Orange merger in Austria (a 4-to-3 merger) on quality using difference-in-differences (DD) and synthetic control methods. The study concluded that the merger in Austria had a positive and statistically significant effect on quality outcomes. The U.K. telecom regulator, Ofcom, in its Economic Discussion Paper on Market structure, investment and quality in the mobile industry analyzed a number of M&A activities. It concluded that the results of merger-specific analysis are mixed, as there is no evidence that mergers have generated improvements in network quality to the benefit of consumers. Instead, there is some evidence that both investment and average download speeds declined following some of these mergers. Closer to Thailand, Indosat Ooredoo and Hutchison 3 Indonesia (Tri) merged into Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) to create a number two player in Indonesia with 26.3% market share as of Q1 2022. It was conditioned upon a number of factors, though, around improved geographic reach and network performance.

However, there are rare examples of a market moving towards duopoly. In 2011, Philippines mobile market became a duopoly after PLDT acquired Digitel. The deal was studied by regulators for seven months, the main issue being the large amount of the country’s 3G spectrum that the merged operator would control. It eventually passed on condition that PLDT gave up the 10 MHz 3G license held by one of its subsidiaries. Almost a decade later, a third player entered the Philippines, which we will discuss in an upcoming article.

The shape of the Thai mobile market

If approved, M&A would bring more MVNOs to the market

With close to 100 million mobile connections, Thailand’s SIM penetration of the population is 140%, meaning that on average a mobile subscriber has 1.58 SIMs. The market is served by four operators: AIS, DTAC, TrueMove H and the government owned National Telecom (NT). NT was formed in January 2021 via a merger of Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) Telecom and TOT (Telephone Organization of Thailand).

AIS, whose backers include Singtel Group, led the market with 44.5% of all mobile subscriptions, equivalent to 44.6 million subscribers, at the end of March 2022. By contrast, TrueMove H held 33.4% of the market share (32.5 million subscribers), with dtac claiming a 19.8% market share with 19.9 million subscribers. According to industry estimates, NT had less than 3.5 million subscribers in Q1 2022, equating to 3.3% market share. Currently, MVNOs hold a miniscule market share of the Thai market, under 1% combined. NT is the sole operator hosting MVNOs in Thailand since MVNOs were introduced in 2009, despite the fact that all of operators licenses’ terms and conditions have a clause that a minimum 10% of their spectrum capacity should be allocated to MVNOs. Opening up the market to MVNOs is often one of the conditions for M&A to go ahead.

The topic of mergers is widely discussed in Thailand; there have been a number of concerns raised. Thai consumer advocates and academics voice their disapproval of the M&A, saying consumers will be at a disadvantage due to less competition in the market. For instance, the People’s Network Protecting Public Interest claimed that the market would become a de facto duopoly with foreseen price increases of 20-30% in the long term. NT Telecom, which is both a competitor and a minority stakeholder in dtac, disapproved of the True-dtac merger.

The discussion as to who should approve the merger was put to rest when a legal subcommittee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) concluded the telecom regulator has the power to approve or prohibit the planned merger. NBTC is still conducting studies on the impact of the merger, both short-term and long-term, as well setting up a number of independent committees to advise on the best course of action. Most recently, a panel that was tasked with determining whether the merger would have economic impact, M&A could reduce Thailand’s GDP growth by between 0.05% and 1.99%, and increase mobile prices by 2.03%-19.5% depending on the degree of collusion. Against this backdrop, it is hard to imagine that the merger would get a green light.

If the merger goes ahead, the newly combined entity will become the number one player in Thailand with a 52.2% market share, ahead of the current market leader, AIS. However, it takes time for the companies to merge their operations and it is most likely that in the short term both companies will use their separate brands while working out the go to market proposition. Also the companies’ execs at a recent seminar were at pains to assure that there will be no price hikes if the merger goes ahead, instead because of the economies of scale there will be more investment into the market resulting in more innovation and better customer experience.

If approved, M&A would change the spectrum landscape

As it stands right now, AIS has the largest amount of 5G spectrum — a total of 1,330 MHz — across low-, mid-, and high-frequency bands. In May 2022, AIS added a further 10 MHz of bandwidth on the 700 MHz spectrum from NT due to the deal with NT Telecom. With this deal, AIS will increase its bandwidth to 40 MHz from August 2022 onward, which should improve its 5G coverage.

AIS and TrueMove H deployed their initial 5G networks on the 2600 MHz spectrum, while dtac used frequencies in the 26 GHz band. All operators, except for NT, also deployed 5G in the 700 MHz spectrum band when it became available for use in early 2021, following the completion of broadcasting service migration. NT is yet to deploy 5G.

Thanks to the merger, dtac would have access to True’s mid-band spectrum, which should substantially improve its performance. Furthermore, there is another C-band spectrum auction planned in 2022 (3.4-3.7 GHz band). This should have a positive effect on the 5G download speeds as we have seen in the USA when since deployment in the C-band, Verizon’s 5G speeds have set it apart from AT&T.

However, it is common practice that operators that undergo mergers have to divest part of their spectrum as an M&A condition. For example, this was the case when Hutchison 3G acquired Orange in Austria, Hutchison 3G bought Telefonica in Ireland and Telefonica merged with E-Plus in Germany.

The benefits of scale are obvious

Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) bundling is offered by most operators in Thailand due to competitive pressures coming from TrueMove H and AIS. The merger could enable convergent offerings from dtac too, which is solely a mobile player, and would allow it to offer better service in terms of coverage and further expand its market share. According to Analysys Mason, FMC penetration will continue to increase in Thailand, and if the merger is blocked, dtac’s competitive standing will be further disadvantaged.

On the other hand, True Corporation has a portfolio of services:

TrueMove H — mobile operator, which also offers NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT).
TrueOnline — broadband internet and fixed-line. It is the largest fixed broadband provider with a 46.7% market share.
TrueVision — Pay TV, digital TV and content provider and an online game and influencer network; 3.5M subscribers.
True Digital Group — Digital media, data analytics, cybersecurity, IoT, integrated digital health, digital solutions and True Digital Academy.

The merged operator NewCo would remain at its core a telecommunication player but would extend its reach to support the digital transformation of Thailand, in line with Thailand 4.0 vision. The quoted benefits of the “amalgamation” include:

Improved 5G coverage with better network quality, reliability and speed.
More value-driven convergence or products and services thanks to access to a wider ecosystem of partners.
Utilization of consolidated infrastructure such as outlets to expand its outreach to deliver on Thailand 4.0 policy.
Greater opex and capex cost efficiencies when deploying 5G networks thanks to the benefit of scale. As a result improving the quality of telecom infrastructure and customer satisfaction.
Streamlined efficiencies will deliver better consumer experience and will enable NewCo to invest in future technologies and networks.
Positioning Thailand as a regional technology hub.

The NewCo will operate:

Telecom services and the sale and distribution of mobile devices via subsidiaries dtac, TriNet, and TrueMove H — using the 700 MHz, 850 MHz (under agreement with NT), 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 2300 MHz (under agreement with NT) spectrum.
Broadband internet provider via TrueOnline.
Pay TV, digital TV, and content provider via TrueVisions.
Portfolio of digital services via True Digital Group, and new businesses through artificial intelligence, cloud technology, smart devices, smart cities, amongst others.
Venture capital investments, with the intention to raise VC funding of USD 100-200 million with partners to invest in promising digital startups.

The merged operator could provide more competition to AIS across all market segments, not only mobile. AIS Fiber, for instance, holds a 14% market share and differentiated its services with value added and bundling packages. NewCo would build on existing TrueOnline offering and could take a convergent offering to a new level, e.g. quadplay.

While we await the final decision on the merger, it is clear that dtac is falling behind its competitors when it comes to 5G performance. The recently announced National 5G Alliance aims to further promote the role of 5G in enabling digital transformation. We will monitor Thai operators’ performance and wait for the results for the upcoming mid-band spectrum auction to see whether this will close the performance gap. In the meantime, you can compare mobile performance across operators and countries using Speedtest Intelligence.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles

Sylwia Kechiche | June 21, 2022

South Africa Spearheads 5G in Africa, but the Road is Long and Windy for Others

Key Messages

4G continues to expand in Africa, and 5G is on the operators’ radar. South Africa was the first country in the region to launch 5G, and has since been joined by a handful of countries: Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Togo.
We examine 5G performance in South Africa in Q1 2022 vs. Q1 2021. In Q1 2022, MTN had the fastest median 5G download speed in South Africa at 213.37 Mbps, ahead of Vodacom (132.11 Mbps). MTN showed a strong improvement to its 5G Availability from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022, growing from 1.0% to 9.7%.
Using Speedtest Intelligence® data, we analyzed mobile performance on modern chipsets during 2021. Southern Africa is the fastest region in Africa in terms of median download speed of 37.89 Mbps, followed by Northern Africa at 25.63 Mbps, Central Africa at 18.73 Mbps, Eastern Africa at 18.31 Mbps, and Western Africa at 17.00 Mbps.
Johannesburg is the fastest city in sub-Saharan Africa.

Narrowing the digital divide for wider societal benefits

According to GSMA Intelligence, there were almost one billion mobile connections across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in Q1 2022. Unfortunately for those users, it’s no secret that mobile performance and coverage in Africa have been subpar. We examined the state of the North African market in June of 2021, but the time is long overdue to examine the state of networks specific to SSA.

Affordable 4G smartphones and targeted financing for under-served demographics are key for bridging the digital divide, but that’s not the only benefit: A World Bank study found that 4G coverage can help cut poverty by up to 4.3%. Additionally, the International Finance Corporation estimates a 10% boost to mobile broadband penetration in Africa could lift GDP per capita by 2.5%.

Southern Africa had the fastest median download speed across African regions

Using Speedtest Intelligence® data, we analyzed mobile performance on modern chipsets during 2021 (full year) across the African continent. Modern chipsets include all mobile tests, regardless of connection technology used, as long as they are taken on devices that are identified as being capable of achieving the fastest speeds available in a market. Ookla closely monitors the launch and widespread release of new device models built on chipsets capable of utilizing the latest mobile network technologies. We aggregated speeds across countries that fall within the five African regions as defined by the United Nations. When looking at median download speeds in 2021, Southern Africa ranked first, with a median download speed of 37.89 Mbps, followed by Northern Africa at 25.63 Mbps, Central Africa at 18.73 Mbps, Eastern Africa at 18.31 Mbps, and Western Africa at 17.00 Mbps.

Eastern Africa had the fastest median upload speed at 9.23 Mbps, followed by Northern Africa at 8.99 Mbps, Central Africa at 8.62 Mbps, Southern Africa (8.20 Mbps), and Western Africa (7.91 Mbps).

To support the growing demand for faster speeds there is a growing investment in both surface and undersea cables. For example, Google’s new subsea cable, the Equiano, landed in Togo in March 2022 and Nigeria in April 2022. The cable is set to become operational by the end of the year and is also expected to bring connectivity to areas such as Namibia, South Africa, and neighboring regions.

We have chosen nine countries for our analysis as they were home to over half (56%) of the region’s connections, including:

Eastern Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda;
Southern Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Botswana;
Western Africa: Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Nigeria.

South Africa ahead of the pack for median download speed

Analysis based on data from Speedtest Intelligence shows that mobile speeds varied widely across African countries during Q1 2022. When looking at mobile performance on modern chipsets across the nine countries of the SSA region, our results showed that median download speeds ranged between 11.11 Mbps (Tanzania) and 48.76 Mbps (South Africa). Median upload speeds were between 6.45 Mbps (Tanzania) and 12.58 Mbps (Botswana).

4G Availability was in excess of 50%

4G Availability describes the percentage of users on all devices who spend the majority of their time connected to 4G technology both roaming and on-network. Across the nine countries we looked at, 4G Availability exceeded 50% across the board. South Africa had the highest 4G Availability at 86.2%, followed by Côte d’Ivoire (82.1%), Kenya (81.5%), Democratic Republic of Congo (78.9%), Nigeria (77.9%), Uganda (75.9%), Tanzania (72.1%), and Botswana (69.4%). Guinea ranked last at 52.7%, largely because only Orange Guinea offers 4G services, utilizing 1800 MHz spectrum for which it was granted a license in March 2019. According to Ookla Map Elements®, Orange’s LTE network covers 14% of the Guinean population. However, that should change soon with MTN being awarded a 4G operating license in February 2022.

Johannesburg has the fastest median download speed among select African cities

When it comes to speeds in select African capital cities, Johannesburg was fastest with a median download speed of 65.54 Mbps — nearly 35% faster than that of the next-fastest city, Cape Town at 48.27 Mbps.

Gaborone stood out for posting the third-fastest median download speed on the list at 42.29 Mbps. Meanwhile, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, and Abuja ranked closely together in terms of median download and upload speeds, with median download speeds ranging between 27.77 Mbps and 33.38 Mbps, with upload speeds ranging between 8.48 Mbps and 11.92 Mbps.

The early days of 5G in Africa show green fields for operators

As 4G continues to expand in Africa, 5G is on operators’ radar. In sub-Saharan Africa, the 5G journey has already begun, but it is still early days for 5G deployment and commercialization.

South Africa was the first country in the region to launch 5G, and has since been joined by a handful of countries: Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mauritius, Madagascar, and Togo. According to GSA, there were nine commercial 5G networks in seven markets across the region by the end of May 2022. In these markets, 5G coverage remains limited to major cities. Furthermore, just over two dozen operators are either planning, or testing 5G technology or are already in the deployment stage. Regulators across the regions have also started to make spectrum available for 5G.

