At popular sports matches, concerts, and cultural events, thousands or millions of attendees will attempt to use their mobile devices to send texts, upload photos, and stream videos. This high concentration of users can quickly overwhelm a mobile network’s capacity and cause dropped calls, slow data speeds, and other service disruptions — presenting a challenge for mobile network operators trying to provide a high-quality connection at these events.
To prepare for massive cultural events, tier-one operators must plan for localized capacity expansion and performance improvement. By using crowdsourced data to identify problem areas beforehand, they can save hundreds of hours and the associated testing costs — and then more precisely apply controlled drive and walk testing to optimize on-site before the event. During the event, live network monitoring and competitive benchmarking is critical to ensure high upload speeds and an excellent fan experience.
Register for our June 20 webinar to learn how you can use crowdsourced and controlled testing to optimize the venue before and during massive live events. In this article, we share a preview of data for tier-one operators who managed two of the world’s largest sporting events.
Identifying problem areas with crowdsourced data
Crowdsourced RF and QoE data can help operators identify problem areas before the event occurs. As an example, we’ll look at crowdsourced QoS and QoE data for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
In the image below, you can see LTE RSRP (signal strength) for the top two operators in Qatar at the Khalifa International Stadium. On Operator B’s network, there are more significant problem areas where signal strength is poor, represented by orange and red tiles.
It’s also crucial to understand QoE metrics from measured real-world consumer experiences, including video streaming and web browsing tests at the stadium or event venue. Looking at data crowdsourced from thousands of mobile network QoE samples on consumer devices, we can see that Operator A has a faster median video start time than Operator B.
On the other hand, median web page load time shows that Operator A has a slower page load time than Operator B. Thus, Operator A is providing a better user experience for video streaming, while Operator B is providing a better user experience for web browsing at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Based on this analysis, Operator A should focus on improving QoE for web browsing experience, while Operator B should focus on improving signal strength and video streaming experience throughout the stadium in order to provide their customers with the best experience during the World Cup.
Optimizing on-site with controlled testing
Operators can also use Ookla Wind® walk and drive test solutions to perform real-time monitoring of their network and competitor networks. In this example we look at tier-one operator network performance at the largest high-profile football game in the United States.
At the Big Game in Glendale, Arizona at State Farm Stadium, Ookla conducted more than 350 miles of drive testing and more than 300 miles of walk testing to gather real-time network performance data for the top three operators in the United States. During the walk and drive test, over 2,300 Speedtest results were captured with Ookla Wind, which revealed that Operator A had the fastest download speed overall with an average speed of 897 Mbps.
In the image below, you can see LTE RSRP (signal strength) and RSRQ (signal quality) for the operators throughout State Farm Stadium; Operator C had the best signal level and quality during the game.
To understand performance after the event, operators should analyze their network performance within a custom-defined area, such as geofencing around the stadium or event venue.
Is your network ready for the next high-profile live event?
Ookla solutions help you identify problem areas, monitor performance and network experience during major events with live-streaming reporting, and identify corrective action to maximize customer experience.
If you’d like to learn more about how the world’s top operators are managing massive events, please join our upcoming webinar at 8 a.m. PDT / 11 a.m. EDT / 3 p.m. GMT on Tuesday, June 20. A recording will be provided for registrants who can’t join the live presentation. Register Now.
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.
Onjais a social enterprise that trains underprivileged youth to prepare them to become world-class software developers and places them into European and US-based tech companies. A reliable internet connection is essential for Onja’s mission: it plays a crucial role from the start of the training program right through to employment. By partnering with Ookla for Good™, Onja was able to compare connectivity across the country to select the location that would provide the best coverage and performance to support both training and employment opportunities.
During training, students rely on good internet access to take online courses in addition to their classroom study, work on exciting open-source projects, engage in volunteering and online internships, and interact with experts and mentors from around the world for upskilling activities such as mock interviews and coding challenges.
Once our students land great opportunities as developers, they work remotely from our site in Madagascar. Here too, reliable internet is essential to fulfill every aspect of their role. In addition to their work, which requires high-quality internet, developers have regular stand-ups and meetings with their remote team. These exchanges are important because they create strong bonds between the developers and their team members.
Onja’s developers are not just remote workers and partner companies are not just clients. They are intrinsically linked, contributing greatly to the sustainability of the model and a better future for Madagascar’s young people.
When it came to finding a location for Onja’s base, understanding how internet speed varied was a cornerstone of the decision-making process. By providing Speedtest® performance measurements for each region and almost every city in Madagascar through our Ookla for Good initiative, Onja gained the ability to make an informed decision about an important part of its mission. Thanks to the insights provided by Ookla for Good data, the entire Onja team now operates from Mahanoro, a beach town on the east coast of Madagascar. In addition to being a peaceful learning and working environment, Mahanoro’s internet speed is more than sufficient for the mission.
We are grateful to Onja for their assistance in composing this article. Visit Onja to learn more about its mission and current projects.
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.
In our recent analysis of 5G performance across Europe, we noted that challenger mobile operators often outperform incumbents — strong results from Three across its footprint are proof of that. This article examines the secret sauce behind Three’s performance across three European countries — the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Austria.
Key takeaways
Dedicated 5G spectrum matters. Three’s approach to spectrum is similar across the board — it uses dedicated 5G spectral resources, and it has access to at least 100 MHz contiguous spectrum in C-band, which is the ITU’s minimum technical requirement to meet 5G performance requirements.
Network investment pays off. Three continues to focus on 5G network investment, which in turn helped to drive 5G performance.
Sustainability futureproofs networks. Three looks at several energy efficiency initiatives, including smart network “sleeping mode” and retiring legacy technologies to create a network that’s ready for tomorrow’s demands.
Three leads on speeds
Austria, Ireland, and the U.K. belong to the 5G High Performers cluster, which means that they share many of the characteristics of 5G leaders — markets with median 5G download speeds typically greater than 300 Mbps — having made an adequate spectrum allocation for 5G use and fostered competition between operators, which has helped spur network investment. However, they lag behind 5G Leaders based on their level of network densification. Using Speedtest Intelligence® data, we analyzed 5G performance in Q1 2023 across Austria, Ireland, and the U.K. Three was a leading operator in each of these countries for median 5G download speed.
3UK was 2.2 times faster than the median 5G speed for the U.K., 3 Austria surpassed the country-level performance by 1.36 times, while Three Ireland was 64% faster than the median country-level 5G download speed. Three was a late entrant into the telecom scene — having launched 20 years ago in March 2003 — often skipping 2G network rollout and being the first company to introduce “All you Can Eat” plans.
Three’s approach to spectrum pays off
As our previous analysis shows, access to a dedicated 5G C-band spectrum enabled faster download speeds, especially if such spectrum is contiguous. The ITU minimum technical requirements to meet 5G performance requirements identify at least 100 MHz channels per operator. All Austrian operators have access to just that: 3 Austria 100 MHz spectrum and Magenta 110MHz, nationally. A1 has access to a block of 100-140 MHz in C-band, depending on the region.
Three Ireland was the only operator to receive a continuous block of 100 MHz spectrum nationally, both in urban and rural areas. Vodafone and eir have different spectrum holdings: Vodafone has 105 MHz in urban areas and 85 MHz in rural areas, eir 85 MHz (urban) and 80 MHz (rural). Imagine — a wireless broadband provider — holds 60 MHz spectrum in rural areas, Dense Air, 60 MHz in urban and 25 MHz in rural. Furthermore, Three uses a dedicated 5G spectrum instead of Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), which explains its superior performance compared to other operators.
In the U.K., Three also holds an advantageous position regarding spectrum ownership — it has a block of 140MHz frequency across several 5G spectrum bands, including a 100 MHz block of continuous spectrum in the C-band. In addition, the operator has been working on adding 10 Gbps backhaul to its sites everywhere to boost the 5G experience.
5G Availability on the rise
Our research shows that access to low band spectrum in part impacts the operator’s 5G Availability but affordability and availability of 5G-capable smartphones are essential too. Ireland had top 5G Availability in Q1 2023 at 21.6%, increasing by 8.1 ppts year-on-year.
The number of 5G subscriptions has been on the rise in Ireland; ComReg reported a total of 988,164 5G mobile subscriptions in Q4 2022 — a 152% year-on-year increase — accounting for 11.1% of all subscriptions in Ireland. Three Ireland’s 5G network covers 85% of the Irish population. To expand the pool of 5G users, in January 2023, Three Ireland, as the first Irish mobile operator, offered 5G to all customers as standard at no additional fee, initially to new customers. Customers need a 5G-enabled device to access the 5G network and be within 5G network reach. Elaine Carey, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for 3 Ireland and 3 UK, said offering free 5G across all its mobile plans would provide customers with a “better-connected life.” Currently, Vodafone and Eir only offer 5G to customers with 5G-enabled plans. Our data shows that during Q1 2023, Three’s 5G Availability increased by 5.5 ppt while the country average increased only by 1.9 ppt, proving that the strategy paid off.
In the U.K., 5G Availability increased by 6.7 ppt, driven by the growing adoption of 5G smartphones and coverage. According to the Ofcom Connected Nations 2022 report, the pool of 5G capable devices increased from around 10% in 2021 to 20% in 2022, while data traffic carried over 5G tripled — from 3% of all traffic in 2021 to over 9% in 2022. In April 2023, as part of the new Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, the government set out its ambitions for all populated areas to be covered by “standalone” 5G by 2030, increasing from 77% of the population already having access to 5G from one provider using 5G NSA.
