Tag: 5G

Ookla Research™ Articles
| April 16, 2025

Mind the Gap: London's 5G Performance Lags Behind Other UK Cities

5G

Londoners spend more time in mobile signal not-spots, or coverage gaps, and experience slower 5G speeds than residents of other UK cities—resulting in poorer performance in everyday tasks such as web browsing.

London is the sprawling metropolis at the heart of the UK economy, home to one of the world’s largest and most lucrative service hubs, supporting a vast network of finance and technology firms. Beyond its strategic time zone and English-language advantage for accessing both American and Asian markets, London’s prosperity has been founded on the availability of world-class infrastructure that facilitates doing business.

The city’s reputation for international competitiveness has not, however, been matched by the quality of its telecommunications infrastructure. In recent years, a flurry of media reports has highlighted the frustrations of Londoners—and visitors alike—that experience frequent issues using mobile devices indoors, underground, and in busy areas. These problems, reported as being more pronounced than in other UK and European cities, typically manifest as poor quality of experience in everyday tasks such as web browsing, video streaming, and gaming.

This article is the first and a high-level prelude to a series exploring the competitiveness of mobile networks in European towns and cities—starting in the UK with city-level comparisons to London, and followed by a deeper, more comprehensive analysis among international peers coming in research later this year. 

Key Takeaways:

  • London lags behind the UK’s largest cities across key 5G performance indicators, and the gap to top-performing Glasgow is widening. In Q1 2025, London trailed other UK cities in 5G network consistency—a key indicator of performance at the lower end of the user experience—as well as in median download and upload speeds. Mobile users in London and Belfast experienced the weakest outcomes among UK cities, with median 5G download speeds of approximately 115 Mbps in both cities, significantly behind Glasgow’s 185 Mbps. London’s marked underperformance makes the UK unique in Western European terms—not only are the disparities between its major cities wider, but it is also unusual for the capital to be the primary laggard.
  • Mobile users in London spend more time in signal not-spots with no service than residents of other UK cities, reflecting lingering coverage gaps indoors and across key transport routes. The proportion of Londoners spending the majority of their time in locations with no service (0.7%) remained higher than in other UK cities in Q1 2025, but has improved significantly from 3.7% in Q1 2023. This progress reflects operator investments in network densification through small cells and the ongoing rollout of mobile coverage across the London Underground—historically one of the city’s largest mobile not-spots—which have together enhanced overall network availability in the capital. Time spent on 2G networks increased, however, across several UK cities over the last year, including Birmingham and Manchester, as the advancement of the 3G sunset in the UK contributed to greater propensity for 2G fallback.
  • The gap in 5G availability between the UK’s major cities and the national average has significantly narrowed over the past year. In Q1 2024, Leeds led UK cities in 5G availability, with a 21 percentage point gap above the national average. By Q1 2025, London had taken the lead in 5G availability among major UK cities, and that gap above the national average had narrowed to 13 percentage points. This trend reflects progress in 5G network expansion in smaller UK towns and rural areas in recent months, which has moved at a faster pace than coverage improvements in larger cities. Overall, median 5G download speeds fell by more than 7% on average across major UK cities between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, likely reflecting the impact of shifting network load from older technologies onto 5G, which contributed to broader improvements in overall mobile network performance in most UK cities in the same period.

A confluence of factors has created unique headwinds for mobile network deployments in UK cities in recent years, particularly in dense urban settings like London

The deployment of 5G networks in higher-frequency spectrum—most commonly the 3.5 GHz band—continues to present significant challenges for operators globally. Like their counterparts across Europe, UK mobile operators have had to invest heavily in network densification during the 5G cycle. The widespread deployment of small cells at street level across UK cities illustrates the scale of effort required to increase network capacity and overcome the more limited propagation attributes of mid-band spectrum.

Over time, the city environment itself has become increasingly hostile to the operation of high-performing mobile networks. Across developed markets, advancements in building design and stricter regulations have led to a proliferation of highly insulated, airtight structures. These developments often incorporate low-E glass, metal cladding, and reinforced concrete—materials that, collectively, turn new and retrofitted buildings into de facto Faraday cages. London, in particular, presents unique challenges among UK cities, with a high concentration of high-rise buildings featuring deep floorplates. 