BOTSWANA: In February 2022, Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) offered existing and new operators an opportunity to apply for spectrum in 5G frequency bands, covering low and mid band spectrum. This will allow operators to expand their existing 4G networks and roll out 5G. Operators are allowed to re-farm their existing spectrum to augment new spectrum to enable them to roll out 5G. Shortly after, during the same month, Mascom launched four 5G sites in the capital Gaborone as part of plans to roll out 111 sites across Botswana by the end of 2022.

KENYA: The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) developed a roadmap to facilitate 5G deployment. CA is preparing to reallocate spectrum in the 3500 MHz band, which was previously assigned for FWA networks in Kenya but will be refarmed for 5G by June 30, 2022. In May 2022, Safaricom was allocated 60 MHz of spectrum in the 2600 MHz band, which was previously used by the security agencies but has been released following a change in the technology that they use.

NIGERIA: In December 2021, MTN and Mafab Communication won 100 MHz TDD each in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band. In line with the terms and conditions of the concessions, the telcos are expected to commence the rollout of their 5G networks from August 24, 2022. While Airtel Africa pulled out of Nigeria’s 5G auction, its CEO Segun Ogunsanya stated they have sufficient spectrum in other bands to launch 5G.

SOUTH AFRICA: In March 2022, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) completed a delayed 5G auction, selling spectrum across 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 2.6 GHz, and 3.5 GHz bands. Rain and Vodacom got new low-band frequency assets in the 700 MHz band while Telkom and MTN gained spectrum in 800 MHz. All bidders received spectrum in mid-bands, which is considered the sweet spot for 5G in terms of speed and availability.

MTN leads on 5G in South Africa

Despite the fact that the 5G spectrum auction was completed in March 2022, Vodacom and MTN launched 5G services beforehand using emergency, temporary spectrum allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulator released spectrum in April 2020 to help operators alleviate some of the challenges they faced in responding to the high demand for data during COVID-19.

In May 2020, Vodacom launched the first 5G network across Africa, in partnership with Nokia in the 3.5 GHz band. At the time of launch, the network was available in three cities — Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Cape Town — with a total of 190 5G sites. MTN followed in June 2020, using spectrum across 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 3500 MHz bands. In its latest report, MTN reported that in 2021, it had over 1,000 5G sites across several spectrum bands with plans to significantly scale up with 3.5GHz spectrum.

Using Speedtest intelligence data, we compared operators’ 5G performance in Q1 2022 against data from Q1 2021. In Q1 2022, MTN’s median 5G download speed reached 213.37 Mbps — decreasing by a third when compared to Q1 2021 (320.10 Mbps). Median upload speed suffered a nearly 40% decrease, going from 46.05 Mbps to 27.32 Mbps. When we examined the State of 5G Worldwide in 2021, we concluded that it’s common to see new mobile access technologies slow down as adoption scales, particularly early on in the tech cycle and as more users are logging on to existing 5G networks. As such, the downward tendency in MTN’s performance is not surprising at all. Vodacom, on the contrary, almost doubled its median 5G download speed from 69.93 Mbps to 132.11Mbps.

5G Availability, which describes the percent of users on 5G-capable devices that spend the majority of their time on 5G, continues its upward trajectory across South Africa, from just 0.9% in Q1 2021 to 5.6% in Q1 2022. MTN had shown a stronger improvement to its 5G Availability in the Q1 2021 to Q1 2022 period than its rival, growing from 1.0% to 9.7%.

Since the award of temporary spectrum in 2020, MTN has intensified its investment to increase network coverage, improve speeds, and enhance the overall customer experience. The operator has also invested in an expansion drive into rural and peri-urban areas and a major 5G rollout, reaching 15% of South Africa’s population at the end of 2021. MTN is also planning to extend its 5G coverage to 25% of the population by the end of 2022, and 60% by 2025. As part of MTN’s “Modernization of Network South Africa” (MONZA) project, MTN has been allocating a budget to extend network reach into rural communities, support 5G expansion, and restore vandalized infrastructure: ZAR 624 million ($38.7m) for Eastern Cape, ZAR 749 million ($46.5m) for Western Cape, ZAR 820 million ($50.9m) in Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Vodacom’s 5G Availability had grown from 1.4% in Q1 2021 to 6.4% in Q1 2022. Vodacom reported in its FY 2022 results (for year ended March 2022) that in South Africa, capital expenditure was directed at improving capacity and resilience of the network and increasing 5G roll-out. As of March 2022, the operator’s 4G network covered 97.9% of the population, and it had also extended 5G sites to 624.

This investment drive is paying off. According to ICASA’s report, 5G population coverage reached 7.5% in 2021, an increase from a mere 0.7% in 2020. However, there is a disparity between urban and rural population coverage. 5G was present across all of the urban provinces, with Kwazulu-Natal in the lead with 20% 5G population penetration, while only three regions (Free State, Gauteng, and Western Cape) reported 1-2% population coverage in rural areas.

Having invested into spectrum and network roll-out, the operators look for ways to monetize 5G. For example, MTN has partnered with Australia’s Emerge Gaming to allow people to play cloud games on their Huawei P40 Pro phone using MTN’s 5G network. This is all in order to attract more consumers, especially video games’ enthusiasts. MTN also partnered with Huawei South Africa, Miniandante Mining, and Minetec Smart Mining to transform old mining processes using 5G.

African nations still face many hurdles to modernizing networks

It is still early days for 5G across most of Africa. South Africa is leading the region having launched commercial networks in 2020. One of the key challenges across Africa in terms of network rollouts regardless of technology relate to the cost of mobile base stations, the backhaul technology that connects mobile sites to the core network, and energy supply.

Recent World Bank report points to the three main areas where infrastructure costs can be prohibitive in rural settings, such as the mobile base station, the backhaul technology that connects mobile sites to the core network, and energy supply. To alleviate the challenges operators are taking steps and looking to innovative approaches to improve the situation. For example, Orange DRC partnered with NuRAN to construct and operate 2,000 solar-powered mobile towers, with a particular focus on rural communities, which will cover at least 10 million people in rural areas. These lower-cost “light towers,” are better suited to covering remote locations with small populations and come with significant cost savings. One of the reasons for lower costs is being powered by renewable energy solutions, particularly solar, rather than more expensive diesel generators.

Device affordability is another issue. There are currently a few initiatives across the continent aimed at expanding connectivity to areas where it’s lacking. For instance, Google partnered with Safaricom in Kenya for a program that allows customers to pay for 4G-enabled phones in installments, while MTN Uganda reinforced a partnership with M-Kopa in March 2022 to introduce 4G smartphones on installment payment terms. MTN also inked a partnership with M-Kopa in 2021 that facilitated the sale of more than 70,000 smartphones, financing over 2 million customers across Africa. Orange in Cote d’Ivoire launched a similar initiative in partnership with Yabx and Cofina. Yabx, a Dutch firm that offers credit across multiple countries in Africa, will provide the technology and manage the complete customer journey that will enable Cofina, an Ivorian financial institution that provides SME financing, to launch plans for Orange subscribers. Bringing 5G devices into the African markets will be even more challenging.

Operators continue to innovate and we are keeping a close eye on how the network deployments are progressing and the network performance end users experience. If you are interested in benchmarking your performance or if you’d like to learn more about internet speeds and performance in other markets around the world visit the Speedtest Global Index™.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles

Sylwia Kechiche | June 15, 2022

Malaysian 5G is Still Up in the Air as 4G Becomes Ubiquitous

The fact that Malaysian consumers are still waiting for nationwide 5G hasn’t stopped mobile providers from implementing other network improvements to provide better performance in the interim. This article explores how Malaysia compares to other major markets in Southeast Asia for mobile network performance and availability. We also analyze the current state of Malaysia’s mobile market. This includes 4G speeds and 4G Availability, insights into regional coverage, and what 5G looks like across the regions during the initial roll out phase in Malaysia.

Key takeaways

When comparing 4G performance across select South Eastern Asian markets, in terms of median 4G download speeds, Singapore comes first at 44.11 Mbps, ahead of Vietnam (34.89 Mbps) in Q1 2022. For upload speeds, the ranking is reversed for the top two: Vietnam is top with 17.49 Mbps, followed by Singapore at 11.62 Mbps.
4G Availability across the seven Southeast Asian countries is above 80%. Singapore leads, achieving 94.5% 4G Availability in Q1 2022, followed by Malaysia (92.3%).
Across Malaysia, 4G Availability increased from 86.7% in Q1 2021 to 92.3% in Q1 2022. This is predominantly driven by two factors: increased availability of networks and devices.
In Malaysia, Digi had the fastest 4G download speeds; Maxis won on upload.
Putrajaya had the highest 4G Availability across the regions with 96.4% of tested locations showing access to 4G during Q1 2022.
The 5G rollout in Malaysia is still facing challenges. The 5G wholesale network is not yet fully commercialized and there are ongoing discussions around operators joining in.

Fastest 4G speeds were in Singapore, while the fastest LTE upload speeds were in Vietnam

Using Speedtest Intelligence® data, we compared Malaysia’s 4G performance against that of its regional peers in Q1 2022. Singapore came first with 44.11 Mbps median 4G download speed ahead of Vietnam (34.89 Mbps), followed by Thailand (24.86 Mbps) and Malaysia (22.41 Mbps). Across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia, the 4G median speeds were well under 20 Mbps.

Vietnam performed well in the 4G download speeds ranking and it also had the highest median upload speed across the seven Southeast Asian countries surveyed – 17.49 Mbps, ahead of Singapore, which trailed at 11.62 Mbps.

It is also worth noting that the Vietnamese government promotes smartphone use. In July 2021, a telecom law, Circular 43, came into effect, which states that devices either imported to or made in Vietnam must support 4G technology. This stimulated customer migration to 4G technology. Furthermore, in December 2021, the Ministry of Information and Communication proposed that Vietnam stop using 2G and 3G technologies from 2022 in a bid to propel digital transformation. The government has made provisions in a draft public utility telecommunication program in 2021–2025 to support “poor and near-poor households” and give them access to 2.1 million smartphones.

Other countries in the region, e.g. Malaysia and Indonesia, look to migrate users away from 3G too, and put in place initiatives to support that. For example, Malaysian government and operators introduced initiatives to help Malaysians, especially those in the B40 category (lower-income group, with a monthly household gross income of RM 1/$0.23–RM 4,850/ $1107 representing 40% of Malaysians) to get internet access and portable and affordable 4G-capable smart devices. These include Pakej Remaja Keluarga Malaysia and Pakej Peranti Keluarga Malaysia launched in October 2021, and the Pakej Perantisiswa Keluarga Malaysia, which is part of Budget 2022.

4G Availability above 80% across Southeast Asia

When it comes to 4G Availability — the proportion of users who spend the majority of their time on 4G technology — all countries surveyed were above the 80% mark in Q1 2022. Singapore lead, achieving 94.5% 4G Availability in Q1 2022. This isn’t surprising since as a condition of the 4G spectrum allocation, mobile operators were required to provide nationwide 4G outdoor service coverage by end of June 2016, and within road and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) tunnels by June 30, 2018.

Malaysia ranked well too, propelled by government initiatives. As part of the12th Malaysia Plan (2021–2025), the government is implementing the Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) initiative, which aims to address the need and demand for better quality fixed and mobile broadband coverage. The objectives of the first phase are to increase 4G coverage from 91.8% to 96.9% by the end of 2022, mobile broadband speeds from a mean download speed of 25 Mbps to 35 Mbps, and switch-off 3G networks by the end of 2021. The next Phase, Phase 2 (initially planned for 2023–2025 but already kicked off with a roll out of 5G in Q4 2021) focuses on deploying 5G network services to boost digital connectivity nationwide.

4G Availability in Malaysia heading toward 100%

When comparing 4G Availability across operators in Malaysia, the differences are minor. At a country level, the average 4G Availability increased from 86.7% in Q1 2021 to 92.3% in Q1 2022. This was predominantly driven by two factors: increased availability of networks and devices.

Operators across Malaysia continue to roll out 4G to adhere to Jendela roll out targets. According to Jendela’s Q1 2022 report, the four main mobile broadband service providers have collectively achieved their Q1 2022 target by building 60 new 4G towers. Celcom beat targets by 25%, while Digi met 94% of its target as it encountered permit approval issues with the Sabah Local Council. 4G population coverage was also on track, increasing to 95.5% in Q1 2022, and is on a good path to achieve its 96.9% populated area coverage target by the end 2022.

In addition to setting up targets related to 4G network deployments to free up more spectrum for 4G, the Malaysian government expected to retire 3G spectrum at the end of 2021 but is yet to be completed. According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), 20% of 3G sites still remained operational at the deadline. Flooding and the monsoon season are cited as the reasons for the delay in retiring 3G sites. Almost all 3G carriers will have completed shutdown by Q2 2022, except a few sites located in remote areas, which are set to be shut down in December 2022.

In terms of end user migration, 86.6% of 3G customers in Malaysia have already moved to 4G while the rest do “not see the need for the switch over.” The remaining users will be able to use their existing devices even after the network shutdown, but they will be connected to 2G, which will only serve their basic connectivity needs (SMS and voice calls). The operators’ support for customer migration away from 3G devices includes promotional offers on 4G-enabled devices and subscription plans. For instance, Maxis launched campaigns like “Zerolution” device plan and “Balas Budi dengan 4G” campaign to encourage 4G users to help their families and friends upgrade. Digi, on the other hand, initiated a nationwide campaign (#BuatLebihL4Gi) to drive awareness for customers to adopt 4G, coupled with affordable device plans to drive greater adoption. U Mobile encourages its customers to upgrade by offering an upgrade for as little as 99sen ($0.23).