In Austria, 5G Availability passed the 15% mark in Q1 2023, up from 10% a year prior. Despite coverage obligations related to network deployment set out by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW) in November 2019 as part of the operators’ 5G license, the 5G adoption is lackluster compared to other countries. For example, Drei Austria had to provide 5G coverage to at least 15% of the population in all provincial cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants by the end of 2020 and 40% by the end of 2023. Furthermore, Drei wants to increase its 5G coverage to three-quarters of all households and companies by the end of 2023 and provide 222 previously underserved communities with mobile broadband internet by using additional frequencies in the 700 and 1500 MHz bands for 5G. In September 2022, Drei Austria announced the launch of 5G SA, dubbed 5G+, making it available to 1.3 million homes and businesses. The company also offers mobile internet with a residential bandwidth guarantee, which it claims is the world’s first.
Network investment continues
In Ireland, Three worked on an ongoing network transformation program investing over €2 billion, including an €820 million investment in upgrading and expanding the network into Three’s digital transformation.
In March 2023, Drei announced a total investment program for 5G in Austria of €1.2 billion beyond 2025.”Our largest network offensive in the company’s history, which we announced last year, has got underway. We are investing 1.2 billion Euros in the nationwide expansion of our new 5G network beyond 2025,” said Drei CTO Matthias Baldermann during the 2022 results announcement. In Austria, Drei utilized new spectrum to the full extent, leading-edge equipment, and installed powerful massive MIMO antennas on each site — a new range with the new antenna. As a result, improvement in terms of performance and capacity for customers can be measured in improved consumer satisfaction.
Three UK has invested over £2 billion to transform its network and IT infrastructure as part of a five-year program. Over the past five years, Three has undergone an immense transformation — it was the first operator to deploy cloud core. There are 19 data centers across the U.K. — compared to the previous three core data centers. With 19 data centers, there is a good balance between what goes in each and what needs to serve the customer more quickly. The edge data center, collocated with other providers, deals with straight internet access and peering to get traffic from the networks to the source. It also comes with additional efficiency in terms of Capex and Opex — the cost of 19 data centers is the same as the three legacy ones.
From tower owners to tenants
Following the path of a general industry direction, Three has outsourced the management of its network assets. In November 2022, Spanish mobile tower operator – Cellnex Telecom – completed the acquisition of the U.K. telecoms tower assets of Three UK. This was the last one of the multi-country deals signed by CK Hutchinson and Cellnex in November 2020, whereby Cellnex acquired a total of 24,600 towers across the U.K., Italy, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, and Denmark for approximately €10 billion ($10.35 billion).
Not only performance but energy efficiency is also top of mind
In Ookla’s Take on Telco Trends in 2023, we have predicted that the quest for Net Zero becomes more urgent as cost-cutting and optimizing operations are top-of-mind for telcos in 2023 as energy prices and broader inflation remain high. We are already seeing operators look to sustainable solutions, such as wind and solar farmers, to supply sites with green energy instead of commercial electricity, partially to reduce costs. CK Hutchison Group Telecom 2022 Annual Results showcased a wider range of energy efficiency initiatives deployed across its European footprint.
Robert Finnegan, Chief Executive of Three Ireland and Three UK, said the company was satisfied with its 2022 financial performance despite the additional impacts of inflation and soaring energy costs. “As part of our sustainability strategy, we continued to invest in energy-saving initiatives across the network infrastructure in 2022, which helped mitigate against energy inflation.” Furthermore, across its footprint, Three has deployed various strategies such as smart network “sleeping mode” and energy efficiency equipment, the retirement of legacy technology, and the reduction of redundant assets through consolidation and active sharing, and thermal management. Three Ireland implemented “proof of concept” for on-site solar generation on mast sites as solar panels are more energy efficient and greener.
During the Connectivity Insights session at MWC 2023, Iain Milligan, Chief Network Officer of Three UK, shared that the operator is currently undergoing some trials with network vendors to address energy efficiency via a mix of features. From a hardware perspective — they deploy the most recent hardware, which brings efficiency; feature rollout in the radio also brings gains in multiple aspects. Lastly, analytics play an essential role, too, helping to identify peak usage times compared to quieter periods. All of these can bring 60% improvements.
We will continue to monitor 5G performance progress closely 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.
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.
When the United Kingdom became one of the first markets to launch 5G globally, mobile operators quickly began competing to build the best 5G network. As every mobile operator in the market ramped up investment to expand 5G, Three UK invested over £2 billion as part of a five-year program to deliver the UK’s Fastest 5G Network. These investments included network intelligence to enable data-driven network improvements.
Three uses Ookla Speedtest IntelligenceⓇ to find geographic areas for 5G network improvements. As a result of their network investments, Three has won the Speedtest Award™ for Fastest 5G Network for four consecutive award periods including Q3-Q4 2022, Q1–Q2 2022, Q3–Q4 2021, and Q1–Q2 2021.
Situation
When the United Kingdom auctioned off spectrum licenses in 2021, Three acquired the largest dedicated band of 5G spectrum — 140MHz frequency across several 5G spectrum bands, including a 100 MHz block of contiguous spectrum in the 3.3-3.8 GHz band. To build out a top-performing 5G network — especially with their recent 5G spectrum acquisition — it was important that Three understood where to invest in improvements in order to prioritize network build-outs that would result in the most consumer benefit.
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.
In-market 5G performance varies widely. Reviewing the top 10% and worst 10% of Ookla® Speedtest Intelligence® samples reveals significant variance in the consumer experience on today’s 5G networks, with 5G speeds peaking at over 1 Gbps for the top 10% of users in the U.A.E on average, but falling to below 20 Mbps for the lower 10% in Norway, the U.S., Japan, Germany, and Spain.
Median 5G performance is declining in many early launch 5G markets. While understandable as 5G adoption grows and users in more remote locations access 5G, declining median download speeds also point to investment and deployment challenges in some markets. At the same time, many of these markets are facing economic headwinds, placing more emphasis than ever on cost control. As a result, operators must carefully balance network investment priorities.
5G Net Promoter Scores (NPS) significantly higher than 4G LTE in most markets, but waning. With the exception of Sweden and Qatar, all the early launch 5G markets in our analysis saw 5G NPS fall year-over-year. Operators’ 5G NPS still trade at a premium compared to 4G, and while performance is just one part of the equation, operators should take care to build on the positive sentiment that 5G has brought to date.
Despite impressive headline speeds, 5G performance varies a lot
Median 5G performance allows us to gauge the midpoint of user experience on 5G networks, however it doesn’t paint the full picture. While headline 5G speeds impress, Speedtest Intelligence data lays bare the ups and downs of 5G performance for consumers, even in early launch, advanced 5G markets. We recently looked at 5G network performance over high frequency (mmW) bands, painting a view of the true potential of 5G networks. However, if we look at performance on today’s 5G networks, looking beyond the median at the range of performance between users in the top 10% and those in the lower 10%, Speedtest Intelligence data reveals huge variance in the performance users experience.
The U.A.E. was the fastest 5G market in our analysis, based on median download performance of 545.53 Mbps in December 2022, followed by South Korea and Qatar. However, the top 10% of users in the U.A.E. recorded speeds of at least 1,266.49 Mbps on average, while the lowest 10% of users experienced speeds of 127.52 Mbps or slower on average. At the other end of the scale, Spain recorded a median 5G speed of 94.14 Mbps, but also demonstrated wide variance between the top 10% of samples at 537.95 Mbps or faster and the lowest 10% with 10.67 Mbps or less.
Based on many of the marketing messages around 5G, consumers are led to expect a big bang change in performance. However, with 5G operating over a greater range of spectrum bands than previous generations, including high frequency spectrum which has relatively poorer propagation, it’s understandable that 5G performance will vary more than previous generations of mobile network technology.
5G markets set to face performance challenges during 2023
While globally 5G speeds have remained stable, for many of the markets in our analysis, median 5G download speeds have fallen over the past year. The U.S. was the main outlier, recording the strongest uplift in 5G performance as T-Mobile continued to drive home its performance advantage in the market, while Verizon’s performance improved early in 2022 through its deployment of 5G in C-band spectrum. This trend is likely to continue in 2023 in the U.S., as more C-band spectrum is made available. However, the picture remains concerning for a number of other 5G markets, particularly those where median 5G speeds are at the lower end of the spectrum.
In some markets, 5G was initially priced at a premium to 4G, with operators focused on driving incremental returns on the new network technology. However, operators have been increasingly opening up 5G access by removing incremental costs for consumers and adding prepaid plans too. As 5G adoption scales, it places more strain on the new networks. The challenge for many of these markets is that network performance is likely to degrade further unless network densification picks up.
For network operators, this investment imperative is occuring amidst macroeconomic headwinds, which are driving up operating costs and putting pressure on consumer and enterprise spend. In addition, there remain challenges in deploying additional 5G cell sites in dense urban areas where demand is strongest, while in some markets EMF limits and other regulations can limit the deployment of high-capacity 5G sites.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) from Speedtest Intelligence paints a largely positive picture of current 5G networks. NPS is a key performance indicator of customer experience, categorizing users into Detractors (score 0-6), Passives (score 7-8), and Promoters (score 9-10), with the NPS representing the percentage of Promoters minus the percent of Detractors, displayed in the range from -100 to 100. Across the markets we analyzed, 5G users on average rated their network operator with NPS scores that were universally higher than those for 4G LTE users. However, consumer sentiment for users on 5G networks is beginning to shift, with NPS scores falling, coinciding with lower median 5G performance in many of the markets we analyzed.