Indoor Mobile Not-Spots Have Proliferated Across Central London, Particularly in Dense Settings with New and Retrofitted Builds (Image: Ookla Cell Analytics)

While the UK’s Part L Building Regulations are not unique or unusually stringent by European standards, they have evolved alongside a set of factors particular to the UK context that have significantly hindered mobile operators’ ability to deliver high-performing 5G networks in dense urban environments. The roots of these factors stem as far back as 2017, well before the commercialization of the country’s first 5G networks, when the UK government introduced changes to the Electronics Communications Code (ECC) in an effort to accelerate mobile network rollouts and reduce costs by streamlining access to land for telecommunications deployments. 

The Digital Economy Act, which reformed the ECC, granted mobile operators and tower companies greater rights to access land on more favorable financial terms in the UK. The intention was to curb inflated lease costs, particularly in cases where landowners appeared to demand “ransom rents.” However, rather than accelerating network rollouts, the reforms triggered widespread legal disputes, uncertainty in lease negotiations, and delays in site access and upgrades. 

The impact of these land access reforms has been especially acute in dense urban settings such as London, where rooftop deployments play a disproportionate role due to limited ground-level space for mobile equipment. In London, the sheer number of individual property owners—including private landlords, commercial building managers, and housing associations—results in highly fragmented land ownership, making rooftop sites significantly more complex to manage, both legally and logistically, than rural ground leases.

The Combination of Increasing Building Density, Use of New Insulation Materials, and Decline in Rooftop Site Availability Has Resulted in More Frequent Fallback to Less Capable Low-Band Spectrum in UK Cities like London (Image: Ookla Cell Analytics)

The EEC further compounded this complexity by disrupting long-standing rooftop leasing arrangements in cities like London, leading to thousands of disputes since 2017 over issues such as ransom rents, blocked site upgrades, and non-renewals. The regulation reduced potential rental income by as much as 80% to 90% for some landlords, significantly discouraging the availability of rooftop space for mobile network deployments. This effect was particularly pronounced in London, where building owners have seen greater commercial value in alternative uses for scarce rooftop space, such as bars, gardens, or solar panel installations, hindering the ability of operators to densify their networks. 

The UK is the only European country to have adopted such a unilateral price-cutting approach to site access during the 5G cycle. To ease tensions between operators and land owners, the UK government introduced further changes in the “2022 Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act.” These updates aimed to encourage alternative dispute resolution, simplify lease renewals, and extend the provisions from the EEC to agreements signed before 2017. However, the reforms retained the reduced rental model, meaning while procedural barriers were reduced, incentives for property owners to host rooftop sites remained weak, failing to stem the decline in rooftop site availability in cities like London in recent years.

Combined with the UK’s decision to impose stricter controls on the use of telecom equipment from non-European vendors than those seen elsewhere in Europe, which diverted time and resources toward network rebuilds rather than expansion and upgrades, UK operators have faced significant headwinds in deploying mobile network infrastructure during the 5G cycle.

Progress in the 5G rollout belies lingering performance disparities among the UK’s major cities

Despite significant progress countrywide in improving 5G networks with additional sites, more spectrum availability (some of it from the refarming of 3G), and an expanded 5G standalone (SA) footprint, disparities continue to exist among the UK’s cities. The gap between the best- and worst-performing major cities in median 5G download and upload speeds, for example, widened between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, based on analysis of Speedtest Intelligence® data.

The Gap in 5G Download Speeds Between Glasgow and Other UK Cities Has Widened
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024 – Q1 2025


In Q1 2025, Glasgow led the UK with median 5G download speeds reaching 185 Mbps, which was as much as 47% higher than in London, the slowest major city, and 24% higher than in Birmingham, the next best performer. This ranking profile extended to 5G network consistency, which measures the proportion of Speedtest samples that meet a minimum download and upload speed threshold of 25 Mbps and 3 Mbps. While more than 85% of Speedtest samples met this threshold in Glasgow, fewer than 75% did in London, which exhibited the lowest consistency rate among major UK cities and was the only one aligned with the national average that includes both rural and urban areas.