Digi has the fastest 4G download speeds; Maxis wins on upload

We compared 4G performance in Q1 2022 across Malaysian operators using Speedtest Intelligence. Digi came first with a 28.08 Mbps median download speed. The operator reported that most of its MYR 815 million (US$185.42 million) capital expenditure in 2021 was spent to improve its 4G network to respond to increased data consumption (more than 20GB per user, up 8.9% versus 2020) and deliver on the Jendela commitments. U Mobile and Celcom were head to head in terms of median 4G download speeds at 20.09 Mbps and 20.02 Mbps, respectively.

The largest operator by number of subscribers — Maxis — came first when it comes to upload speeds, with a median upload speed of 10.59 Mbps, a 12% year-over-year increase. The operator invested MYR 1.2 billion ($273 million) in capex in 2021, with MYR 597 million ($136 million) in Q4 2021 alone, the highest in a single quarter.

Putrajaya leads 4G Availability performance for Malaysia’s regions

We explored 4G Availability in Malaysia’s 13 states and 3 federal territories using Speedtest data from Q1 2022. It is important to note that 4G Availability is not a direct reflection of 4G coverage. Instead, this is a reflection of the network technology, e.g. 4G users spend the majority of their time connected to. Putrajaya had the highest 4G Availability with 96.4% of tested locations showing access to 4G during Q1 2022, while the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur had the lowest 4G Availability at 87.2%. Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang witnessed over 10% increases in 4G Availability between Q1 2021 and Q1 2022. Looking at the operators’ 4G Availability during Q1 2022 across different geographic areas, 4G Availability didn’t statistically differ in most cases. However, there were a few exceptions: Maxis won in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Pahang and Selangor, while U Mobile had the highest availability in Johor. Maxis has also committed to expanding its coverage in Sabah and Sarawak as stated by the Chief Network Officer.

4G performs well across all of Malaysia’s regions

Not only did availability improve across these regions, but speeds also increased. However there was no statistical winner in Q1 2022 for the fastest median 4G download and upload speeds across the provinces.

According to the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (K-KOMM), Selangor has been a priority market in terms of funding; it received a high allocation of MYR 5.34 billion to upgrade telecommunications infrastructure. So far 313 new towers have been built and 7,197 transmitter stations upgraded to 4G already with 652 in progress.

Singapore led Southeast Asia on 5G speeds

While median 5G download speed was 246.01 Mbps in Q1 2022, this differed by operator with Singtel being the clear winner as it recorded 360.31 Mbps median download speed in Q1 2022. Singapore’s 5G story began in 2020 when two wholesale networks launched — Singtel and Antina (Starhub-M1 consortium). IMDA, Singapore’s telecom regulator, aims for 50% 5G coverage of Singapore by 2022 and nationwide 5G coverage by 2025. Singtel recently announced the first rollout for an MRT line, while its 5G indoor coverage is spread over 300 locations across the island, including all malls along the NEL, bringing indoor/outdoor coverage to 75% of Singapore. Singtel is also busy rolling out 5G Standalone (SA) in partnership with Ericsson running on 3.5 GHz spectrum. The other operators — StarHub and M1 — are also “on track” to roll out 5G services to MRT tunnels in the next few months and reach “nationwide outdoor 5G coverage” in 2022. In March 2022, StarHub reported its 5G network had more than 75% of outdoor coverage, with M1 claiming the same. In November 2021, Singaporean operators also received additional spectrum in the 2100 MHz band, in addition to the first tranche of 3.5 GHz spectrum issued in June 2020 for the deployment of 5G nationwide networks.

Cambodia’s 5G is expected in 2023; currently, there is no spectrum availability. In Vietnam, 5G was launched in 2020 but using spectrum assigned on a trial basis, and is not commercially available as of yet. With long-term spectrum availability still unclear, Vietnam is missing from the 5G ranking. Malaysia’s wholesale network is not yet fully commercialized, 5G is available in selected areas of Malaysia, so we excluded it from the ranking. Only two operators — Yes and Unifi Mobile — signed up for the free trial on the network when it was launched in December 2021. The network is expected to be fully commercialized in July 2022 by all Malaysian operators.

Thailand came first for 5G Availability in Southeast Asia

Speedtest Intelligence data put Thailand first in terms of 5G Availability (the proportion of users on 5G-capable devices who spend a majority of their time on 5G networks) among its regional peers. Thailand was one of the first markets to launch 5G in the Asia Pacific region, with AIS and TrueMove H both launching commercial 5G services inQ1 2020, shortly after the conclusion of the country’s 5G auction. AIS performed well when it comes to median 5G download speeds (261.19 Mbps download speed/40.57 Mbps upload speed) and it was the fastest operator in Thailand in Q1 2022. In our recent article, we concluded that the country’s regulator, The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), has been instrumental in establishing Thailand as a leading 5G market in the region. In February 2020, NBTC assigned spectrum for 5G use across low- (700 MHz), mid- (2,600 MHz), and high- (26 GHz) frequency bands. It also plans a further auction of mid-band spectrum in 2022 in the 3.5 GHz band, which was vacated in September 2021 by Thaicom, a satellite provider.

In Indonesia, operators launched 5G in select cities in June 2021, which explains the very low 5G Availability in Q1 2022 at 0.37%.

Greater 5G Availability on the Malaysian horizon

The 5G situation in Malaysia is rather unique and requires a bit of an explanation. In February 2021, the Malaysian Ministry of Finance announced during the launch of the Prime Minister’s Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDIGITAL) that a government-owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) would be responsible for rolling out a nationwide single wholesale network (SWN) to deliver 5G. This led to the establishment of Digital National Berhad (DNB), responsible for the 5G network rollout and providing wholesale services to operators on an open, fair, and non-discriminatory basis over the next 10 years.

The DNB has been assigned spectrum in the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz, and 26-28 GHz bands. Currently, the 5G network has been deployed utilizing 3.5 GHz spectrum across selected areas of Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Johor and Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. However, the DNB has aggressive timelines to reach 80% of populated areas by 2024, while the goal is to cover 40% of the population by the end of 2022.

There are still a few pieces of the puzzle that need to fall into place before 5G can be widely available in Malaysia. First, in March 2022, the government upheld its position that the SWN will in fact be the model for the 5G network deployment. Despite backing an alternative — the Dual Wholesale Network (DWN) rather than SWN — the four leading telcos (Celcom Axiata, Digi, Maxis and U Mobile) have announced that they are supporting the government’s decision. On its part, the government offered up to 70% of DNB equity to operators, while it will retain a 30% stake. The four operators, although open to the proposal, would prefer to go through a merger and acquisition process. Only two local operators, Telekom Malaysia (TM) and YTL Communications, signed agreements to acquire an equity stake. The discussions are currently in place with a target date to be completed by the end of June 2022.

On March 31 2022, DNB Reference Access Offer (RAO) was released. Despite hopes that the concerns raised by the operators regarding the RAO could be sorted within weeks, there are still ongoing discussions around RAO. In a joint statement, the operators stated that RAO will not enable affordable and good quality 5G services.

The big four telecom operators are eager to provide commercial 5G services and test different 5G use cases. For instance, Maxis partnered with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad and Proton for 5G services and solutions, as well as the deployment of 5G use cases. The operator also launched a 5G and AI innovation lab.

We will continue to follow the Malaysian market to see how the 5G situation will unravel and how it affects their ranking among Southeast Asian countries. Once we know the outcome of the conversations regarding DNB we will be sure to comment on that. If you’d like to learn more about internet speeds and performance in other markets around the world, visit the Speedtest Global Index™.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles

Sylwia Kechiche | May 23, 2022

5G in Central and Eastern Europe: Poland Still Waits for True 5G While Bulgaria Sprints Ahead

Polski

Key takeaways

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for digital transformation, part of the EU-level funding will be available to drive digital transformation.
Spectrum auctions have been delayed across the region. While Slovenia and Croatia have already completed spectrum auctions across all of the 5G pioneer bands, Poland lacks clear timelines and risks being left behind.
Bulgaria leads in 5G median download speeds and 5G Availability. Its capital, Sofia, takes the top spot across the capital cities when it comes to median 5G speed and 5G Availability.
Poland doesn’t fare well compared to other CEE countries. Poland came last in the median 5G download speeds ranking and its 5G speeds were just over double that of 4G. More importantly, though, it also seems that Polish end users don’t see the additional benefits 5G can bring, which depresses demand.
Plus has the fastest median 5G speeds while Play wins 5G Availability. Łódź has the fastest 5G network among major Polish cities.

The EU funds set to stimulate digital transformation

An unprecedented amount of funding available to European Union member states has been approved to mitigate the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NextGenerationEU recovery fund totals €750 billion. The vast majority, €672.5 billion, is allocated to the Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRP), distributed between loans (€360 billion) and grants (€312.5 billion). All funds must be spent by 2026.

While not all these funds will drive investment into telecoms, some will have indirect impact such as green technology — see our thoughts on the discussions around Net Zero at MWC 2022. There are six pillars, one of which is digital transformation, which has over 20% of the national RRPs funding allocated. Digital transition projects include investment in R&D, deployment of new digital technologies including expansion of ultrafast broadband and 5G connectivity, and the digital transformation of the economy. The money is there for the taking, it is up to the countries to take advantage of it and funnel it into technology such as 5G to underpin economic growth.

Mid-band is most assigned spectrum across Central and Eastern Europe

We have reflected on the progress across Europe in this article. Now, we turn our attention to Central Eastern European (CEE) countries. According to GSMA Intelligence data, the vast majority of operators across the eight CEE countries — 24 out of 31 — have already launched 5G services.

As per the EC 2016 5G Action Plan, countries across the EU were meant to make low-band spectrum available for use by June 30, 2020, and mid- and high-band spectrums by December 31, 2020. At the EU level, there are three 5G pioneer bands as follows:

Low-band: 700 MHz (703 – 733 MHz and 758 – 788 MHz)
Mid-band: 3.6 GHz (3,400 – 3,800 MHz)
High-band: 26 GHz (at least 1000 MHz within 24,250 – 27,500 MHz)

The delays related to spectrum assignment range from the impact of COVID-19 on schedules to cross-border coordination with non-EU countries to weak demand from the operators’ side. However, most countries included in this analysis have already assigned at least one band for 5G, with a notable exception of Poland.

Poland is yet to carry out a 5G spectrum auction — the planned sale of a C-band spectrum in Poland was postponed multiple times for various reasons. In March 2020, Poland announced the 3.6 GHz spectrum auction to be awarded by June 30, 2020. However, due to the pandemic, Polish authorities suspended all administrative proceedings, and the current holdup is due to legislative issues.

Furthermore, Poland is also exploring a controversial law to establish a state-owned 5G network, which would be operated by a state run operator — Exatel — in the 700 MHz band. The 700 MHz band is problematic because it requires coordination across the eastern borders (Belarus, Russia and Ukraine), which will delay spectrum assignment.

Slovenia and Croatia have forged ahead and become the only two countries that have already completed spectrum auctions across all of the 5G pioneer bands. In April 2021, Slovenia’s Agency for Communications Networks and Services (Akos) concluded the sale of frequencies in the 700 MHz, 1500 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 3500 MHz and 26 GHz bands. In August 2021, the Croatian Regulatory Agency (Hakom) auctioned frequencies in the 700 MHz, 3600 MHz and 26 GHz bands. Furthermore, Miran Gosta, director of Hakom, recently announced that a new auction is being prepared for the frequencies that are already in use and will expire in 2024 such as 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2600 MHz bands.

Bulgaria leads 5G speeds

The important question is whether delays in spectrum assignments and supporting multiple network generations have affected the operators’ ability to deliver on 5G’s promise of faster speeds. According to Speedtest Intelligence®, the 5G median download speeds across the eight countries range from 73-407 Mbps. Bulgaria is the fastest at 406.97 Mbps, followed by Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia. Czechia and Poland are trailing behind, at 112.53 Mbps and 73.12 Mbps, respectively.

Bulgarian operators took an active role in spearheading 5G development. In September 2020, Vivacom launched the first commercial 5G network via Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) in 1,800 MHz and 2,100 MHz, followed by A1 in Sofia using 3,600 MHz, and Telenor in early June 2021 in the biggest cities in Bulgaria in the 3,600 MHz band.

In April 2021, Vivacom Bulgaria won 100 MHz in the 3.7-3.8 GHz band for BGN4.6 million (€2.35 million) but it had already launched the 5G network before with a temporary license in November 2020. András Pali, Vivacom CTO stated in an interview that the operator plans to invest €120 million in infrastructure in 2021. Vivacom utilizes DSS, combining frequencies in 1.8, 2.1 and 3.6 GHz bands for 5G, so there is no compromise between coverage and speed. A1 Bulgaria, on the other hand, uses a dedicated 100 MHz band. Between the commercial launch in April and October 2021, A1 Bulgaria has seen the number of active users rise by 448% and the traffic generated by them by 771%, in excess of 90 terabytes (TB) in October 2021.