Declining performance levels will be a factor driving NPS down for some 5G users. It’s also important to remember that as 5G scales in many of these early launch markets, the profile of 5G users is also changing from predominantly urban-based users, to more of a mix of urban, suburban, and rural users, which brings additional coverage and performance challenges for network operators. We plan to examine the relationship between 5G performance and spectrum in an up-coming content piece. Please get in touch if you’d like to learn more about Speedtest Intelligence data.
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.
A lot of energy has been expended in the last several months to dispute the FCC National Broadband Map. The focus has been on two primary issues:
The first is a disagreement about the number of broadband service locations (BSLs) that exist in each state. Only residential buildings are eligible and many multi-dwelling units (MDUs) are considered a single location.
The second issue regards how many of those locations do not have access to broadband service. Those with throughput speeds less than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload are considered unserved. Locations served with speeds less than 100 down and 20 up are considered underserved.
These counts are important because the number of total locations and unserved locations in each state will define how much funding each state receives of the over $42 billion available through the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment Program (BEAD).
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that established this program was bipartisan, and so is the concern over the current state of the map. The deadline to challenge the accuracy of these location counts passed in January, but many state broadband offices and the legislators that represent them have made it clear they were unhappy with the process. Some of them felt that there was simply not enough time to analyze the data after gaining access to it.
New legislation proposed to “fix” the map
The demand to fix the map became increasingly serious on Friday, March 31, 2023, as Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the “Accurate Map for Broadband Investment Act.” Calling the current map “deeply flawed,” the bill aims to provide additional time to challenge the number of BSLs as well as which ones are considered unserved or underserved.
Everyone expects the FCC map to forever be a work in progress as communities grow and networks expand. It has already improved from its first release and it will continue to get better. As we approach a moment in time that will divide up a finite funding pool, accuracy on the metrics has real monetary consequences. Once allocations are made, it will be up to NTIA to work with each state to fund broadband infrastructure projects and connect communities. However, the dollars each state has to work with won’t change.
The newly proposed legislation would add seven more months to the challenge process for states and other interested parties to dispute the map’s accuracy. To ensure that broadband projects aren’t brought to a complete halt, 20% of the funding would be made available on the original timetable, delaying assignment to states of the remaining funds while more scrutiny is applied to the underlying data.
Multiple bites at the apple
There are two agencies, not just one, that will impact which communities get broadband infrastructure assistance and how soon they get it. Up until now, providing input to the FCC for corrections to the map has been the primary focus. But NTIA will be responsible for working with each state broadband office to identify areas of need and approve project awards. These plans will certainly evolve as new evidence is presented.
During the first phase of their mapping effort, the only significant challenges to the map the FCC accepted were for the number of broadband service locations and individual reports of availability not matching those reported by ISPs. There were certainly some individual challenges submitted, but many states were frustrated at the lack of public awareness and participation. Through NTIA, state offices were always going to get a second bite at the apple as far as getting funding to the right communities. Depending upon the outcome of the Rosen/Thune legislation, states may get an extra bite from the FCC apple as well.
Confusion over crowdsource data
The Commission defined a process for crowdsource data to be presented as evidence to support that reported service availability and performance was less than claimed. However, many filers have found this process unclear or difficult, notably in regard to the requirement that all submissions include Broadband Serviceable Location (BSL) identification numbers. To make this process even more difficult, the only file types accepted as additional evidence were formats that lacked geospatial awareness. In other words, they could not easily be imported into a mapping system.
As of late February, the FCC now accepts JSON files in addition to those formats already approved (PDF, DOC, DOCX, JPG and PNG). This new format can include columns for longitude and latitude, making it easier to include crowdsource data evidence, and has the added benefit of making analysis by the FCC significantly more efficient.
Multipurpose research
Crowdsource data evidence has multiple target audiences. The very same evidence developed to submit to the FCC can be used to work with NTIA during the next phase. NTIA is very familiar with how crowdsource data is employed to define “indicators of need,” and used data from Ookla®, M-Lab, and Microsoft extensively to build their National Broadband Availability Map a couple of years ago.
These federal agencies have been the primary concern, but local interests will become very vocal as projects are chosen. Which communities receive grants and in what priority may be vigorously debated. ISPs that compete for expansion areas will need to prove a track record, and the states will need independent evidence on how well they are serving their existing customers. And those providers that stretched the truth on the level of service they actually provide will fight being overbuilt. States should be preparing for local challenges to their own decisions.
Crowdsource data provides the largest pool of evidence to understand the quality of service being delivered to a community. Hundreds of millions of tests across the country means that even less populated states have hundreds of thousands of points to analyze and better understand the availability and performance of each serving network.
How to support your claim with crowdsource data
Crowdsource data from Ookla Speedtest® measurements can easily be overlaid with FCC maps to produce the needed evidence that indicates where services don’t meet minimum broadband standards. Through crowdsource data submissions, broadband offices can dispute existing maps, advocate for federal funding eligibility, and assist federal officials in their mission to improve broadband availability and performance.
Below are some helpful tips for submitting crowdsource data for disputed areas in a format that can meet FCC requirements.
As an example, we are going to focus on an area near Durango, Colorado — a mountainous area that is both difficult and expensive to cover. We start by looking at all of the BSLs represented in the FCC’s map within the area of interest for early 2023.
Step 2: Overlay FCC hexagon system with BSLs
Next, we overlay the BSLs with hexagons where the FCC defines broadband service as being available. The darker the hexagon, the more ISPs claiming to provide service in that area.
Step 3: Layer Speedtest data with FCC hexagon system and BSLs
By layering Speedtest data from fixed terrestrial operators on top of the hexagons, we can see that Durango and Durango West have high test densities. There are many households packed closely together, making those areas more viable to justify the cost of building high-speed services to them from a purely economic standpoint. Location accuracy for most tests is under 100 meters, so tests will grid into bins measuring approximately 1002 meters (this varies based upon latitude). If there are multiple tests within each bin, they will stack, and we are showing the fastest recorded speed on the top in this view. Speedtest measurements shown are for the four quarters (Q1-Q4, 2022) immediately previous to the published FCC data.
Step 4: Create clusters to see Speedtest data at scale within the FCC hexagon system
To get an idea of the actual volume of Speedtest data we’re looking at, we created a clustered version demonstrating where the number of tests are much greater. Some hexagons have 100+ tests, and a few hexagons have no tests, usually because there are fewer households.
Step 5: View Speedtest performance within the FCC hexagon system
Using that methodology, we can show how the aggregated test results appear within the hexagons defined by the FCC. The red hexagons (levels 8 and 9) demonstrate where the median speed is not meeting FCC minimum standards for broadband. This helps you get an idea of the overall experiences people are having, as well as the maximum speeds experienced in an area referencing the stacked tests previously shown.
Step 6: Create a polygon of Speedtest data with BSLs
Next, create a polygon that surrounds the community or specific area of interest. Many ISPs have created polygons to capture all of the BSLs that fall within their territories for their service area and technology submissions. In our discussions with the FCC, staffers have suggested following a similar approach for crowdsource submissions.
Step 7: Export the polygon of BSLs as a CSV file
Next, export a CSV file of the locations that are within the polygon, including the Location ID, as directed in the instructions defined by the Broadband Data Task Force (BDTF). The entire FCC submission process has been built around identifying these location IDs for each BSL.
Step 8: Export the polygon of Speedtest data as a JSON file
Using the same polygon, select and export the Speedtest results as a JSON file, including speed and latency measurements, ISP names, timestamps, anonymized user ID, and source test ID.
Step 9: Submit the files to the FCC
Submit the CSV file as well as the JSON file as additional evidence to the FCC along with any other documents supporting your dispute of the service availability, using one of the accepted file formats. This may include maps defining the area being disputed, documents from residents claiming inadequate or no service, and any other pertinent information.
Step 10: Be prepared to use the evidence to partner with NTIA
The FCC maps will ultimately define how many dollars go to NTIA to determine state funding. NTIA is preparing to use the same map fabric and BSL data as that used by the FCC. This will allow collaboration with all the above parties and will assist with reconciling the differences between the federal stakeholders. You can utilize this same data as you work with NTIA to demonstrate where you would like to focus funding as well as resolving local disputes on broadband availability.
Want to learn more? Watch our recent webinar
We hosted a webinar on March 30, 2023 titled “Using Crowdsource Broadband Data to Dispute FCC Maps”. In this webinar, a panel of experts came together to discuss common challenges in the mapping process and successful broadband mapping projects. Panelists included Jamie Hoffman, Program Manager at the West Virginia Department of Economic Development, Patrick Ryan, Senior Solution Engineer, Telecommunications at Esri, Tom Reid, President at Reid Consulting Group and me, Bryan Darr, VP of Government Affairs at Ookla.
You can watch the recording of the recent webinar here.
Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.
5G is coming to Central Asia, begging the question: what is the current performance and availability of mobile networks? In this article, we will examine the state of mobile networks across five countries that comprise the Central Asian region: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. Central Asia is a region comprising upper-middle and low-income countries, rich in natural resources and sharing a common history. The countries within the region recognize that they have to enable good connectivity to ensure people and the economy can benefit from digital transformation.