London’s underperformance at the lower percentiles of measures like download speeds is particularly notable, as it strongly reflects the experience of mobile users in more challenging conditions—such as at the network edge, during peak hours, or in congested areas. The city’s lower consistency score and weaker 10th percentile download and upload speeds suggest that Londoners are more likely to encounter poor mobile performance compared to residents of other major UK cities.

Londoners Experience Less Consistent 5G Performance Than Residents of Other UK Cities
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2025

The UK stands out in Western Europe for both the scale of the performance gap between its major cities and the unusual fact that its capital is the lagging city. Most regional peers more closely resemble the profile of neighboring France, where Paris ranks among the top three cities nationally for 5G network consistency, as well as median download and upload speeds. In France, the gap in 5G network consistency between the best- and worst-performing cities was as narrow as 5 percentage points in Q1 2025—a disparity that is half that of the UK.

The UK's Cities Exhibit a Greater Range in 5G Consistency Than Other Western European Countries
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2025

In practical terms, London’s underperformance in metrics like 5G download speed and consistency translates into poorer QoE outcomes in everyday tasks like web browsing. In Q1 2025, for example, median web page load times to popular global websites were higher in London than in nine out of ten other major UK cities.

Londoners Spend More Time Waiting on Popular Websites to Load
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2025

Mobile not-spots continue to be a fixture of everyday life in UK cities, particularly in London

The combination of factors outlined earlier, including the shift toward insulation materials that inhibit signal propagation, the collapse in rooftop rental fees reducing access to mobile sites, and the use of higher-frequency spectrum for 5G, has posed challenges for mobile operators across all UK cities seeking to reduce the prevalence of mobile not-spots. These challenges have been particularly pronounced in the cities with the highest levels of density, most notably London.

Deep indoor and underground spaces (e.g., transport systems like the London Underground network) remain the primary contributors to time spent with no mobile signal or fallback to 2G networks. These cell edge scenarios are highly disruptive for the end-user, resulting in limited access to basic telephony features like texting and calling and a substantial increase in device-side power consumption. 

Londoners Spend More Time in Mobile Not-Spots Than the UK Average
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024 – Q1 2025

The proportion of mobile users in London spending the majority of their time in locations with no network access at all (0.7%) was higher than in other major UK cities in Q1 2025 (an observation related to the capital city that again defies Western European norms). By contrast, less than 0.3% of mobile users in Belfast, Bristol and Sheffield spent the majority of their time in not-spots in the same period. Overall, time spent with no service accounted for as much as 2.6% of quarterly network usage in Q1 2025 in London, significantly higher than the national average.

Despite the disproportionate scale of mobile not-spots lingering in London, recent operator investments in network densification and progress in the ongoing rollout of 4G and 5G coverage throughout the London Underground network are driving dramatic improvements in outcomes. The proportion of Londoners spending the majority of their time in locations with no service has more than halved over the last two years, reflecting a much more pronounced pace of improvement than other UK cities and putting the capital on course to fall into line with other large cities like Birmingham and Manchester.

The Proportion of Mobile Users Spending the Majority of Their Time on 2G Has Increased in Several UK Cities
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024 – Q1 2025 (Including Roaming Samples)

The advancement of the UK’s 3G sunset, which is set to be substantially complete by the end of this year, is reflected in a sharp reduction in the proportion of mobile users spending the majority of their time on 3G networks. In London, for example, this proportion fell from over 4.5% in Q1 2023 to less than 0.7% in Q1 2025.

The 3G sunset has, however, contributed to an increase in 2G fallback in UK cities at the cell edge where 4G and 5G networks are unavailable. Time spent on 2G increased across several UK cities over the last year, including Liverpool, where this trend has resulted in a larger share of users spending the majority of their time on 2G than in areas with no service at all (a rarity among UK cities). 