Furthermore, Bulgaria’s recovery and resilience plan assigned 26% of the €6.3 billion budget to digital transition. The plan includes measures to stimulate digital transformation, including significant investments and reforms in digital connectivity to increase the coverage of very high capacity networks in rural and sparsely populated areas and to create a favorable environment for the deployment of 5G networks and digital infrastructure.

A few operators have rolled out 5G networks before having access to a dedicated 5G spectrum holding, instead using their existing spectrum holdings via DSS or temporarily allocated spectrum. Looking at the data for Poland, there is a link between lack of dedicated spectrum and median download speed. 5G speeds in Poland are just double the speeds of 4G, compared to Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Slovenia where 5G speeds are over five times faster than 4G. Since operators in Poland deployed 5G utilizing their existing spectral assets — in 2.6 GHz and 2.1 GHz — they are not able to take advantage of the benefits that mid-band spectrum brings to 5G deployments. We have reflected on how mid-band spectrum boosted 5G speeds and coverage in the U.S.

5G Availability skyrocketed in Bulgaria during 2021

Speedtest Intelligence data put Bulgaria first in terms of 5G Availability (the proportion of users of 5G-capable devices who spend a majority of their time on 5G networks) within its regional peers. During 2021, 5G Availability in Bulgaria increased ten-fold, from 3.0% in Q1 2021 to 30.5% as of Q1 2022. This is partially thanks to operators broadening their portfolio of 5G capable devices, e.g. in June 2021, 55% of Telenor’s (now Yettel) smartphones on offer were 5G capable and offering 5G tariffs at no additional cost.

Croatia performed relatively well when it comes to 5G Availability, which increased from 11% in Q1 2021 to 18.5% in Q1 2022.The Croatian operators’ 5G license comes with coverage obligations amounting to 90% of urban areas, 99% of highways and 95% of railways by 2025. Furthermore, the license obligations include 25% rural areas coverage by 2025 and 50% by 2027. According to Hakom, 5G coverage and availability is at 60-70%.

However, five countries still had 5G Availability below 10% in Q1 2022, down from seven in Q1 2021. In Hungary, there is a public initiative in support of 5G uptake in a tune of HUF 5 billion (€13.15 million) to help consumers migrate away from 3G devices to 4G/5G smartphones in face of the upcoming 3G network sunset. On May 9, 2022 the Hungarian telecom regulator — NMHH — began a second phase of its mobile phone subsidy: owners of 2G or 3G devices can claim HUF 20,000 (€52.26) towards a purchase of a new 4G or 5G smartphone.

It isn’t surprising to see that Hungary came first when it comes to 5G smartphone shipments across a number of CEE countries. According to Counterpoint Research, 5G smartphones accounted for 65.1% of total smartphone shipments in Hungary in Q4 2021. In Czechia, Slovakia and Bulgaria, 5G smartphones account for two in five smartphones shipped. In Poland, this is almost one in three. Romania comes last. Although, these figures do not directly translate into direct sales to customers as shipments refer to selling into retail channels and point to an increased appetite for 5G devices. A key driving factor behind this is a growing availability of lower price tiers 5G smartphones. For instance, realme is seeing success with affordable 5G smartphones in Europe.

Sofia comes first in 5G median download speed and 5G Availability

Given that Bulgaria had the fastest 5G and the best 5G Availability among its peers, it isn’t surprising its capital came first as well in the ranking of regional capitals, at 441.93 Mbps median download speed and 30% 5G Availability in Q1 2022. A1 Bulgaria started a test run already at the end of November 2020 in Sofia and Burgas, and they became the first 5G city in the country with an outdoor population coverage of over 90%.

Prague performed well when it comes to 5G Availability. In April 2022, the Prague metro area was fully covered by 5G networks thanks to a cooperation between Czech operators: T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 and CETIN, and the Prague municipality. All of the Czech operators sunset 3G networks in 2021 to refarm the frequencies for 4G and 5G. The largest operator by number of connections, T-Mobile Czechia had more than 600 5G base stations covering 10.4% of the population in September 2021, and it planned to increase coverage to 25% by the end of the year. T-Mobile uses Ericsson and Huawei for its 5G network, which utilizes the 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, and 700 MHz bands. The smallest operator, Vodafone Czechia, covered 70% of the population with a 5G network reaching 7 million Czechs in May 2022. Vodafone is committed to extending its network reach, at the moment it uses 3.5 GHz for 5G, but shortly it will start using the 700 MHz band as well as the refarmed 3G spectrum.

Poles need more education on the benefits of 5G

When it comes to 5G performance, Poland doesn’t fare well compared to other CEE countries. Poland came last in the median 5G download speeds ranking and its 5G speeds were just over double that of 4G. It is the only country that has not yet awarded 5G spectrum. More importantly, though, it also seems that Polish end users don’t see the additional benefits 5G can bring, which depresses demand.

According to the UKE’s enterprise survey, 78.2% of enterprises in Poland have heard of 5G. Good. However, the majority of enterprises claim that the current mobile parameters are enough to carry out their business activities across three measures: speed (88.6%), reliability (86.7%), and performance (85.9%). Given that the current 5G networks in Poland do not deliver on gigabit speed promises, this isn’t surprising.

From a Polish consumer point of view, 73.8% are familiar with the term 5G. This comes with a downside, though, just over half of respondents (57.4%) believe that 5G poses health risks.

Asked what are the key benefits of 5G networks, almost half of respondents (47.5%) state that 5G will be faster and more efficient than 4G. Less than a third (31%) see 5G networks making people’s lives easier. The third preferred option is 5G’s ability to strengthen and modernize the Polish economy. Still, 18% do not see any positive outlook for using a 5G network. This can partially explain why 5G Availability in Poland is sub-10%.

5G is not only about speeds. 5G is seen as an avenue to bring additional value to the economy and society. According to a study from Ericsson Poland, the Polish economy could gain over €17 billion from 5G implementation by 2040. Considering the lack of a clear timeline for the 5G auction, the risk that Poland will fall further behind its peers is real.

Plus led on 5G download speed in Poland

We compared 5G performance across Polish operators using Speedtest Intelligence. Plus was a clear winner, reaching median download speeds of 167.37 Mbps speeds in Q1 2022, ahead of Orange, T-Mobile, and Play. There isn’t a substantial difference in median upload speeds across the operators.

All of the Polish MNOs rolled out 5G networks tapping into their existing spectrum in a Non Standalone (NSA) mode, which relies on the underlying 4G/LTE technology. The 5G auction is now dependent on ongoing consultations about the National Cybersecurity Law Project, to be discussed by the Polish Parliament. The Law may impact network equipment decisions amongst the players, e.g. Play is using Huawei and Ericsson for base stations.

Polkomtel, trading under the Plus brand, launched the country’s first commercial 5G network in the 2.6 GHz band, utilizing 50 MHz of spectrum in May 2020. Apart from Plus, all other operators deployed 5G using DSS in the 2.1 GHz spectrum band, which can partially explain why they have lower speeds.

Orange Poland, like other countries within Orange Group, will roll out 5G Standalone (5G SA) in partnership with Ericsson. This will enable 5G network slicing and private networks development. In anticipation of the 5G auction, and to stimulate new 5G use cases, the operator launched Orange 5G Lab testing services such as AR, AI utilizing the spectrum allocated by the UKE for testing 5G in the 3.6 GHz band.

Play had the best 5G Availability in Poland

According to Counterpoint Research, smartphone shipments in Poland have almost tripled during 2021, driven by the challenger brands such as realme, OPPO and Xiaomi (including Redmi and POCO). Polish operators also continue to promote the sale of 5G-capable devices. 5G smartphones as a proportion of smartphone sales ranged between 36% for Orange, 40% for T-Mobile, and 45% for Play. Yet, Play has sprinted ahead the pack when it comes to 5G Availability, and T-Mobile is catching up leaving Orange and Plus behind.

This is surprising because the Play’s 5G network doesn’t necessarily have the widest reach. As of year-end 2021, Plus’ 5G network extended to 19 million people, followed by Play with over 13 million, T-Mobile (11 million) and Orange (6.3 million). Translating this into population coverage using 2021 census data (38.18 million people), this equates to 50%, 34%, 29%, and 17% population coverage.

Play, part of the Iliad Group, had the best 5G Availability, likely because of aggressive marketing and discounts combined with a large portfolio of 5G devices and the cheapest tariffs. Recently, Play had secured a PLN 500 million (€107 million) credit facility under the Operational Programme Digital Poland (POPC) from BGK, which will also use to roll out 5G services.

The mobile operators continue to invest in 5G network rollouts. For instance, T-Mobile extended its partnership with Nokia to include the modernization of RAN as well as rollout of 5G services. The operator plans to use 4G and 5G DSS on the lower band and. when available, the 3.5 GHz band for dense urban areas. T-Mobile targets to finish 2022 with 3,500 5G base stations and 30% population coverage. T-Mobile shut down its 3G network in the 2,100 MHz frequency band in October 2021. It has also embarked on the 3G network shutdown, aiming to realize the 900 MHz used for 3G and refarm it to LTE and 5G in 2023.

The spanner in the works to achieve wide 5G availability is the controversy around 5G auctions. In October 2019, the four leading mobile operators (Plus, Orange, Play and T-Mobile), the state-owned telecom operator Exatel and the Polish Development Fund (PFR) signed a memorandum of understanding to build a nationwide infrastructure. This will be owned by the state via a special-purpose entity called Polskie 5G. The Polish regulator has proposed to assign the entire 700 MHz band (2×30 MHz) to this new entity, with a view to first provide connectivity for public protection and disaster relief services, while making it available to all operators. Reserving spectrum for vertical use is not new, we have discussed this in our recent article; the novelty here is the band and amount. The 700 MHz band is key for providing wide coverage and in-building penetration. In our recent webinar, Eric Brands from KPN explained that KPN scores well in 5G Availability, partially because they have access to low band 5G spectrum (700 MHz).

Łódź has the fastest 5G network among major Polish cities

Łódź came top as the fastest city in Poland with 90.25 Mbps in Q1 2022, it is also a hotspot for operators’ innovation. Orange deployed a 5G campus network in the Lodz Special Economic Area where 40 start-ups working in the accelerator will be able to use the infrastructure. Ericsson has provided the infrastructure for the economic area: ten antennas working on the 3.6 GHz and 2,100 MHz bands, covering approx.1,000 square meters.

T-Mobile is testing 5G SA in Łódź to enable new services for both consumer and B2B customers, including VoNR (Voice over New Radio) services on the 5G network. The 5G SA network is utilizing the 2,600 MHz band.

The Polish capital, Warsaw, is just slightly ahead of the rest in terms of 5G Availability.

We’ll be watching 5G performance closely in Poland using Speedtest Intelligence. If you want to learn more about how Speedtest Intelligence can help you benchmark your 5G performance against competitors, please inquire here.

5G w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej: Polska wciąż czeka na prawdziwe 5G, podczas gdy Bułgaria pędzi do przodu

Kluczowe wnioski

Pandemia COVID-19 podkreśliła potrzebę transformacji cyfrowej, część funduszy unijnych zostanie przeznaczona na jej realizację.
Aukcje pasma zostały opóźnione w całym regionie. Podczas gdy Słowenia i Chorwacja zakończyły już aukcje pasma we wszystkich pionierskich pasmach 5G, Polsce brakuje jasnych harmonogramów i istnieje ryzyko pozostania w tyle.
Bułgaria jest liderem pod względem mediany szybkości pobierania i 5G Availability. Jej stolica, Sofia, zajmuje pierwsze miejsce wśród stolic pod względem mediany prędkości 5G i 5G Availability.
Polska nie wypada dobrze na tle innych krajów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Polska zajęła ostatnie miejsce w rankingu mediany prędkości pobierania 5G, a jej prędkości 5G były nieco ponad dwukrotnie wyższe niż 4G. Co jednak ważniejsze, wydaje się również, że polscy użytkownicy końcowi nie dostrzegają dodatkowych korzyści, jakie może przynieść 5G, co zmniejsza popyt.
Plus ma największą średnią prędkość 5G, a Play wygrywa pod względem 5G Availability. Łódź ma najszybszą sieć 5G wśród największych polskich miast

Fundusze unijne mają stymulować transformację cyfrową

W celu złagodzenia gospodarczych i społecznych skutków pandemii COVID-19 została zatwierdzona bezprecedensowa kwota środków dostępnych dla państw członkowskich Unii Europejskiej. Fundusz naprawczy The NextGenerationEU wynosi 750 mld euro. Zdecydowana większość środków, 672,5 mld euro, jest przeznaczona na Plany odbudowy i zwiększania odporności (ang. Recovery and Resilience Plans, RRP) i podzielona między pożyczki (360 mld euro) i dotacje (312,5 mld euro). Wszystkie środki muszą zostać wydane do 2026 r.

Chociaż nie wszystkie te fundusze będą napędzać inwestycje w telekomunikację, niektóre będą miały pośredni wpływ, np. zielone technologie — zobacz nasze przemyślenia na temat dyskusji na temat Net Zero na MWC 2022. Istnieje sześć filarów, z których jednym jest transformacja cyfrowa, która ma ponad 20% przydzielonego finansowania krajowych programów RRP. Projekty transformacji cyfrowej obejmują inwestycje w badania i rozwój, wdrażanie nowych technologii cyfrowych, w tym rozwój ultraszybkiej łączności szerokopasmowej i łączności 5G oraz cyfrową transformację gospodarki. Pieniądze są dostępne. To od krajów zależy, czy je wykorzystają i przekierują je do technologii, takich jak 5G, aby wesprzeć wzrost gospodarczy.