Key takeaways
Need for more market reforms. The International Telecommunication Union ICT Regulatory Tracker puts three of the five countries: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, as regulated public monopolies (G1). Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have more supportive regulatory environments, but none of the countries is fully transparent. According to the ICT, improved regulatory framework and performance correlate to increases in telecom investment, which positively affects coverage, price competitiveness, adoption levels, and GDP per capita.
Kazakhstan led on median download speeds. Kazakhstan topped the ranks in terms of mobile download speed, while Tele 2 Kazakhstan for median download speed across all Central Asia operators in Q4 2022.
Kyrgyzstan performed well on 4G Availability. Thanks to the supportive regulatory environment, Kyrgyzstan punches above its weight in terms of mobile performance and 4G Availability compared to other, richer neighbors.
Banking on digital transformation. Apart from Turkmenistan, Central Asian countries have initiatives to stimulate mobile adoption and drive digital transformation. Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, in particular, invest in digital infrastructure to stimulate all facets of the digital economy.
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan shined the brightest for mobile across Central Asia
We used Speedtest Intelligence® data to compare performance across Central Asian countries. Kazakhstan had the fastest median mobile download speed at 22.44 Mbps during Q4 2022, and Kyrgyzstan topped the ranks for median upload speed at 9.78 Mbps.
Kyrgyzstan also came first in terms of 4G at 88.8%, up from 81.9% in Q2 2021. Tajikistan made the most progress with regard to 4G Availability — increasing by 12.8 ppt from 59.5% in Q4 2021 to 72.3% in Q4 2022, followed by Uzbekistan, which increased from 67.1% 4G Availability in Q4 2021 to 75.4% in Q4 2022. Turkmenistan had the lowest 4G Availability at 11.6% in Q4 2022, far behind its peers but up from a year prior (6.5% in Q4 2021).
Across Central Asia, where close to half of the population lives in rural areas, it is imperative to make sure that those communities are not left behind when it comes to fast and reliable internet. Speedtest Global Index™ shows that the “stans” still have a way to go to improve their ranking. Governments across Central Asia need to address the root cause of the poor connectivity, which partially stems from the lack of an open and competitive telecom market.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) ICT Regulatory Tracker sheds light on where Central Asia sits when it comes to regulatory environment — it provides a composite score derived from a set of 50 indicators across four pillars such as regulatory mandate, regulatory authority, regulatory regimen, and competitive framework, as follows:
G1: Regulated public monopolies — command and control approach
G2: Basic reform — partial liberalization and privatization across the layers
G3: Enabling investment, innovation, and access — dual focus on stimulating competition in service and content delivery, and consumer protection
G4: Integrated regulation — led by economic and social policy goal
The ITU puts three of the five countries: Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, as regulated public monopolies (G1). Kazakhstan (G2) and Kyrgyzstan (G3) have more supportive regulatory environments, but none of the countries is fully transparent.
Central Asia embraces digitalization to level up
The availability and quality of mobile networks are crucial across Central Asia due to the low proliferation of fixed-line broadband and mobile being the only de-facto connectivity option, especially in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Access to mobile broadband enables a range of services, such as mobile banking and remote education, which are key to digital inclusion and supporting economic growth. All Central Asian countries, bar Turkmenistan, have put strategies in place to stimulate telecom infrastructure and the wider ecosystem.
ITU ranks Kazakhstan’s regulatory status as G2 means that basic reform took place, and the market is partially liberalized and privatized. Through the Digital Kazakhstan program, Kazakhstan set an ambitious goal to ensure 100% country coverage with high-quality internet and 95% home broadband adoption by 2025. Furthermore, in 2020, Beeline, Kcell, and Tele2 agreed to deploy a shared network to support the government’s “250+” project, which aims to extend high-speed internet to all villages of more than 250 residents. Each operator will build and operate the network in one area providing equal access to the shared infrastructure to the other parties. The five-year project will deliver 3G/4G service to 600,000 people in nearly 1,000 rural settlements. Also, the operators offer a special social tariff, “Tugan zher,” for less than 900 tenges ($1.88).
The Kyrgyz Republic, known as Kyrgyzstan, has the highest levels of mobile penetration across Central Asian countries — 159.9% with 2.94 SIMs per unique mobile subscriber, according to GSMA Intelligence. Despite being the second poorest country across CA, Kyrgyzstan came first regarding 4G Availability (the proportion of users of 4G-capable devices who spend most of their time on 4G networks). The National Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic 2018-2040 is one initiative that facilitates digital transformation to hasten the country’s economic development. The State Communications Agency (SCA) stated in its annual report for 2021 that a total of 2,049 settlements across the country were covered by 4G LTE mobile networks at the end of 2021, equivalent to 96% of the country’s 2,130 officially registered cities, towns and villages. 2G mobile network technology extended to 2,088 locations (98%), while 3G networks were present in 2,081 (97%). Overall, 42 settlements (1.9%) were outside mobile network coverage, some due to a lack of power transmission lines.
At the end of 2020, Uzbekistan embarked on a “Digital Uzbekistan 2030” strategy to stimulate the country’s digital transformation across various industries. To achieve this, Uzbekistan is expanding its telecommunication infrastructure to improve communication quality and close the urban-rural divide (50% of the population lives in rural areas) by inking several partnerships. VEON, Beeline Uzbekistan’s parent company, announced in May 2022 that it would invest $250 million over the next five years to develop the communications infrastructure and ecosystem of digital services in Uzbekistan to support Digital Uzbekistan 2030.
Andrzej Malinowski, the CEO of Beeline Uzbekistan, acknowledges that “there is a clear understanding that (mobile) is a driver of the economy and the best way to further improve education level within the country. We want to enable remote education and build an education platform as a social project, make it zero-rated and available to all”.
VEON also announced it would advise and provide digitalization services to the Uzbek government during the country’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). In September 2022, state-backed Uzbektelecom signed eight contracts with Huawei and ZTE worth $506.8 million. The deal, backed by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications (MITC), to implement a telecommunication network and infrastructure across the western and eastern regions of the country in two phases to deliver expanded population coverage and QoS. Furthermore, Uzbektelecom has also signed a contract with four Japanese companies — NTT, NEC, Toyota Tsusho, and Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) — to deploy a telecommunications infrastructure development project to provide data center and telecommunication infrastructure to enable “Digital Uzbekistan 2030”.
Tajikistan is the poorest country in Central Asia, with most of the population living in rural areas (72%). Unsurprisingly, the country ranked low on the Speedtest Global Index, taking 132nd place for mobile and 124th for fixed networks. According to the State Communication Service, only one-third of the population (3.3 million) used mobile Internet in Tajikistan in 2021. One of the reasons behind this is the high expense of mobile broadband subscriptions which costs on average 7.5% of monthly GNI per capita, as per data from the ITU, one of the highest in the region. It also has one of the largest (20 percentage points) gender gaps in mobile ownership. Tajikistan outlined its priorities in the National Development Strategy 2030, as it aims to leverage digital technologies to fight poverty, achieve energy independence, boost food security, and create new jobs for the population.
Turkmenistan, known for its autocratic government and large gas reserves, has the least developed telecommunications sector across Central Asia, partially because of the strong government control over most economic activities, including telecommunication which prevents foreign investment. ITU gave the country an overall score of 6.70 in 2022, second worst only to Djibouti. There is only one operator in the country, Altyn Asyr, which operates under the brand name TM Cell after MTS exited the market in 2019. The lack of competition harms telecommunication services’ availability, affordability, and quality. The treatment of MTS doesn’t encourage foreign investment, which the country desperately needs to build telecom infrastructure. In late 2021, Turkmenistan reportedly purchased equipment, software, and technical support from Huawei.
Tele 2 Kazakhstan topped median download speed; Mega Kyrgyzstan uploads
Tele 2 Kazakhstan achieved the fastest median mobile download speed across all of the operators in Central Asia in Q4 2022, of 27.25 Mbps, a slight uptick over Q4 2021 (26.13 Mbps median download speed). The only privately owned company in Kazakhstan, Beeline Kazakhstan, was the second fastest operator in Kazakhstan and third across Central Asia — the operator’s investment into mobile is paying off as it has increased its median download speed from 17.97 Mbps in Q4 2021 to 21.95 Mbps in Q4 2022. The operator reported 7.2 million 4G users in Q3 2022, a 25.5% year-on-year increase, translating into 69% 4G penetration of the total customer base (7 percentage points year over year). Beeline Kazakhstan is already the largest mobile operator in the country, with around 42% market share, and it is also the winner regarding mobile number portability.
Kyrgyz operators performed well on 4G Availability
4G Availability is a function of smartphone availability and affordability and 4G coverage. According to the National Statistics Office, smartphone shipments to Kyrgyzstan reached 968,000 units between January and July 2022, of which the majority (872,000) were from China, with an average price of $69. Affordable smartphone shipments, combined with the operators’ efforts to expand 4G LTE network coverage, resulted in Kyrgyz operators topping the 4G Availability rankings in Central Asia. The top-ranking operator regarding 4G Availability has had an eventful past couple of months. In December 2022, Megacom Kyrgyzstan, run by the state-owned Alfa-Telecom, started its rebranding campaign to MEGA following Megacom ownership transfer to the state-owned Kyrgyzstan State Development Bank. The operator announced that it expanded and upgraded its 2G, 3G, and 4G networks in seven regions and the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic. It plans to continue network coverage expansion across remote areas of Kyrgyzstan.