Średnie pasmo to najczęściej przydzielane pasmo w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej

W tym artykule zastanowiliśmy się nad postępami w Europie. Teraz zwracamy uwagę na kraje Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej (CEE). Według danych GSMA Intelligence zdecydowana większość operatorów w ośmiu krajach Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej — 24 z 31 — uruchomiła już usługi 5G.

Zgodnie z planem działania KE na rzecz 5G z 2016 r., kraje w całej UE miały udostępnić do 30 czerwca 2020 r. pasmo niskich częstotliwości, a do 31 grudnia 2020 r. pasmo średnich i wysokich częstotliwości. Na poziomie UE istnieją trzy pionierskie pasma 5G, które przedstawiają się następująco:

– Dolne pasmo: 700 MHz (703 – 733 MHz i 758 – 788 MHz)

– Średnie pasmo: 3,6 GHz (3400 – 3800 MHz)

– Wysokie pasmo: 26 GHz (co najmniej 1000 MHz w zakresie 24 250 – 27 500 MHz)

Opóźnienia związane z przydziałem pasma wahają się od wpływu COVID-19 na harmonogramy, przez transgraniczną koordynację z krajami spoza UE, po słaby popyt ze strony operatorów. Jednak większość krajów uwzględnionych w tej analizie przypisała już co najmniej jedno pasmo dla 5G, z godnym uwagi wyjątkiem Polski.

Polska ma jeszcze przeprowadzić aukcję pasma 5G — planowana sprzedaż pasma C w Polsce była wielokrotnie przekładana z różnych powodów. W marcu 2020 r. Polska ogłosiła, że aukcja pasma 3,6 GHz zostanie rozstrzygnięta do 30 czerwca 2020 r. Jednak w związku z pandemią polskie władze zawiesiły wszelkie postępowania administracyjne, a obecne wstrzymanie spowodowane jest kwestiami legislacyjnymi.

Co więcej, Polska bada również kontrowersyjne prawo dotyczące utworzenia państwowej sieci 5G, która byłaby obsługiwana przez państwowego operatora — Exatel — w paśmie 700 MHz. Pasmo 700 MHz jest problematyczne, ponieważ wymaga koordynacji przez granice wschodnie (Białoruś, Rosja i Ukraina), co opóźni przydział pasma.

Słowenia i Chorwacja posunęły się naprzód i stały się jedynymi krajami, które zakończyły już aukcje pasma we wszystkich pionierskich pasmach 5G. W kwietniu 2021 r. słoweńska Agencja ds. Sieci i Usług Komunikacyjnych (AKOS) sfinalizowała sprzedaż częstotliwości w pasmach 700 MHz, 1500 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 3500 MHz i 26 GHz. W sierpniu 2021 r. Chorwacki Urząd Regulacji Branży Sieciowej (HAKOM) sprzedał na aukcji częstotliwości z pasm 700 MHz, 3600 MHz i 26 GHz. Co więcej, Miran Gosta, dyrektor HAKOM-u, ogłosił niedawno, że przygotowywana jest nowa aukcja na częstotliwości, które są już w użyciu i wygasną w 2024 roku, takie jak pasma 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz i 2600 MHz.

Bułgaria liderem prędkości 5G

Ważnym pytaniem jest, czy opóźnienia w przydziałach częstotliwości i obsługa wielu generacji sieci wpłynęły na zdolność operatorów do spełnienia obietnicy 5G dotyczącej większych prędkości. Według Speedtest Intelligence®, mediana prędkości pobierania 5G w ośmiu krajach waha się w granicach 73-407 Mb/s. Bułgaria jest najszybsza z 406,97 Mb/s, za nią plasują się Chorwacja, Węgry, Rumunia, Słowenia i Słowacja. Czechy i Polska pozostają w tyle, z prędkością odpowiednio 112,53 Mb/s i 73,12 Mb/s.

Bułgarscy operatorzy brali aktywny udział w inicjowaniu rozwoju 5G. We wrześniu 2020 roku Vivacom uruchomił pierwszą komercyjną sieć 5G za pośrednictwem Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) w 1800 MHz i 2100 MHz, następnie A1 w Sofii z wykorzystaniem 3600 MHz, a Telenor na początku czerwca 2021 w największych miastach Bułgarii w paśmie 3 600 MHz.

W kwietniu 2021 r. firma Vivacom Bulgaria zdobyła 100 MHz w paśmie 3,7-3,8 GHz za 4,6 mln BGN (2,35 mln euro), ale już wcześniej uruchomiła sieć 5G z tymczasową licencją w listopadzie 2020 r. András Pali, dyrektor ds. technicznych Vivacom w wywiadzie oznajmił, że operator planuje zainwestować 120 milionów euro w infrastrukturę w 2021 roku. Vivacom wykorzystuje DSS, łącząc częstotliwości w pasmach 1,8, 2,1 i 3,6 GHz dla 5G, więc nie ma kompromisu między zasięgiem a prędkością. Z kolei A1 Bulgaria korzysta z dedykowanego pasma 100 MHz. Między komercyjnym uruchomieniem w kwietniu a październikiem 2021 r. liczba aktywnych użytkowników A1 Bulgaria wzrosła o 448%, a generowany przez nich ruch o 771%, przekraczając 90 terabajtów (TB) w październiku 2021 r.

Ponadto w planie naprawy i zwiększenia odporności Bułgarii, 26% z budżetu wynoszącego 6,3 mld euro przeznaczono na transformację cyfrową. Plan obejmuje środki stymulujące transformację cyfrową, w tym znaczne inwestycje i reformy łączności cyfrowej w celu zwiększenia zasięgu sieci o bardzo dużej przepustowości na obszarach wiejskich i słabo zaludnionych oraz stworzenia sprzyjającego środowiska dla wdrażania sieci 5G i infrastruktury cyfrowej.

Kilku operatorów wdrożyło sieci 5G przed uzyskaniem dostępu do dedykowanego pakietu pasm 5G, zamiast tego wykorzystując swoje istniejące zasoby pasma za pośrednictwem DSS lub tymczasowo przydzielonego pasma. Patrząc na dane dla Polski, istnieje związek między brakiem dedykowanego pasma a medianą prędkości pobierania. Prędkości 5G w Polsce są dwukrotnie wyższe niż prędkości 4G w porównaniu z Rumunią, Słowacją, Węgrami i Słowenią, gdzie prędkości 5G są ponad pięć razy szybsze niż 4G. Ponieważ operatorzy w Polsce wdrożyli 5G, wykorzystując swoje istniejące zasoby pasmowe — w 2,6 GHz i 2,1 GHz — nie są w stanie wykorzystać korzyści, jakie dla wdrożeń 5G niesie ze sobą średnie pasmo. Zastanowiliśmy się, w jaki sposób pasmo średnie zwiększyło prędkości i zasięg 5G w USA.

5G Availability wzrosła w Bułgarii w 2021 r.

Dane Speedtest Intelligence stawiają Bułgarię na pierwszym miejscu pod względem 5G Availability (odsetek użytkowników urządzeń obsługujących 5G, którzy spędzają większość czasu w sieciach 5G) wśród swoich regionalnych partnerów. W 2021 r. 5G Availability w Bułgarii wzrosła dziesięciokrotnie, z 3% w I kwartale 2021 r. do 30,5% w I kwartale 2022 r. Jest to częściowo zasługą operatorów poszerzających portfolio urządzeń obsługujących 5G, m.in. w czerwcu 2021 r. 55% oferowanych przez Telenor (obecnie Yettel) smartfonów obsługiwało 5G i oferowało taryfy 5G bez dodatkowych kosztów.

Chorwacja radziła sobie stosunkowo dobrze, jeśli chodzi o 5G Availability, która wzrosła z 11% w I kwartale 2021 r. do 18,5% w I kwartale 2022 r. Licencja 5G chorwackich operatorów obejmuje zobowiązania dotyczące zasięgu wynoszące 90% obszarów miejskich, 99% autostrad i 95 % kolei do 2025 r. Ponadto obowiązki licencyjne obejmują 25% zasięgu obszarów wiejskich do 2025 r. i 50% do 2027 r. Według Hakom zasięg i 5G Availability wynosi 60-70%.

Jednak pięć krajów nadal miało 5G Availability poniżej 10% w I kwartale 2022 r., w porównaniu z siedmioma w I kwartale 2021 r. Na Węgrzech istnieje publiczna inicjatywa wsparcia upowszechnienia 5G na kwotę 5 mld HUF (13,15 mln EUR), konsumentom w migracji z urządzeń 3G na smartfony 4G/5G w obliczu zbliżającego się zaniku sieci 3G. 9 maja 2022 r. węgierski regulator telekomunikacyjny — NMHH — rozpoczął drugą fazę dotacji na telefony komórkowe: właściciele urządzeń 2G lub 3G mogą ubiegać się o 20 000 HUF (52,26 EUR) na zakup nowego smartfona 4G lub 5G.

Nie jest zaskoczeniem, że Węgry zajęły pierwsze miejsce, jeśli chodzi o dostawy smartfonów 5G w wielu krajach Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Według Counterpoint Research smartfony 5G stanowiły 65,1% wszystkich dostaw smartfonów na Węgrzech w IV kwartale 2021 r. W Czechach, Słowacji i Bułgarii smartfony 5G stanowią dwa na pięć sprzedanych smartfonów. W Polsce to prawie co trzeci. Rumunia jest ostatnia. Chociaż liczby te nie przekładają się bezpośrednio na sprzedaż bezpośrednią do klientów, ponieważ dostawy odnoszą się do sprzedaży w kanałach detalicznych i wskazują na zwiększony apetyt na urządzenia 5G. Kluczowym czynnikiem jest rosnąca dostępność smartfonów 5G z niższej półki cenowej. Na przykład firma realme odnosi sukcesy dzięki przystępnym cenowo smartfonom 5G w Europie.

Sofia zajmuje pierwsze miejsce pod względem mediany prędkości pobierania i 5G Availability

Nie dziwi więc fakt, że stolica Bułgarii zajęła również pierwsze miejsce w rankingu stolic regionalnych, z medianą prędkości pobierania 441,93 Mb/s i 30% dostępnością 5G w I kwartale 2022 r. A1 Bulgaria rozpoczęła testy już pod koniec listopada 2020 r. w Sofii i Burgas, które stały się pierwszymi miastami 5G w kraju z zasięgiem ponad 90% populacji na zewnątrz.

Praga spisała się dobrze, jeśli chodzi o 5G Availability. W kwietniu 2022 r. obszar praskiego metra został w pełni pokryty sieciami 5G dzięki współpracy czeskich operatorów: T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 i CETIN oraz władzami samorządowymi Pragi. Wszyscy czescy operatorzy zrezygnowali z sieci 3G w 2021 r., aby zmienić częstotliwości na 4G i 5G. Największy operator pod względem liczby połączeń, T-Mobile Czechy, miał we wrześniu 2021 r. ponad 600 stacji bazowych 5G obejmujących 10,4% populacji, a do końca roku planował zwiększyć zasięg do 25%. T-Mobile używa Ericssona i Huawei do swojej sieci 5G, która wykorzystuje pasma 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz i 700 MHz. Najmniejszy operator, Vodafone Czechia, objął 70% populacji siecią 5G docierającą do 7 milionów Czechów w maju 2022 roku. Vodafone jest zdeterminowany do poszerzenia zasięgu swojej sieci, w tej chwili używa 3,5 GHz dla 5G, ale wkrótce zacznie używać pasmo 700 MHz oraz refarmowane pasmo 3G.

Polacy potrzebują więcej edukacji na temat korzyści 5G

Jeśli chodzi o prędkość 5G, Polska nie wypada najlepiej na tle innych krajów Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej. Polska zajęła ostatnie miejsce w rankingu mediany prędkości pobierania 5G, a jej prędkości 5G były nieco ponad dwukrotnie wyższe niż 4G. To jedyny kraj, który nie przyznał jeszcze pasma 5G. Co jednak ważniejsze, wydaje się również, że polscy użytkownicy końcowi nie widzą dodatkowych korzyści, jakie może przynieść 5G, co zmniejsza popyt.

Według badania przedsiębiorstw UKE, 78,2% przedsiębiorstw w Polsce słyszało o 5G. To dobry wynik. Jednak większość przedsiębiorstw twierdzi, że obecne parametry mobilne są wystarczające do prowadzenia działalności biznesowej w trzech miarach: szybkości (88,6%), niezawodności (86,7%) i wydajności (85,9%). Biorąc pod uwagę, że obecne sieci 5G w Polsce nie spełniają obietnic dotyczących szybkości gigabitowej, nie jest to zaskakujące.

Z punktu widzenia polskiego konsumenta termin 5G zna 73,8%. Ma to jednak wadę, ponieważ nieco ponad połowa respondentów (57,4%) uważa, że 5G stanowi zagrożenie dla zdrowia.

Na pytanie, jakie są kluczowe zalety sieci 5G, prawie połowa respondentów (47,5%) twierdzi, że 5G będzie szybsze i wydajniejsze niż 4G. Mniej niż jedna trzecia (31%) widzi, że sieci 5G ułatwiają ludziom życie. Trzecią preferowaną opcją jest zdolność 5G do wzmocnienia i modernizacji polskiej gospodarki. Jednak 18% nie widzi pozytywnych perspektyw korzystania z sieci 5G. To może częściowo tłumaczyć, dlaczego 5G Availability w Polsce wynosi poniżej 10%.

W 5G nie chodzi tylko o szybkość. 5G jest postrzegane jako sposób na wniesienie dodatkowej wartości do gospodarki i społeczeństwa. Według badania przeprowadzonego przez Ericsson Polska, polska gospodarka może zyskać ponad 17 miliardów euro na wdrożeniu 5G do 2040 roku. Biorąc pod uwagę brak jasnego harmonogramu aukcji 5G, ryzyko, że Polska będzie dalej odstawać od swoich konkurentów jest realne.

Plus prowadzi w prędkości pobierania 5G w Polsce

Porównaliśmy prędkość 5G u polskich operatorów za pomocą Speedtest Intelligence. Operator Plus był wyraźnym zwycięzcą, osiągając medianę prędkości pobierania 167,37 Mb/s w I kwartale 2022 r., wyprzedzając Orange, T-Mobile i Play. Nie odnotowano znaczącej różnicy w medianie prędkości wysyłania u operatorów.

Wszyscy polscy operatorzy sieci komórkowych uruchomili sieci 5G, wykorzystując istniejące częstotliwości w trybie Non Standalone (NSA), który opiera się na bazowej technologii 4G/LTE. Aukcja 5G jest obecnie uzależniona od trwających konsultacji dotyczących projektu ustawy o krajowym systemie cyberbezpieczeństwa, który ma być przedmiotem obrad polskiego parlamentu. Ustawa może wpłynąć na decyzje dotyczące sprzętu sieciowego wśród graczy, np. Play używa Huawei i Ericsson dla stacji bazowych.

Polkomtel, działający pod marką Plus, w maju 2020 roku uruchomił pierwszą w kraju komercyjną sieć 5G w paśmie 2,6 GHz, wykorzystującą pasmo 50 MHz. Oprócz Plusa, wszyscy pozostali operatorzy wdrożyli 5G z wykorzystaniem DSS w paśmie 2,1 GHz, co może częściowo wyjaśniać, dlaczego mają niższe prędkości.

Orange Polska, podobnie jak inne kraje Grupy Orange, wdroży 5G Standalone (5G SA) we współpracy z firmą Ericsson. Umożliwi to “krojenie sieci” (ang. network slicing) 5G i rozwój sieci prywatnych. W oczekiwaniu na aukcję 5G oraz w celu stymulowania nowych zastosowań 5G, operator uruchomił usługi testowe Orange 5G Lab, takie jak AR, AI wykorzystujące pasmo przydzielone przez UKE do testowania 5G w paśmie 3,6 GHz.

Play miał najlepszą 5G Availability w Polsce

Według Counterpoint Research, w 2021 r. dostawy smartfonów w Polsce prawie się potroiły, napędzane przez konkurencyjne marki, takie jak realme, OPPO i Xiaomi (w tym Redmi i POCO). Polscy operatorzy również w dalszym ciągu promują sprzedaż urządzeń obsługujących 5G. Smartfony 5G jako udział w sprzedaży smartfonów wahały się od 36% dla Orange, 40% dla T-Mobile oraz 45% dla Play. Jednak Play wyprzedził konkurencję, jeśli chodzi o 5G Availability, a T-Mobile nadrabia zaległości, pozostawiając w tyle Orange i Plus.

Jest to o tyle zaskakujące, że sieć 5G Play niekoniecznie ma największy zasięg. Na koniec 2021 r. sieć 5G Plusa powiększyła się do 19 mln osób, następny był Play z ponad 13 mln, T-Mobile (11 mln) i Orange (6,3 mln). Przekładając to na pokrycie populacji przy użyciu danych ze spisu powszechnego z 2021 r. (38,18 mln osób), oznacza to pokrycie populacji 50%, 34%, 29% i 17%.

Play, część Grupy Iliad, miał najlepszą 5G Availability, prawdopodobnie ze względu na agresywny marketing i rabaty w połączeniu z dużym portfolio urządzeń 5G i najtańszymi taryfami. Niedawno Play pozyskał z BGK kredyt w wysokości 500 mln zł (107 mln euro) w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Polska Cyfrowa (POPC), który posłuży również do uruchomienia usług 5G.

Operatorzy komórkowi nadal inwestują w rozwój sieci 5G. Na przykład T-Mobile rozszerzył swoją współpracę z Nokią o modernizację sieci RAN, a także wdrożenie usług 5G. Operator planuje wykorzystanie 4G i 5G DSS w dolnym paśmie oraz gdy będzie to możliwe, w paśmie 3,5 GHz na gęstych obszarach miejskich. T-Mobile planuje zakończyć 2022 rok z 3500 stacjami bazowymi 5G i 30% pokryciem populacji. T-Mobile wyłączył swoją sieć 3G w paśmie częstotliwości 2100 MHz w październiku 2021 roku. Rozpoczął również zamykanie sieci 3G, mając na celu wykorzystanie 900 MHz dla 3G i zmianę jej na LTE i 5G w 2023 roku.

Przeszkodą w osiągnięciu szerokiej dostępności 5G są kontrowersje wokół aukcji 5G. W październiku 2019 r. czterej czołowi operatorzy komórkowi (Plus, Orange, Play i T-Mobile), państwowy operator telekomunikacyjny Exatel oraz Polski Fundusz Rozwoju (PFR) podpisali porozumienie w sprawie budowy ogólnopolskiej infrastruktury. Będzie on własnością państwa za pośrednictwem jednostki specjalnego przeznaczenia – Polskie 5G. Polski regulator zaproponował przydzielenie temu nowemu podmiotowi całego pasma 700 MHz (2×30 MHz), z myślą o zapewnieniu w pierwszej kolejności łączności dla służb porządkowych i ratowniczych, a jednocześnie udostępnienie go wszystkim operatorom. Zarezerwowanie pasma do użytku pionowego nie jest niczym nowym, omówiliśmy to w naszym ostatnim artykule; nowością jest tu pasmo i ilość. Pasmo 700 MHz ma kluczowe znaczenie dla zapewnienia szerokiego zasięgu i penetracji wewnątrz budynków. W naszym ostatnim webinarze Eric Brands z KPN wyjaśnił, że KPN osiąga dobre wyniki w zakresie 5G Availability, częściowo dlatego, że ma dostęp do niskiego pasma 5G (700 MHz).

Łódź ma najszybszą sieć 5G wśród największych polskich miast

Łódź zajęła pierwsze miejsce jako najszybsze miasto w Polsce z prędkością 90,25 Mb/s w I kwartale 2022 r., jest także hotspotem dla innowacji operatorów. Orange wdrożył kampusową sieć 5G na terenie Łódzkiej Specjalnej Strefy Ekonomicznej, gdzie 40 start-upów pracujących w akceleratorze będzie mogło korzystać z infrastruktury. Ericsson dostarczył infrastrukturę dla obszaru gospodarczego: dziesięć anten pracujących w pasmach 3,6 GHz i 2100 MHz, obejmujących około 1000 m2.

T-Mobile testuje 5G SA w Łodzi, aby umożliwić nowe usługi zarówno klientom indywidualnym, jak i klientom B2B, w tym usługi VoNR (Voice over New Radio) w sieci 5G. Sieć 5G SA wykorzystuje pasmo 2600 MHz.

Stolica Polski, Warszawa, nieznacznie wyprzedza resztę pod względem 5G Availability.

Będziemy uważnie obserwować prędkość 5G w Polsce za pomocą Speedtest Intelligence. Jeśli chcesz dowiedzieć się więcej o tym, jak Speedtest Intelligence może pomóc Ci porównać prędkość 5G z konkurencją, zapytaj tutaj.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

Ookla Research™ Articles

Sylwia Kechiche | May 11, 2022

5G Drives French Digital Transformation

Français

Key takeaways

The French government has put a lot of emphasis and effort in promoting industrial transformation, and 5G is an important factor. Dedicated spectrum available for private mobile networks has already been allocated in France and the government is providing funding to target startups and drive innovation. During Q1 2022, Orange dominated the competition as France’s fastest 5G provider by achieving a median 5G download speed of 366.42 Mbps. SFR followed at 247.32 Mbps.
In terms of 5G Availability, Free France led the market with 26.0%, ahead of the country’s average of 15.7%. Free is the only operator that deployed 5G using the 700 MHz spectrum band, which contributes towards its higher 5G Availability.
Bordeaux has the fastest median 5G download speed.

The need for 5G networks densification

France is leading the way in terms of 5G network deployment across Europe. According to the latest 5G Observatory, published by the telecom regulator, the Electronic Communications, Postal and Print Media Distribution Regulatory Authority (ARCEP), the number of mobile base stations providing commercial 5G services in France equated to around 22,000 sites at the end of 2021. Free had the most 5G sites (13,470, primarily in the 700 MHz band), followed by Bouygues Telecom (6,730), SFR (4,984) and Orange (3,035) (these numbers cannot be added up across operators and frequency bands as the same site can broadcast across multiple frequency bands).

Based on the French population as of 2020, this would equate to over 3,000 people per 5G base station, placing it behind South Korea, China, and Japan but just ahead of the EU average, according to the EU 5G Observatory’s International Scoreboard.

French mobile operators are providing 5G services through the 700 MHz, 2.1 GHz and 3.5 GHz spectrum bands. The final stages of the French 5G mid-band spectrum auction ended on October 1, 2020, with 310 MHz of spectrum awarded in the 3.4-3.8 GHz band. Orange paid €854 million for a total of 90 MHz; SFR €728 million for 80 MHz, and Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile (Iliad) €602 million each for 70 MHz. Shortly after, in November 2020, all mobile operators were granted an authorization to use these frequencies. The operators can also use the 700 MHz frequency band, which was awarded by ARCEP in 2015, and in the future 26 GHz, yet to be allocated.

Free remains the only French operator to deploy 5G on 700 MHz spectrum. As of December 31, 2021, its 5G footprint included 13,479 sites already operational out of 18,929 permits secured for this frequency band. In addition, Free had 2,384 sites utilizing the 3.5 MHz frequency band. The remaining operators use 2.1 GHz and 3.5 GHz spectrum for 5G (see chart for more details).

The roll out of commercial 5G networks started in mid-November 2020, in a Non-Standalone (NSA) mode. It is noteworthy that 5G licenses come with coverage obligations outlined below, which stimulate the operators 5G network rollouts:

Doubling down on enterprise digitalization

The French government is an avid supporter of industrial digital transformation. The “France 2030” programme earmarked €800 million to accelerate digital transformation of industries by leveraging cloud, 5G, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Of which, €400 million was assigned to support startups and innovative businesses in developing their offerings and €400 million to help to transform industrial sites. The government also launched an acceleration strategy for 5G and future telecommunications network technologies to capture 5G opportunities and position France at the forefront of new digital uses. The objective is to create 20,000 new jobs by 2025, support the growth of the French 5G market, as well as innovative French SMEs and overall ecosystem in the country and externally.

International collaboration is high on an agenda too, including a Franco-German partnership on private 5G networks. To strengthen the 5G private network ecosystem, France and Germany commited a total of €17.7 million in support of four projects on 5G applications: 5G-OPERA, 5G4BP, 5GB4BP, and 5G FORUM. Another cross-country collaboration, this time involving France, Germany, and Luxembourg, is the EU-funded 5GCroCo (Cross-Border Control) project. The objective is to trial 5G technologies in the cross-border corridor to validate the use of 5G-networks and equipment from multiple car manufacturers.

Supporting enterprises is an important part of the overall digital transformation strategy. As such, the industrial verticals are already utilizing frequencies in the 2.6 GHz and 26 GHz spectrum band, with a particular focus on private 4G/ 5G networks.

Recently, the French government announced a set of new measures aimed at accelerating the development of industrial 5G use cases, following on from a report and recommendations published by the president of the Mission 5G Industrielle, Philippe Herbert. Mr. Herbert identified seven reasons why 5G in the French industrial sector is lagging behind other European countries, including poor access to relevant spectrum, availability of equipment and services, and lack of maturity of the 5G ecosystems.

To aid that, the government together with ARCEP, is encouraging the industrial companies to apply for a trial spectrum in 3.8 – 4.0 GHz band. Businesses from across a range of verticals including manufacturing, logistics, health and energy (amongst others), will be able to use a 100 MHz spectrum block for three years to trial different applications, while benefiting from a “mature and varied ecosystem of terminals and equipment” thanks to being in a close proximity to the mid-band spectrum band.

In addition, operators’ 5G licenses stipulate that they have to activate 5G functions such as slicing and “differentiated services” by 2023 at the latest, so as to cover the needs of industries, e.g. health and automotive.

French operators are testing 5G use across multiple industries including in the factory setting. For instance, Orange is looking at 5G applications across a number of “factory of the future” projects. In November 2021, ArcelorMittal France, Orange Business Services, and Ericsson announced the launch of an industrial 5G network: 5G Steel. 5G Steel will provide indoor and outdoor coverage, high data throughput for connected devices, low latency for autonomous vehicles, data security, and network slicing to tailor services to each business process and requirement. Another operator, Bouygues Telecom teamed up with its sister company Bouygues Construction to test where 5G can aid with digitization of the construction industry, one of the use cases is using 5G as a technology powering the data transmission between a crane and a remote control cabin on the ground.