The second operator on the chart, Sky Mobile, operating under the Beeline Kyrgyzstan brand, announced In September 2022 that it has expanded its LTE network by deploying or upgrading 1,000 base stations. Additionally, between November 2021 and May 2022, Beeline Kyrgyzstan offered smartphones in installments for six or twelve months bundled with its mobile service package.
Tele2 and Kcell, controlled by the same company Kazakhtelecom, differ regarding 4G Availability. Kcell reported that the 4G/5G smartphone share of total subscribers was 72.8% in Q2 2022 (3.6% higher than a year prior), while LTE traffic accounted for 78.7% of all traffic. Kcell is actively working on expanding LTE coverage — it has increased from 65.1% in 2020 to 67.5% as of 1H 2022. At the end of end-2022, around Kazhtelecom’s twin subsidiaries: Kcell and Tele2-Altel, operated 14,000 cellular base stations. On the other hand, Beeline Kazakhstan, part of the VEON group, reported that it installed over 4,000 base stations during 2022, taking its total to more than 25,000 base stations. The operator also stated it provides 97% LTE coverage within each area where it has deployed 4G base stations.
Beeline Uzbekistan outperformed other Uzbek operators on 4G Availability; the operator stated that it covered 79% of the population with an LTE network in 2022, a 16% year-over-year increase. In Q3 2022, the operator reported a 40% year-over-year data revenue increase based on strong mobile data usage (+42.2% YoY). 4G users grew by almost 35% during Q3 2022 to 5.2 million, driven by an expanded network rollout and portfolio of digital products. The absence of big tech such as Spotify means Beeline can drive local content. Beeline Uzbekistan follows its parent company’s strategy of offering digital products and bundles, which helps with churn reduction and increased consumer loyalty — 33% of its customers are multiplayer consumers. My Beeline, its locally developed self-service app, had 2.6 million monthly active users (MAUs) — almost a third more than a year ago. Local entertainment platforms such as Beeline TV and Beeline Music had 1.2 million MAUs. Beeline has set up a wholly owned software house called BeeLab, which has been recently awarded a license from the Uzbekistan Central Bank to provide payment services. Beeline Uzbekistan subscribers can pay for a total of 500 services by using the Beepul mobile application. Mr Malinowski recognized a need to build an ecosystem around mobile payment to bring a third of the Uzbek population, currently unbanked, into the economy to enable a cashless society.
Megafon Tajikistan outran other Tajik operators in Q4 2022; its network investment can partially explain this — it announced that the number of 4G base stations increased by nearly 40% during 2022, while it added around 300 4G base stations until November 2022.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank, provided a $30 million loan to Tcell, the largest mobile operator in Tajikistan, to support its network expansion and improve connectivity across the country, especially in remote, less-densely populated areas of the country.
Almaty in Kazakhstan took the top spot in terms of mobile download speed
Given that Kazakhstan had the fastest mobile speed amongst its peers, it is not surprising that Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, the country’s former capital, and financial and cultural center of Central Asia, was the top-ranked city in Q4 2022, with a median download speed of 25.78 Mbps and 11.06 Mbps upload speed. Tele2’s median download speed was 30.10 Mbps, just ahead of Beeline with 29.27 Mbps but double that of Kcell (12.39 Mbps download speed).
Despite Kyrgyzstan having the best 4G Availability across neighboring countries, this is not the case when it comes to capital cities; three cities share the honors here: 4G Availability in the Kazakh cities of Almaty and Astana, and the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, exceeded 84%.
4G for all, or 5G for a few?
Across the countries Beeline operates, its strategy is to primarily deploy 4G networks rather than to focus on 5G. This was particularly visible as Beeline didn’t participate in Kazakhstan’s latest 5G spectrum auction. In December 2022, the consortium of mobile operators Mobile Telecom Services (Tele2 and Altel brands) and Kcell (Kcell and Active brand), both controlled by Kazakhtelecom, won two 100 MHz blocks in the 3.6 – 3.7 GHz and 3.7 – 3.8 GHz spectrum band. In December 2022, the Minister of Digital Development announced that 75% of Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent and 60% of regional centers will be covered by 5G networks by 2027. The state-owned operator, Kazakhtelecom, already outlined its plans concerning the 5G services launch, with the first 486 base stations scheduled to be launched in Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent in 2023, ahead of a wider rollout of over 7,000 5G cell sites across the Kcell and Tele2-Altel networks by the end of 2025.
Operators across the rest of Central Asia, apart from Turkmenistan, followed suit. Mobile operators started to deploy and test 5G networks, although with limited geographic reach.
Surprisingly Tajikistan was one of the first countries in Central Asia to launch 5G. MegaFon Tajikistan was the first in Tajikistan to activate a 5G base station in Dushanbe in February 2020, followed by Tcell in August 2020, and ZET Mobile in 2021. Operators in Kyrgyzstan are piloting 5G as well. In September 2022, MegaCom, in partnership with Huawei and the Ministry of Digital Development, launched a 5G showcase zone in Bishkek. Nur Telecom (O!) opened a second demo zone in October 2022 in the city of Osh, in addition to the one in Bishkek.
Central Asian countries understand the benefits digital transformation brings, and some, such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, have initiatives to stimulate mobile adoption and drive the country’s digital transformation. Others need to take a hard look at the regulatory and competitive landscape to drive telecom market development.
Operators continue to modernize their networks 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.
5G приходит в Центральную Азию, в связи с чем возникает вопрос: какова текущая производительность и доступность мобильных сетей? В этой статье мы рассмотрим состояние мобильных сетей в пяти странах, входящих в регион Центральной Азии: Казахстане, Кыргызстане, Таджикистане, Узбекистане и Туркменистане. Регион Центральной Азии объединяет страны с различным уровнем доходов, включая как высокий, так и низкий, а также обладающие богатыми природными ресурсами и имеющие общую историю. Страны региона признают, что они должны обеспечить хорошую связь, чтобы люди и экономика могли извлечь выгоду из цифровой трансформации.
Основные выводы
Необходимость дополнительных рыночных реформ.ICT Regulatory Tracker Международного союза электросвязи относит три из пяти стран, Таджикистан, Узбекистан и Туркменистан, к регулируемым государственным монополиям (G1). Казахстан и Кыргызстан имеют более благоприятную нормативно-правовую базу, но ни одна из стран не является полностью прозрачной. По данным ICT, улучшенная нормативно-правовая база и эффективность регулирующих органов коррелируют с увеличением инвестиций в телекоммуникации, что положительно влияет на покрытие, ценовую конкурентоспособность, уровень внедрения и ВВП на душу населения.
Казахстан лидирует по средней скорости загрузки. Казахстан возглавил рейтинг по скорости загрузки с мобильных устройств, а Tele 2 Kazakhstan — по средней скорости загрузки среди всех операторов Центральной Азии в четвертом квартале 2022 года.
Кыргызстан показал хорошие результаты по доступности 4G. Благодаря благоприятной нормативно-правовой среде Кыргызстан превосходит своих более богатых соседей с точки зрения скорости и доступности 4G.
Ставка на цифровую трансформацию. Помимо Туркменистана, в странах Центральной Азии есть инициативы по стимулированию внедрения мобильных устройств и цифровой трансформации. Узбекистан и Казахстан, в частности, инвестируют в цифровую инфраструктуру, чтобы стимулировать все аспекты цифровой экономики.
Казахстан и Кыргызстан имеют лучшую мобильную связь в Центральной Азии
Мы воспользовались данными Speedtest Intelligence®, чтобы сравнить скорость в странах Центральной Азии. В четвертом квартале 2022 года у Казахстана была самая высокая средняя скорость загрузки с мобильных устройств — 22,44 Мбит/с, а Кыргызстан возглавил рейтинг по средней скорости передачи — 9,78 Мбит/с.
Кыргызстан также занял первое место по доступности 4G с 88,8 % по сравнению с 81,9 % во втором квартале 2021 года. Таджикистан добился наибольшего прогресса в отношении доступности 4G, показав рост на 12,8 п. п. с 59,5 % в четвертом квартале 2021 года до 72,3 % в четвертом квартале 2022 года. Далее следует Узбекистан, в котором доступность 4G увеличилась с 67,1 % в четвертом квартале 2021 года до 75,4% в четвертом квартале 2022 года. В Туркменистане был самый низкий уровень доступности 4G — 11,6 % в четвертом квартале 2022 года, что значительно уступает показателям соседей, но выше, чем годом ранее (6,5 % в четвертом квартале 2021 года).
В Центральной Азии, где почти половина населения проживает в сельской местности, крайне важно, чтобы населению был доступен быстрый и надежный интернет. СогласноSpeedtest Global Index™, «станам» еще есть куда стремиться, чтобы улучшить свой рейтинг. Правительствам стран Центральной Азии необходимо устранить первопричину плохой связи, которая частично связана с отсутствием открытого и конкурентного рынка телекоммуникаций.
ICT Regulatory Tracker Международного союза электросвязи (ITU) проливает свет на положение Центральной Азии в том, что касается регулирования. Трекер предоставляет сводную оценку, полученную из набора 50 показателей по четырем основным элементам, таким как регулирующий мандат, регулирующий орган, режим регулирования и конкурентная среда, как показано ниже.
G1: регулируемые государственные монополии — командно-управленческий подход
G2: базовая реформа — частичная либерализация и многоуровневая приватизация
G3: обеспечение инвестиций, инноваций и доступа — двойной акцент на стимулирование конкуренции в сфере предоставления услуг и контента, а также на защиту прав потребителей
G4: интегрированное регулирование — направленное на достижение целей экономической и социальной политики
ITU относит три из пяти стран, Таджикистан, Узбекистан и Туркменистан, к регулируемым государственным монополиям (G1). Казахстан (G2) и Кыргызстан (G3) имеют более благоприятную нормативно-правовую базу, но ни одна из стран не является полностью прозрачной.
Центральная Азия проводит цифровую трансформацию, чтобы подняться на новый уровень
Доступность и качество мобильных сетей имеют решающее значение в Центральной Азии из-за низкого распространения стационарной широкополосной связи, а мобильная связь является фактически единственным вариантом выхода в сеть, особенно в Таджикистане, Туркменистане и Кыргызстане. Доступ к мобильной широкополосной связи позволяет предоставлять ряд услуг, таких как мобильный банкинг и дистанционное обучение, которые имеют ключевое значение для охвата цифровыми технологиями и поддержки экономического роста. Все страны Центральной Азии, за исключением Туркменистана, разработали стратегии по развитию телекоммуникационной инфраструктуры и расширению экосистемы.
ITU оценивает регулятивный статус Казахстана как G2, что означает, что основные реформы были проведены, а рынок частично либерализован и приватизирован. В рамках программыЦифровой Казахстан, Казахстан поставил перед собой амбициозную цель: к 2025 году на 100 % обеспечить страну качественным интернетом и на 95 % — домашним широкополосным доступом. Кроме того, в 2020 году компании Beeline, Kcell и Tele2 договорились развернуть общую сеть для поддержки государственного проекта «250+», целью которого является распространение высокоскоростного интернета на все села с населением более 250 жителей. Каждый оператор будет строить и эксплуатировать сеть в своей зоне, предоставляя равный доступ к общей инфраструктуре другим сторонам. Пятилетний проект предоставит услуги 3G/4G 600 000 человек почти в 1000 сельских населенных пунктов. Также операторы предлагают специальный социальный тариф «Туган жер» стоимостью менее 900 тенге (1,88 долл. США).
По данным GSMA Intelligence, Кыргызская Республика, известная как Кыргызстан, имеет самый высокий уровень проникновения мобильной связи среди стран Центральной Азии — 159,9 % с 2,94 SIM-карты на одного мобильного абонента. Несмотря на то, что Кыргызстан является второй беднейшей страной в Центральной Азии, он занял первое место по доступности 4G (по доле пользователей устройств с поддержкой 4G, которые проводят большую часть своего времени в сетях 4G).«Национальная стратегия развития Кыргызской Республики на 2018–2040 годы» является одной из инициатив, способствующих цифровой трансформации для ускорения экономического развития страны. Государственное агентство связи (SCA) в своемгодовом отчете за 2021 год сообщило, что на конец 2021 года мобильными сетями 4G LTE было покрыто 2049 населенных пунктов, что соответствует 96 % из 2130 официально зарегистрированных городов, поселков и сел страны. Технология мобильных сетей 2G распространилась на 2088 населенных пунктов (98 %), а сети 3G присутствовали в 2081 (97 %). Всего 42 населенных пункта (1,9 %) оказались вне зоны действия мобильной связи, в том числе из-за отсутствия линий электропередачи.
В конце 2020 года Узбекистан приступил к реализации стратегии «Цифровой Узбекистан — 2030», направленной на стимулирование цифровой трансформации страны в различных отраслях. Для этого Узбекистан расширяет свою телекоммуникационную инфраструктуру, чтобы улучшить качество связи и сократить разрыв между городом и деревней (50 % населения проживает в сельской местности) путем заключения нескольких партнерств. В мае 2022 года VEON, материнская компания Beeline Uzbekistan, объявила, что в течение следующих пяти лет инвестирует 250 миллионов долларов США в развитие коммуникационной инфраструктуры и экосистемы цифровых услуг в Узбекистане для поддержки стратегии «Цифровой Узбекистан — 2030».
Анджей Малиновский, генеральный директор Beeline Uzbekistan, признает, что «существует четкое понимание того, что (мобильная связь) является движущей силой экономики и лучшим способом помочь в улучшении уровня образования в стране. Мы хотим обеспечить дистанционное обучение и построить образовательную платформу как социальный проект, сделать ее безналоговой и доступной для всех».
В VEON также объявили, что будут консультировать и предоставлять услуги по цифровой трансформации правительству Узбекистана во время вступления страны во Всемирную торговую организацию (ВТО).В сентябре 2022 года поддерживаемая государством компания «Узбектелеком» подписала восемь контрактов с Huawei и ZTE на сумму 506,8 млн долларов США. Сделка, поддержанная Министерством информационных технологий и связи Узбекистана, предусматривает внедрение телекоммуникационной сети и инфраструктуры в западных и восточных регионах страны в два этапа, чтобы обеспечить расширенное покрытие для населения и высокое качество услуг. Кроме того, «Узбектелеком» также подписал контракт с четырьмя японскими компаниями — NTT, NEC, Toyota Tsusho и Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) — на развертывание проекта развития телекоммуникационной инфраструктуры для предоставления центра обработки данных и телекоммуникационной инфраструктуры и поддержки стратегии «Цифровой Узбекистан — 2030».
Таджикистан — самая бедная страна в Центральной Азии, большая часть населения которой проживает в сельской местности (72 %). Неудивительно, что страна получила низкий рейтинг вSpeedtest Global Index, заняв 132-е место для мобильных и 124-е место для стационарных сетей. По данным Государственной службы связи, в 2021 году в Таджикистане только треть населения (3,3 млн человек) пользовалась мобильным интернетом. Одной из причин этого является высокая стоимость подписки на мобильный широкополосный интернет, которая в среднем составляет 7,5 % от месячного ВНД на душу населения (по данным ITU), что является одним из самых высоких показателей в регионе. В стране также наблюдается один из самых больших (20 процентных пунктов) гендерных разрывов в плане владения мобильными устройствами. Таджикистан обозначил свои приоритеты в Национальной стратегии развития до 2030 года, она направлена на использование цифровых технологий для борьбы с бедностью, достижения энергетической независимости, повышения продовольственной безопасности и создания новых рабочих мест для населения.
Туркменистан, известный своим авторитарным правительством и большими запасами газа, имеет наименее развитый телекоммуникационный сектор в Центральной Азии, отчасти из-за сильного государственного контроля над большей частью экономической деятельности, включая телекоммуникации, что препятствует иностранным инвестициям. Союз ITU дал стране общий балл 6,70 в 2022 году, что является вторым худшим показателем после Джибути. В стране действует только один оператор «Алтын Асыр», который, после того, как компания «МТС» ушла с рынка в 2019 году, работает под торговой маркой TM Cell. Отсутствие конкуренции негативно сказывается на зоне покрытия, доступности и качестве телекоммуникационных услуг. Уход «МТС» не способствует привлечению иностранных инвестиций, в которых страна остро нуждается для создания телекоммуникационной инфраструктуры. Сообщается, что в конце 2021 года Туркменистан приобрел оборудование, программное обеспечение и техническую поддержку у Huawei.
Tele 2 Казахстан лидирует по средней скорости загрузки; Mega Кыргызстан — передачи
Оператор Tele 2 Казахстан показал самую высокую среднюю скорость загрузки мобильного интернета среди всех операторов в Центральной Азии в четвертом квартале 2022 года, которая составила 27,25 Мбит/с, что немного превышает среднюю скорость загрузки за четвертый квартал 2021 года (26,13 Мбит/с). Единственная частная компания в Казахстане, Beeline Казахстан, была вторым самым быстрым оператором в Казахстане и третьим в Центральной Азии — инвестиции оператора в мобильную связь окупаются, поскольку он увеличил среднюю скорость загрузки с 17,97 Мбит/с в четвертом квартале 2021 года до 21,95 Мбит/с в четвертом квартале 2022 года. Оператор сообщил о 7,2 млн пользователей 4G в третьем квартале 2022 года, что на 25,5 % больше, чем в прошлом году, и соответствует 69 % проникновению 4G от общей клиентской базы (7 процентных пунктов в годовом исчислении). Beeline Казахстан уже является крупнейшим оператором мобильной связи в стране с долей рынка около 42 %, а также лидером по переносимости мобильных номеров.
Кыргызские операторы показали хорошие результаты по доступности 4G
Доступность 4G зависит от наличия и доступности смартфонов, а также покрытия 4G. По данным Национального статистического управления, поставки смартфонов в Кыргызстан в период с января по июль 2022 года достигли 968 000 единиц, из которых большая часть (872 000) были из Китая, по средней цене 69 долларов США. Поставки доступных смартфонов в сочетании с усилиями операторов по расширению покрытия сети 4G LTE привели к тому, что кыргызские операторы заняли первое место в рейтинге доступности 4G в Центральной Азии. У оператора, занимающего первое место в отношении доступности 4G, последние пару месяцев были насыщенными событиями. В декабре 2022 года оператор Megacom Кыргызстан, управляемый государственной компанией «Альфа-Телеком», начал ребрендинг в MEGA после передачи права собственности на Megacom государственному банку развития Кыргызстана. Оператор объявил о расширении и модернизации своих сетей 2G, 3G и 4G в семи регионах и столице Кыргызской Республики. Он планирует продолжить расширение покрытия сети в отдаленных районах Кыргызстана.