Sustainability is high on French operators’ agenda

As we discussed in 5G Comes of Age: Five Predictions for 2022, reducing the environmental impact of 5G is top of the agenda. To that end, ARCEP published a study in January 2022 looking into different energy consumption scenarios in order to assess the impact of 5G networks. It has revealed that 5G network rollouts initially increased energy consumption. However, there are expected efficiency gains in the most densely populated areas starting from 2023, by 2028 total energy savings will be up to ten times the 2002 consumption levels when compared to a 4G-only network densification. In more sparsely populated areas with lower traffic density, the efficiency gains will be lower.

All of the French operators are committed to sustainable energy. For instance, Bouygues Telecom became the first operator in France to use renewable produced hydrogen to power one of its cell sites thanks to a collaboration with its sister company, Bouygues Energies and Services and PowiDian, a French startup. The operator has set a 100% target of its electricity consumption being sourced from renewable power (wind and hydroelectrics).

Another mobile operator, SFR, has also committed to renewable energy by partnering with French supplier EkWateur to supply part of telecom sites with 100% renewable energy. The operator has also committed to supply part of its 5G sites with renewable energy in partnership with TotalEnergies. In a 2021 statement, it indicated that since July 2021, more than 160 5G sites have been powered by renewable energy such as hydroelectric dams, windmills, or solar panels.

France leads amongst its regional peers for median download speeds

5G Performance in France vs. Other European Countries

Using Speedtest Intelligence®, we compared 5G in France against that of its peers. These measurements are based on 5G-capable devices using Speedtest Intelligence® on both iOS and Android. In the Q1 2022, France topped our list with the fastest median 5G download speed (207.58 Mbps), ahead of Switzerland (173.51 Mbps), the U.K. (166.37 Mbps). Germany (153.51 Mbps), the Netherlands (153.06 Mbps), Italy (123.69 Mbps), and Spain (122.61 Mbps) followed. Interestingly, despite all of the French operators launching 5G service in December 2020 — relatively late compared to other analyzed countries — they achieved top median download speeds due to substantial network investments. However, this has not yet translated into a large customer pool. The number of 5G subscribers has reached almost 3 million as of Q4 2021 — equivalent to 4% of total subscriptions (excluding M2M) and almost double the Q2 2021 level of 1.6 million.

Orange steams ahead for median 5G download speed

5G Performance Among Top Providers in France

Orange had the fastest median 5G download speed among top operators, achieving 366.42 Mbps during Q1 2022, far ahead of SFR (247.32 Mbps), Bouygues Telecom (151.58 Mbps), and Free (150.11 Mbps). Orange deployed 5G in nearly 900 municipalities at the end of 2021, which translates to 38% coverage of metropolitan population. The operator has the most 5G bandwidth (90 MHz) in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band, and has primarily chosen to deploy 5G in this spectrum band: it had 2,698 active sites in the 3.5 GHz band compared to 471 in 2.1 GHz at year-end 2021.

Orange’s approach to 5G rollouts has been to deploy it “where it is useful for its customers,” in the busiest places where there is a risk of 4G saturation in the short to medium term. The operator has also recently announced its plans to decommission 2G by 2025 and 3G by the end of 2028 to achieve cost savings by being able to retire legacy networks. Additional benefit is the ability to refarm its 900 MHz spectrum, currently assigned to 2G and 3G. Orange is also a strong supporter of Open RAN, it was one of the five leading telco groups: Deutsche Telekom (DT), Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia (TIM), and Vodafone Group, that published a joint report to highlight the urgency of collaboration on Open RAN in November 2021. Also in November 2021, Orange opened its first research lab in France dedicated to Open RAN, Orange’s CTO Michael Trabbia commented that the launch fits into the group’s ambition to deploy exclusively Open RAN equipment across Europe from 2025 onwards.

France is middle of the road when it comes to 5G Availability

5G Availability France vs. Other European Countries

The country ranking shifts when it comes to 5G Availability — the percentage of users on 5G-capable devices that spend most of the time with access to 5G networks. France comes in bang in the middle amongst the analyzed countries for this metric. In Q1 2022, the Netherlands had the highest 5G Availability at 34.7%, Switzerland came in at 33.2%, Spain at 15.9%, France 15.7%, the U.K. at 14.0%, Germany at 9.1%, and 9.0% for Italy.

Free leads on 5G Availability

5G Availability for Top Providers in France

Free had the highest 5G Availability among French operators at 26.0% in Q1 2022, ahead of Bouygues Telecom (18.3%), SFR (11.8%), and Orange (10.8%). Free remains the only operator that deployed 5G on 700 MHz spectrum, which helps to explain why it ranked better on 5G Availability as low band spectrum propagates further. According to the spectrum agency ANFR, the operator’s 5G footprint included 14,568 sites on air as of April 1, out of 19,289 permits it has secured for this frequency band. Currently, Free’s 5G network coverage extends to 81% of the population and is present in 9,652 municipalities. Free repeated its market entry strategy by pricing 5G services at the price of 4G, just the same when it initially entered the French market and offered 4G for the price of 3G.

Orange 5G Consistency stood at just over 90%

5G Consistency Score Among Top Providers in France

Consistency Score™ measures what percentage of a provider’s samples equals or exceeds both a download and upload threshold. Current thresholds for mobile 5G is 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. Across France, 5G Consistency stood at 84% as of Q1 2022. Orange earned the top spot as France’s most consistent 5G mobile operator with a Consistency Score of 90.6% during Q1 2022, ahead of Free (83.7%), SFR (83.2%) and Bouygues Telecom (77.5%).

Bordeaux has the fastest 5G

5G Performance and 5G Availability Across France's Largest Cities

Bordeaux was the clear winner for 5G speeds across French cities, with a median 5G download speed of 333.46 Mbps during Q1 2022, a 44% year-over-year increase for all operators combined. Orange’s 5G network in Bordeaux reached a median download speed of 456.69 Mbps, just ahead of SFR at 445.07 Mbps. The 5G launch in Bordeaux was slightly delayed till February 2021, as the city was asking the government for a moratorium on 5G technology and a postponement of the frequency allocation to no avail. Yet, the operators waited until the installation of the autonomous exposure measurement sensors, from which data is reported into the Wave Observatory.

In terms of 5G Availability, there is no clean winner across the five largest French cities.

5G in France is rapidly expanding and we’ll be following the market closely

Mobile operators are actively expanding 5G networks and the 5G adoption in France is growing, stimulated by the strong government support. We’ll be watching 5G performance closely in France using Speedtest Intelligence. If you want to learn more about how Speedtest Intelligence can help you benchmark your 5G performance against competitors, please inquire here.

La 5G est le moteur de la transformation La 5G est le moteur de la transformation numérique française

Principaux points à retenir

Le gouvernement français a mis beaucoup l’accent et à mis en place les efforts pour promouvoir la transformation industrielle, et la 5G est un facteur important. Le spectre dédié disponible pour les réseaux mobiles privés a déjà été attribué en France et le gouvernement fournit des fonds pour cibler les startups et stimuler l’innovation.Au cours du premier trimestre 2022, Orange a dominé la concurrence en tant que fournisseur 5G le plus rapide de France en atteignant une vitesse de téléchargement 5G médiane de 366,42 Mbps. SFR suivait avec 247,32 Mbps.
En termes de Disponibilité 5G, Free France est en tête du marché avec 26,0%, devant la moyenne du pays de 15,7%. Free est le seul opérateur à avoir déployé la 5G en utilisant la bande de fréquences 700 MHz, ce qui contribue à sa plus grande Disponibilité 5G.
Bordeaux a le débit médian de téléchargement 5G le plus rapide

La nécessité de densifier les réseaux 5G

La France est en tête en termes de déploiement de réseaux 5G à travers l’Europe. Selon le dernier Observatoire de la 5G, publié par le régulateur des télécoms, l’Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse écrite (ARCEP), le nombre de stations de base mobiles fournissant des services 5G commerciaux en France équivaut à environ 22 000 sites à la fin de 2021. Free comptait le plus grand nombre de sites 5G (13 470, principalement avec la bande 700 MHz), suivi de Bouygues Telecom (6 730), SFR (4 984) et Orange (3 035) (ces chiffres ne peuvent pas être additionnés entre les opérateurs et les bandes de fréquences, car un même site peut diffuser sur plusieurs bandes de fréquences).

Sur la base de la population française en 2020, cela équivaudrait à plus de 3 000 personnes par station de base 5G, ce qui la place derrière la Corée du Sud, la Chine et le Japon, mais juste devant la moyenne de l’UE, selon le tableau de bord international de l’Observatoire européen de la 5G.

Nombre de personnes par station de base 5G

Les opérateurs mobiles français fournissent des services 5G par le biais des bandes de fréquences 700 MHz, 2,1 GHz et 3,5 GHz. Les étapes finales de la vente aux enchères de spectre 5G à mi-bande en France se sont terminées le 1er octobre 2020, avec 310 MHz de spectre attribués dans la bande 3,4-3,8 GHz. Orange a payé 854 millions d’euros pour un total de 90 MHz ; SFR 728 millions d’euros pour 80 MHz, et Bouygues Telecom et Free Mobile (Iliad) 602 millions d’euros chacun pour 70 MHz. Peu de temps après, en novembre 2020, tous les opérateurs mobiles ont obtenu une autorisation d’utiliser ces fréquences. Les opérateurs peuvent également utiliser la bande de fréquences 700 MHz, attribuée par l’ARCEP en 2015, et dans le futur les 26 GHz, encore à attribuer.

Free reste le seul opérateur français à déployer la 5G sur le spectre 700 MHz. Au 31 décembre 2021, son empreinte 5G comprenait 13 479 sites déjà opérationnels sur les 18 929 autorisations obtenues pour cette bande de fréquences. En outre, Free disposait de 2 384 sites utilisant la bande de fréquences de 3,5 MHz. Les autres opérateurs utilisent des fréquences de 2,1 GHz et 3,5 GHz pour la 5G (voir le graphique pour plus de détails).

Nombre de sites 5G commerciaux en France

Le déploiement des réseaux 5G commerciaux a commencé à la mi-novembre 2020, en mode non-standard (NSA). Il convient de noter que les licences 5G sont assorties d’obligations de couverture décrites ci-dessous, qui stimulent les déploiements de réseaux 5G des opérateurs:

Doubler la numérisation des entreprises

Le gouvernement français est un fervent partisan de la transformation numérique industrielle. Le programme “France 2030” a affecté 800 millions d’euros pour accélérer la transformation numérique des industries en s’appuyant sur le cloud, la 5G et l’intelligence artificielle (IA). Dont 400 millions d’euros ont été affectés à l’accompagnement des startups et des entreprises innovantes dans le développement de leurs offres et 400 millions d’euros pour aider à la transformation des sites industriels. Le gouvernement a également lancé une stratégie d’accélération pour la 5G et les futures technologies de réseaux de télécommunications pour saisir les opportunités de la 5G et positionner la France à l’avant-garde des nouveaux usages numériques. L’objectif est de créer 20 000 nouveaux emplois d’ici 2025, de soutenir la croissance du marché français de la 5G, ainsi que les PME françaises innovantes et l’écosystème global dans le pays et à l’extérieur.

La collaboration internationale figure également en bonne place à l’ordre du jour, notamment un partenariat franco-allemand sur les réseaux privés 5G. Pour renforcer l’écosystème des réseaux privés 5G, la France et l’Allemagne ont engagé un total de 17,7 millions d’euros pour soutenir quatre projets sur les applications 5G : 5G-OPERA, 5G4BP, 5GB4BP et 5G FORUM. Une autre collaboration transnationale, impliquant cette fois la France, l’Allemagne et le Luxembourg, est le projet 5GCroCo (Cross-Border Control) financé par l’UE. L’objectif est de tester les technologies 5G dans le corridor transfrontalier afin de valider l’utilisation des réseaux et équipements 5G de plusieurs constructeurs automobiles.

Le soutien aux entreprises est un élément important de la stratégie globale de transformation numérique. À ce titre, les verticales industrielles utilisent déjà des fréquences dans la bande de fréquences de 2,6 GHz et 26 GHz, avec un accent particulier sur les réseaux 4G/ 5G privés.

Récemment, le gouvernement français a annoncé un ensemble de nouvelles mesures visant à accélérer le développement des cas d’utilisation industriels de la 5G, dans le prolongement d’un rapport et de recommandations publiés par le président de la Mission 5G Industrielle, Philippe Herbert. M. Herbert a identifié sept raisons pour lesquelles la 5G dans le secteur industriel français est à la traîne par rapport aux autres pays européens, notamment le faible accès au spectre pertinent, la disponibilité des équipements et des services, et le manque de maturité des écosystèmes 5G.

Pour y parvenir, le gouvernement, en collaboration avec l’ARCEP, encourage les entreprises industrielles à demander un spectre d’essai dans la bande 3,8 – 4,0 GHz. Les entreprises de divers secteurs verticaux tels que la fabrication, la logistique, la santé et l’énergie (entre autres), pourront utiliser un bloc de spectre de 100 MHz pendant trois ans pour tester différentes applications, tout en bénéficiant d’un « écosystème mature et varié de terminaux et d’équipements » grâce à la proximité de la bande de fréquences intermédiaire.

En outre, les licences 5G des opérateurs stipulent qu’ils doivent activer les fonctions 5G telles que le découpage en tranches et les « services différenciés » au plus tard en 2023, afin de couvrir les besoins des industries, par exemple la santé et l’automobile.