Второй оператор в таблице, Sky Mobile, работающий под брендом Beeline Кыргызстан, объявил в сентябре 2022 года, что он расширил свою сеть LTE, развернув или модернизировав 1000 базовых станций. Кроме того, в период с ноября 2021 года по май 2022 года Beeline Кыргызстан предлагал смартфоны в рассрочку на шесть или двенадцать месяцев в комплекте с пакетом услуг мобильной связи.
Операторы Tele2 и Kcell, оба контролируемые компанией «Казахтелеком», имеют разные показатели доступности 4G. Kcell сообщает, что доля смартфонов 4G/5G в общем количестве абонентов составила 72,8 % вовтором квартале 2022 г. (на 3,6 % больше, чем годом ранее), в то время как на трафик LTE пришлось 78,7 %. Kcell активно работает над расширением покрытия LTE — оно увеличилось с 65,1 % в 2020 году до 67,5 % по состоянию на 1 полугодие 2022 года. По состоянию на конец 2022 года дочерними компаниями-близнецами «Казтелекома», Kcell и Tele2-Altel, эксплуатировалось 14 000 базовых станций сотовой связи. С другой стороны, оператор Beeline Казахстан, входящий в группу VEON, сообщил, что в течение 2022 года он установил более 4000 базовых станций, в результате чего их общее количество составило более 25 000. Оператор также заявил, что обеспечивает 97 % покрытия LTE в каждой области, где развернуты базовые станции 4G.
Beeline Узбекистан превзошел других узбекских операторов по доступности 4G. Оператор заявил, что в 2022 году он охватил сетью LTE 79 % населения, что на 16 % больше, чем в прошлом году. В третьем квартале 2022 года оператор сообщил об увеличении выручки от передачи данных на 40 % по сравнению с аналогичным периодом прошлого года за счет активного использования мобильных данных (+42,2 % в годовом исчислении). Количество пользователей 4G выросло почти на 35 % в течение третьего квартала 2022 года до 5,2 млн благодаря расширению сети и портфеля цифровых продуктов. Отсутствие крупных брендов, таких как Spotify, означает, что Beeline может продвигать локальный контент. Beeline Узбекистан следует стратегии материнской компании по предложению цифровых продуктов и пакетов, что помогает сократить отток клиентов и повысить лояльность потребителей — 33 % его клиентов используют многопользовательские продукты. My Beeline, местное приложение для самообслуживания, насчитывало 2,6 миллиона активных пользователей в месяц (АПМ) — почти на треть больше, чем год назад. Местные развлекательные платформы, такие как Beeline TV и Beeline Music, насчитывали 1,2 млн АПМ. В Beeline создали собственную компанию по разработке программного обеспечения под названием BeeLab, которая недавно получила лицензию Центрального банка Узбекистана на предоставление платежных услуг. Абоненты Beeline в Узбекистане могут оплатить в общей сложности 500 услуг с помощью мобильного приложения Beepul. Г-н Малиновский признал необходимость создания экосистемы вокруг мобильных платежей, чтобы вовлечь в экономику треть населения Узбекистана, которое в настоящее время не имеет доступа к банковским услугам, и сделать общество безналичным.
Megafon Таджикистан опередил других таджикских операторов в 4 квартале 2022 года; это могут частично объяснить его сетевые инвестиции — оператор объявил, что количество базовых станций 4G увеличилось почти на 40 % в течение 2022 года, а к ноябрю 2022 года было добавлено около 300 базовых станций 4G.
Международная финансовая корпорация (IFC), входящая в состав Всемирного банка, предоставила крупнейшему оператору мобильной связи в Таджикистане, компании Tcell,кредит в размере 30 миллионов долларов для расширения сети и улучшения связи по всей стране, особенно в отдаленных, менее густонаселенных районах страны.
Город Алматы в Казахстане занял первое место по скорости мобильной загрузки
интернета среди соседних стран, неудивительно, что Алматы, крупнейший город Казахстана, бывшая столица страны и финансовый и культурный центр Центральной Азии, занял первое место в четвертом квартале 2022 года. Средняя скорость загрузки составила 25,78 Мбит/с, а передачи — 11,06 Мбит/с. Средняя скорость загрузки у Tele2 составила 30,10 Мбит/с, что чуть больше, чем у Beeline с его 29,27 Мбит/с, но вдвое больше, чем у Kcell (скорость загрузки — 12,39 Мбит/с).
Несмотря на то, что Кыргызстан имеет лучшую доступность 4G среди соседних стран, в столицах ситуация противоположная — здесь доступность 4G в казахстанских городах Алматы и Астана, а также столице Кыргызстана Бишкеке превысила 84%.
4G для всех или 5G для избранных?
Во всех странах, где работает Beeline, его стратегия заключается в том, чтобы в первую очередь развертывать сети 4G, а не фокусироваться на 5G. Это также очевидно ввиду того факта, что Beeline не участвовал в последнем казахстанском аукционе частот 5G. В декабре 2022 года консорциум операторов сотовой связи Mobile Telecom Services (бренды Tele2 и Altel) и Kcell (бренды Kcell и Active), оба подконтрольные «Казахтелеком», выиграл две полосы по 100 МГц в диапазоне частот 3,6–3,7 ГГц и 3,7–3,8 ГГц. Вдекабре 2022 года министр цифрового развития объявил, что 75 % Астаны, Алматы и Шымкента и 60 % областных центров будут покрыты сетями 5G к 2027 году. Государственный оператор «Казахтелеком» уже изложил свои планы по запуску услуг 5G: первые 486 базовых станций планируется запустить в Астане, Алматы и Шымкенте в 2023 году, а позже, к концу 2025 года, — еще более 7000 сотовых вышек 5G в сетях Kcell и Tele2-Altel.
Операторы по всей остальной Центральной Азии, кроме Туркменистана, последовали их примеру. Операторы мобильной связи начали развертывать и тестировать сети 5G, хотя и с ограниченным географическим охватом.
Как ни странно, Таджикистан был одной из первых стран Центральной Азии, запустивших 5G. Первым в Таджикистане в феврале 2020 года «МегаФон Таджикистан» активировал базовую станцию 5G в Душанбе, следом в августе 2020 года Tcell и ZET Mobile. Операторы в Кыргызстане также тестируют 5G. В сентябре 2022 года MegaCom в партнерстве с Huawei и Министерством цифрового развития запустили демонстрационную зону 5G в Бишкеке. «НУР Телеком» (О!) открыл вторую демонстрационную зону в октябре 2022 года в городе Ош, в дополнение к бишкекской.
Страны Центральной Азии осознают преимущества, которые приносит цифровая трансформация, а некоторые, такие как Узбекистан и Казахстан, выдвигают инициативы по внедрению мобильных технологий и цифровой трансформации страны. Другим странам необходимо пересмотреть нормативную и конкурентную среду, чтобы стимулировать развитие рынка телекоммуникаций.
Операторы продолжают модернизировать свои сети, и мы внимательно следим за тем, как продвигается их развертывание и как оценивают их производительность конечные пользователи. Если вы хотите сравнить свои показатели или узнать больше о скорости и производительности интернета на других рынках по всему миру,посетите 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.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Vision 2030 program has laid out national goals to create a thriving digital economy in the coming decade. High-speed, widely accessible mobile networks are central to that digital transformation. KSA’s telecommunications regulator, the Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST), enables the nation’s communications infrastructure while assuring that services meet specific standards of accessibility, performance, fairness, and value. CST has developed a three-year spectrum roadmap to establish the country as a world leader in radio communication — while supporting soaring consumer data consumption and future wireless technologies that will fuel economic growth.
While developing its ambitious spectrum outlook, CST conducted extensive trials and technical analysis, leveraging data from Ookla® and other sources. As a result of this spectrum outlook, its collaborative regulation with other national stakeholders and other key policies and initiatives, CST was recently designated as a fifth-generation (G5) regulator by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) — the highest level of regulatory maturity.
Situation
CST has a strategic vision to embrace digitalization as a central anchor for the country, connecting its constituents to economic opportunities and reshaping the national approach to connectivity. In previous years, Saudi Arabia’s spectrum was split evenly between three operators. However, to enable technologies like 5G, satellite broadband, and Wi-Fi 6e, a progressive spectrum policy was needed to meet the growing demand for wireless proliferation.
In advance of its upcoming spectrum auction, CST needed data to inform the development of its spectrum strategy, including intelligence on similar spectrum policies in other global markets. CST committed to a new, evidence-based approach to spectrum assignment drawing from technology trials and consultations with network operators, device and chipset manufacturers, infrastructure providers, end users, and network data providers, including Ookla. Most notably, CST needed data to expand its analysis of spectrum usage, performance of various bands and existing network infrastructure to see where investments had been made within certain bands (e.g., extra capacity in specific bands in urban areas and coverage of rural areas using adequate bands).
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.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides analysis and establishes evidence-based standards to inform international policy that solves social and economic challenges, including connectivity. The OECD leverages network performance data from the Ookla for Good™ open data initiative in their evaluation of broadband speeds across territorial levels within countries — including rural and remote regions where consistent global data is often more difficult to source. This collaboration supports efforts to close the rural-urban connectivity divide as governments and policymakers worldwide rely on recommendations set forth by OECD analysis and reporting.
Situation
People depend on reliable connectivity; the internet is crucial for accessing information, services, work opportunities, and education. Despite the increasing necessity for connectivity to participate in society, many rural communities have been left behind when it comes to ensuring fast and reliable internet access, as well as proper resources to support digital literacy skills. While internet traffic has increased over 1,000x throughout the past two decades, these digital deserts are missing the necessary broadband infrastructure to support network traffic.
G20, a forum for international economic cooperation comprising 19 countries and the European Union, had set forth agreements emphasizing the need to improve digital infrastructure in order to ensure universal and affordable access to the internet for all by 2025. Recognizing its role in informing actionable policy for governments worldwide, the OECD set out to study fixed and mobile network accessibility in rural areas. The OECD needed a way to measure the extent of digital divides between urban and rural areas within G20 countries. This data would play an important role in understanding user experience and benchmarking performance of the existing fixed and mobile networks.
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.
From a median download speed of 50.23 Mbps in Q1-Q2 2020 to 205.96 Mbps in Q3-Q4 2022 – Chile punches up on fixed line performance. Chile has been the top performing fixed broadband market across Latin America, consistently outperforming other markets in the region. Over the last three years it has also closed the performance gap to other leading markets globally, and during 2022 consistently featured in the top five of Ookla®’s Speedtest Global Index™, where as of January it placed second.
Strong competition the primary driver. Chile’s strong fixed broadband performance — an anomaly in the region — is due primarily to strong competition among Chilean ISPs. Chile has six ISPs with more than 5% market share, all of which are heavily focused on migrating customers to fiber, and five of which recorded median download speeds in excess of 100 Mbps during Q4 2022.
Fixed-line investment focused on driving rapid migration to fiber. Strong competition has promoted heavy fixed-line network investment, with reported data indicating capital intensity ratios in excess of 20% in the market. This has translated into a rapid technology migration, shifting the market from a majority of connections via cable (HFC) at the end of 2019, to fiber now comprising almost two-thirds of connections. Furthermore, it has also seen the formation of a neutral network, On*Net, which offers wholesale fiber access to other ISPs.
Supporting economic growth in the market. Subject to rising inflation and a market overheated following government intervention post the COVID-19 pandemic, Chile’s economy is expected to contract in 2023 before returning to growth in 2024. Despite this, broadband adoption among businesses continues to advance at a rapid pace, a positive sign in helping support the market’s future growth potential. In addition, broadband performance across the entire market is strong, with median download speeds in all Chilean regions in excess of 100 Mbps as of Q4 2022.
Chile punches up on fixed-line performance
Chile has been a regional leader in fixed line performance in Latin America since 2016, and since then has continually widened its advantage over its regional peers. Over the past three years Chile has driven fixed-line performance increases, from a median download speed of 50.23 Mbps in Q1-Q2 2020 to 205.96 Mbps in Q3-Q4 2022. This makes Chile now a clear anomaly among Latin American markets, having closed the performance gap to the top-performing fixed-line markets worldwide during 2022.
Chile’s population is predominantly urban-based, with a rural population of just 12.2% in 2021 according to the World Bank. While connecting rural premises with advanced fixed access networks is more costly and less profitable than in urban environments, the urban nature of Chile is not markedly different compared to its peers in Latin America. Brazil has only a marginally greater rural share of population at 12.7%, while Argentina has a lower share, at only 7.8%.
Speedtest Intelligence® data shows that at a regional level within Chile, ISPs are supporting median download speeds in excess of 100 Mbps across all regions during Q4 2022. Santiago Metropolitan Region is the most populous region in Chile, and recorded a median download speed of 215.73, while the region with the largest rural share of population, Maule, recorded a median download of 189.36 Mbps. The lowest median speed was observed in Aysén, with 117.34 Mbps. This relative equity in fixed line performance across regions echoes a 2020 OECD country report on Chile, which highlighted that while economic disparities between Chile’s regions are above the OECD average, it has shown the largest reduction in regional economic inequality among OECD countries since 2008.
Hyper-competitive fixed broadband market
Of the top eight markets in the Speedtest Global Index, Chile had the greatest concentration of ISPs supporting high-speed broadband services. Speedtest data shows eight ISPs active in the Chilean market with more than 3% share of samples, and of these seven supported median download speeds in excess of 100 Mbps. According to the regulator Subtel, Telefonica led the market with 30.3% market share, ahead of second-placed VTR with 26.2%.
Telefonica also led the market in terms of fiber connections, with a market share of 45.7%, followed by Mundo with 25.0%, which in January 2023 announced that it had completed the migration of its customer base from HFC (hybrid fiber-coaxial cable) to fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). Other smaller ISPs are actively deploying fiber or looking for alternative solutions to boost their reach. Entel agreed to sell its fiber network to On*Net Fibra, a joint venture between KKR and Telefonica Chile to provide a neutral fiber network in Chile, in October 2022. This will allow Entel to continue provisioning new households over the larger OnNet network. We also see SpaceX’s Starlink active in the market, alongside Hughesnet, although satellite remains a very small but growing technology within the market.
Strong competition driving network investment
Strong competition in Chile’s fixed line market has helped drive network investment, with Chilean ISPs focused on expanding the number of homes passed and migrating to more advanced fiber access. The relatively late launch of 5G networks in the region has enabled operators to focus more heavily on fiber deployment, with a view to increasing fixed broadband adoption and also supporting 5G networks. The first 5G networks in the market launched in December 2021.
While there is limited reported fixed-line financial data in the market, Telefonica Chile has reported capex historically. Its data shows strong early investment in the market, with capital intensity (capex as a share of revenues) well above 20% from 2015 onwards, peaking at 28.8% of revenues in 2018.
Telefonica Chile stopped reporting fixed revenues in 2020, however its fixed capex dipped significantly, highlighting the change in strategy from its parent group to deleverage its Latin American operation. This eventually led to KKR’s acquisition of a 60% share in InfraCom from Telefonica, creating On*Net Fibra, a neutral FTTH network joint-venture, which began offering wholesale services in July 2021. Rival ISP VTR confirms the overall trend of strong fixed-line investment in the country, reporting capital intensity in excess of 20% over the past three years. In addition, Mundo announced in early 2022 that it planned to invest $200 million expanding its fiber infrastructure in Chile, and the ISP is targeting 4.5 million homes passed, by the end of 2023.
Accelerating migration to fiber
As of 2019, a majority of Chilean broadband connections were supported by hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) services, with fiber the second most frequently used technology, followed by ADSL. The transformation of the Chilean fixed broadband market since then has been rapid, with the latest data for September 2022 showing that fiber makes up the majority of broadband connections, with HFC’s share declining strongly, and ADSL’s share dropping below that of wireless broadband connections.
This rapid tech migration has also led to Chile being among the strongest adopters of Wi-Fi 5 and 6 in Latin America, which support faster speeds within business and in the home. In Q4 2022, 71.3% of Chile’s Speedtest samples utilized Wi-Fi 5, with less than 20% utilizing Wi-Fi 4. By contrast, Brazil had 38.2% of samples utilizing Wi-Fi 4, and Argentina 53.4%. Adoption of the newer Wi-Fi 6 routers is slower in Chile compared to international peers, standing at 8.5% as of Q4 2022, however it still leads within Latin America by a significant margin. Within Chile GTD led the pack with 33.5% of samples utilizing Wi-Fi 6 during Q4 2022, followed by WOM with 25.9%, Entel with 21.9% and Telefonica del Sur with 19.4%. By contrast, Claro, Movistar, Mundo and VTR all returned less than 10% in Wi-Fi 6 samples, indicating there is plenty of scope to increase median fixed-line performance yet further in the market. Our analysis of the median download speeds shows a strong correlation with adoption of Wi-Fi routers utilizing 5 GHz spectrum (WiFi 5 and above).
Driving increased fixed broadband adoption
The growth in fixed broadband adoption in Chile was disrupted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic, and resultant move towards remote working and more people staying at home. Connections growth increased from 5.5% in 2019, to 10.7% in 2020 and 12.8% in 2021, as the importance of home internet connectivity grew.
The initial acceleration in connection growth in 2020 was due to growth in residential fixed broadband adoption, with connections increasing by 13% in 2020 and 12% in 2021. Business fixed broadband connections declined in 2020 as the economy contracted, but rebounded strongly in 2021 on the back of government economic stimuli, increasing 19%, and a further 8% in the first three quarters of 2022, demonstrating the important role of broadband in supporting economic growth in the market.
Chile’s economy is forecast to contract in 2023, as inflation continues to impact the market, and fiscal stimuli following the COVID-19 pandemic are unwound. However, the Chilean Central Bank forecasts that the market will rebound in 2024, with growth ranging from 2.25% – 3.25%. A key component of Chile’s future growth will be the ability of businesses to secure fast and reliable internet connections. From an infrastructure point of view, Chile is very well served in this regard, with a very dynamic fixed infrastructure market, as demonstrated by its operators continuing to push on fiber rollout, the emergence of a neutral fiber network with broad coverage, and even the increasing role of satellite connectivity in the market. Such is the success of its Chilean operation, that Telefonica is using the market as a blueprint for its other operations across Latin America. We’ll continue to monitor the rapid progress of Chile’s fixed broadband market as it continues to vie with other leading markets internationally at the top of Ookla’s Global Index. To find out more about Speedtest Intelligence, please get in touch.
Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.