Les opérateurs français testent l’utilisation de la 5G dans de nombreuses industries, y compris dans le cadre d’une usine. Par exemple, Orange étudie les applications 5G à travers un certain nombre de projets d‘ « usine du futur » . En novembre 2021, ArcelorMittal France, Orange Business Services et Ericsson ont annoncé le lancement d’un réseau 5G industriel : 5G Steel. La 5G Steel offrira une couverture intérieure et extérieure, un débit de données élevé pour les appareils connectés, une faible latence pour les véhicules autonomes, la sécurité des données et le découpage du réseau pour adapter les services à chaque processus et exigence de l’entreprise. Un autre opérateur, Bouygues Telecom, s’est associé à sa société sœur Bouygues Construction pour tester comment la 5G peut contribuer à la numérisation du secteur de la construction. L’un des cas d’utilisation est l’utilisation de la 5G comme technologie permettant la transmission de données entre une grue et une cabine de contrôle à distance au sol.

Le développement durable est une priorité pour les opérateurs français

Comme nous l’avons abordé dans 5G Comes of Age : Cinq prédictions pour 2022, la réduction de l’impact environnemental de la 5G est en tête des priorités. À cette fin, l’ARCEP a publié une étude en janvier 2022 examinant différents scénarios de consommation d’énergie afin d’évaluer l’impact des réseaux 5G. Elle a révélé que les déploiements de réseaux 5G ont initialement augmenté la consommation d’énergie. Cependant, des gains d’efficacité sont attendus dans les zones les plus densément peuplées à partir de 2023, d’ici 2028, les économies d’énergie totales seront jusqu’à dix fois supérieures aux niveaux de consommation de 2002 par rapport à une densification du réseau uniquement en 4G. Dans les zones plus faiblement peuplées où la densité du trafic est plus faible, les gains d’efficacité seront plus faibles.

Tous les opérateurs français sont engagés dans l’énergie durable. Par exemple, Bouygues Telecom est devenu le premier opérateur en France à utiliser de l’hydrogène produit à partir de sources renouvelables pour alimenter l’un de ses sites cellulaires grâce à une collaboration avec sa société sœur, Bouygues Energies et Services, et PowiDian, une startup française. L’opérateur a fixé un objectif de 100% de sa consommation d’électricité provenant d’énergies renouvelables (éolienne et hydroélectrique).

Un autre opérateur mobile, SFR, s’est également engagé en faveur des énergies renouvelables en s’associant au fournisseur français EkWateur pour alimenter une partie des sites télécoms en énergie 100% renouvelable. L’opérateur s’est également engagé à fournir une partie de ses sites 5G en énergie renouvelable en partenariat avec TotalEnergies. Dans un communiqué de 2021, il a indiqué que depuis juillet 2021, plus de 160 sites 5G ont été alimentés par des énergies renouvelables telles que des barrages hydroélectriques, des éoliennes ou des panneaux solaires.

La France est en tête de ses pairs régionaux pour les vitesses de téléchargement médianes.

Performances de la 5G en France par rapport aux autres pays européens

En utilisant Speedtest Intelligence®, nous avons comparé la 5G en France à celle de ses pairs. Ces mesures sont basées sur des appareils compatibles 5G utilisant Speedtest Intelligence® sur iOS et Android. Au T1 2022, la France est en tête de notre liste avec la vitesse de téléchargement 5G médiane la plus rapide (207,58 Mbps), devant la Suisse (173,51 Mbps), le Royaume-Uni (166,37 Mbps). Suivent l’Allemagne (153,51 Mbps), les Pays-Bas (153,06 Mbps), l’Italie (123,69 Mbps) et l’Espagne (122,61 Mbps). Il est intéressant de noter que, bien que tous les opérateurs français aient lancé le service 5G en décembre 2020 – relativement tard par rapport aux autres pays analysés – ils ont atteint les vitesses de téléchargement médianes les plus élevées grâce à des investissements substantiels dans les réseaux. Cependant, cela ne s’est pas encore traduit par un grand nombre de clients. Le nombre d’abonnés 5G a atteint près de 3 millions au quatrième trimestre 2021 – ce qui équivaut à 4 % du total des abonnements (hors M2M) et représente presque le double du niveau du deuxième trimestre 2021, soit 1,6 million.

Orange va de l’avant pour une vitesse de téléchargement 5G médiane

Les performances de la 5G parmi les meilleurs fournisseurs en France

Orange a enregistré la vitesse de téléchargement 5G médiane la plus rapide parmi les principaux opérateurs, atteignant 366,42 Mbps au cours du premier trimestre 2022, loin devant SFR (247,32 Mbps), Bouygues Telecom (151,58 Mbps) et Free (150,11 Mbps). Orange a déployé la 5G dans près de 900 communes à fin 2021, ce qui se traduit par une couverture de 38% de la population métropolitaine. L’opérateur dispose de la plus grande bande passante 5G (90 MHz) dans la bande de fréquences 3,5 GHz et a principalement choisi de déployer la 5G dans cette bande de fréquences : il comptait 2 698 sites actifs dans la bande 3,5 GHz contre 471 dans la bande 2,1 GHz à fin 2021.

L’approche d’Orange en matière de déploiement de la 5G a été de la déployer “là où elle est utile pour ses clients”, dans les endroits les plus fréquentés où il y a un risque de saturation de la 4G à court ou moyen terme. L’opérateur a également annoncé récemment son intention de mettre hors service la 2G d’ici à 2025 et la 3G d’ici à la fin de 2028, afin de réaliser des économies en étant en mesure de retirer les réseaux hérités. La possibilité de réaffecter son spectre de 900 MHz, actuellement attribué à la 2G et à la 3G, constitue un avantage supplémentaire. Orange est également un fervent partisan de l’Open RAN, qui était l’un des cinq principaux groupes de télécoms : Deutsche Telekom (DT), Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia (TIM) et Vodafone Group. Ils ont publié un rapport commun pour souligner l’urgence d’une collaboration sur l’Open RAN en novembre 2021. Toujours en novembre 2021, Orange a ouvert son premier laboratoire de recherche en France dédié à l’Open RAN. Michael Trabbia, directeur technique d’Orange, a déclaré que ce lancement s’inscrivait dans l’ambition du groupe de déployer exclusivement des équipements Open RAN en Europe à partir de 2025.

La France se situe à mi-chemin en matière de disponibilité de la 5G

Disponibilité de la 5G en France et dans les autres pays européens

Le classement des pays change lorsqu’il s’agit de la disponibilité de la 5G – le pourcentage d’utilisateurs d’appareils compatibles avec la 5G qui passent la plupart du temps avec un accès aux réseaux 5G. La France arrive en plein milieu des pays analysés pour cette métrique. Au premier trimestre 2022, les Pays-Bas avaient la plus grande disponibilité de la 5G (34,7%), la Suisse (33,2%), l’Espagne (15,9%), la France (15,7%), le Royaume-Uni (14,0%), l’Allemagne (9,1%) et l’Italie (9,0%).

Des pistes gratuites sur la disponibilité de la 5G

Disponibilité de la 5G pour les principaux fournisseurs en France

Free avait la plus grande disponibilité de la 5G parmi les opérateurs français, à 26,0% au T1 2022, devant Bouygues Telecom (18,3%), SFR (11,8%) et Orange (10,8%). Free reste le seul opérateur à avoir déployé la 5G sur le spectre 700 MHz, ce qui permet d’expliquer pourquoi il s’est mieux classé sur la Disponibilité 5G alors que le spectre bas débit se propage davantage. Selon l’agence du spectre ANFR, l’empreinte 5G de l’opérateur comprenait 14 568 sites en ondes au 1er avril, sur les 19 289 autorisations qu’il a obtenues pour cette bande de fréquences. Actuellement, la couverture du réseau 5G de Free s’étend à 81% de la population et est présente dans 9 652 communes. Free a réitéré sa stratégie d’entrée sur le marché en tarifant les services 5G au prix de la 4G, à l’instar de son entrée initiale sur le marché français où il proposait la 4G au prix de la 3G.

La cohérence 5G d’Orange s’est établie à un peu plus de 90%.

Score de cohérence 5G parmi les principaux fournisseurs en France

Consistency Score™ mesure quel pourcentage des échantillons d’un fournisseur est égal ou supérieur à un seuil de téléchargement et de chargement. Les seuils actuels pour la 5G mobile sont de 25 Mbps en téléchargement et de 3 Mbps en upload. Dans toute la France, la cohérence 5G s’est établie à 84% au premier trimestre 2022. Orange a obtenu la première place en tant qu’opérateur mobile 5G le plus constant en France avec un score de cohérence de 90,6 % au premier trimestre 2022, devant Free (83,7%), SFR (83,2%) et Bouygues Telecom (77,5%).

Bordeaux dispose de la 5G la plus rapide

Performance et disponibilité de la 5G dans les plus grandes villes de France

Bordeaux a été le grand gagnant pour les vitesses 5G dans toutes les villes françaises, avec une vitesse de téléchargement 5G médiane de 333,46 Mbps au cours du T1 2022, soit une augmentation de 44 % d’une année sur l’autre pour tous les opérateurs combinés. Le réseau 5G d’Orange à Bordeaux a atteint une vitesse de téléchargement médiane de 456,69 Mbps, juste devant SFR à 445,07 Mbps. Le lancement de la 5G à Bordeaux a été légèrement retardé jusqu’en février 2021, car la ville demandait en vain au gouvernement un moratoire sur la technologie 5G et un report de l’attribution des fréquences. Pourtant, les opérateurs ont attendu l’installation des capteurs autonomes de mesure d’exposition, dont les données sont reportées dans l’Observatoire des ondes.

En termes de disponibilité de la 5G, il n’y a pas de vainqueur incontesté dans les cinq plus grandes villes françaises.

La 5G en France est en pleine expansion et nous suivrons le marché de près.

Les opérateurs mobiles étendent activement les réseaux 5G et l’adoption de la 5G en France est en pleine croissance, stimulée par le fort soutien du gouvernement. Nous suivrons de près les performances de la 5G en France grâce à Speedtest Intelligence. Si vous souhaitez en savoir plus sur la façon dont Speedtest Intelligence peut vous aider à comparer vos performances 5G à celles de vos concurrents, veuillez vous renseigner ici.

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

| More Articles

How Boingo Leverages Ookla's Comprehensive Network Intelligence

Ookla Joins Ericsson's Leading Telecommunications Open RApp System

MTN Performed Best Among Operator Groups in Sub-Saharan Africa

Get the latest Ookla Research™

Share

Key messages:

MTN South Africa delivered the fastest median download speed in Q2 2022

Vodafone in Johannesburg stole the show

MTN got ahead of Orange, Airtel, and Vodacom

Airtel versus MTN

MTN versus Orange

Vodacom versus Airtel

Orange versus Vodacom versus Airtel

MTN versus Vodacom

Mobile networks don’t exist in a vacuum

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

South Africa Fixed Broadband Speeds Up as Fiber Takes Off

Get the latest Ookla Research™

Share

Key messages:

South African median fixed speeds doubled in the past three years, thanks to fiber growth

There is still room to grow for South Africa to catch up with other BRICS markets

The rise of fiber network operators

Cool Ideas took the lead as fiber land grab heats up

Gauteng province speeds ahead the country’s average

Residents of Johannesburg had the fastest broadband

More is needed to improve fixed networks performance and adoption

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

5G in Nordics: Sweden Leads on Speeds, Denmark on 5G Availability

Get the latest Ookla Research™

Share

Key takeaways

Sweden leads on median 5G download speed

Denmark’s 5G Availability on par with the Netherlands

Swedish operators top the median 5G download rankings in Q2 2022, YouSee Denmark inched away in the 5G Availability

Sweden tops the charts for 5G speeds but lags on 5G Availability

Denmark performs better than others in 5G data experience but yet to match Swedish operators’ 5G speeds

Finland’s 5G coverage is on the rise, other building blocks such as 5G tariffs and handsets need to fall into place to increase 5G Availability

Norway shines the brightest when it comes to mobile speeds with good 5G performance

Stockholm was the fastest city, Oslo had the best 5G Availability

Nordic 5G performance benefits from having allocated low-band and mid-band spectrum

Operators and enterprises in the Nordics look to 5G as a tool to enable digital transformation

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

89% of Indian Smartphone Users Are Ready to Upgrade to 5G

Get the latest Ookla Research™

Share

India’s long awaited 5G spectrum auction has just come to a close

5G has been a long time coming

Consumers have an appetite for video streaming and gaming

Consumers want faster speeds

Delay to India’s 5G auction did come with some benefits

Indian telcos are set for a disruptive year ahead once 5G launches

Cost, lack of education, and 5G phones are the main hurdles

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

The Philippines is a Duopoly No More: Assessing DITO’s Impact on 4G and 5G Performance

Get the latest Ookla Research™

Share

Key takeaways

Reintroducing a third player into the Filipino market

DITO market share after a year of commercial availability

Philippines catching up on 4G

Smart leads on median 4G download speed; DITO on 4G Availability

Caloocan led on 4G speeds and 4G Availability

The Philippines fared well in 5G performance and 5G Availability

The Philippines looks to 5G to achieve imperative digital transformation

Spectrum is one part of the puzzle

Sharing passive infrastructure

Fortifying infrastructure to ensure network resiliency

Smart wins the 5G game in the Philippines

Consumer attitudes improve

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

Dtac and True Merger Talks Point to a Need to Address Unequal Footing in Thailand's 5G

Get the latest Ookla Research™

Share

Key takeaways