The Decline in 3G Usage Has Been Similarly Rapid Across UK Cities
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2023 – Q1 2025

Cities that take a proactive approach to telecoms feature the best 5G outcomes

Glasgow’s position as the leading UK city in key 5G performance indicators is unlikely to be an outcome achieved by mere chance. Beyond the contribution of inherent structural factors related to building composition, such as a lower prevalence of high-rise developments relative to other major UK cities, Glasgow’s 5G leadership is also likely rooted in its early and proactive approach to supporting telecoms infrastructure.

The city was among the first in Europe to establish a dedicated “Telecoms Unit”, which streamlined access to city-owned assets for telecom deployments, provided standardized agreements for rental fees, and consolidated telecoms functions within the local authority to reduce departmental siloes. This proactive approach facilitates inward investment in network infrastructure and better 5G outcomes. 

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

About the Author

Luke Kehoe

Ookla Research™ Articles
| December 13, 2024

Controlled Network Testing in one of the World’s Top Performing Cities - Seoul

5G

South Korea stands out as an international 5G benchmark

South Korea is a global leader in 5G technology and adoption, having launched the first commercial 5G networks in April 2019. Its exclusive use of C-band for 5G services, with no sub-GHz spectrum allocated for 5G, also puts it in a unique position. 

This focus on C-band across the entire market has led to strong 5G network densification, with the OECD’s most recent Digital Economy Outlook 2024, highlighting the lead South Korea enjoys among a selection of advanced global markets on 5G deployment, with 593 5G base stations per 100,000 inhabitants, well ahead of next placed Lithuania (328) and Finland (251). Earlier this year, the Korean regulator, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) announced that South Korea had attained nationwide 5G coverage.

MSIT allocated wide bands to each of the three mobile operators, KT, SK Telecom and LG U+, with the former two receiving 100 MHz, and the latter initially receiving 80 MHz. Despite its spectrum disadvantage, our previous South Korean benchmark placed LG U+ in pole position in terms of median download performance. Since that benchmark, LG U+ was awarded an additional 20 MHz of C-band spectrum in mid-2022, which it deployed during 2023, which brought its C-band holdings in line with the competition.

Given its level of network densification, and deployment in wide spectrum bands in the prized C-band, it’s no surprise that South Korea consistently ranks in the top-10 of Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index for mobile performance, (which ranks countries based on median download speeds), currently placing 6th as of October 2024.

This lead is helping deliver improved consumer experiences, with South Korea outpacing other East Asian markets (including Japan, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong) on mobile gaming performance, recording the lowest latency, as well as the highest median download and upload performance in the region.

Strong 5G adoption, but performance has been a concern for consumers

From a consumer perspective, South Korea is a mature 5G market, with LG U+, for example, recording a 5G penetration rate (among handsets) in excess of 70% as of Q3 2024. South Korean users have been swift to embrace the new technology, with 5G connections in the market growing steadily, crossing the 30 million mark during 2023, and reaching 36.11 million as of Q3 2024, according to GSMA Intelligence.

Despite strong adoption, and 5G providing a significant uplift over 4G performance in the market – median 5G download speeds in November 2024 were 524.23 Mbps across the market according to Speedtest Intelligence, compared to 64.08 Mbps for 4G-LTE – the mobile providers have had to focus their efforts on continuous improvements in performance levels. All three mobile providers were fined by South Korea’s antitrust regulator in 2023, following consumer complaints that 5G had not delivered on promises the mobile providers had made in their marketing.

To assess how South Korean mobile performance has evolved since our last benchmark, and how mobile providers have responded to consumer concerns on performance, we returned to the capital Seoul during 2H 2024 to benchmark performance in the city. We measured mobile performance using RootMetrics’ controlled methodology across a variety of indoor and outdoors locations, using the latest Samsung Android devices. We tested where and when people most often use their smartphones: tourist areas, business districts, and other areas at times of peak mobile usage. Tests were conducted while walking and driving across more than 900km in distance within Seoul, and including in excess of 17,000 samples, including more than 50 major indoor locations. RootMetrics controlled testing methodology is specifically designed to mimic the end-user’s real-world mobile experience.

In addition to benchmarking the mobile providers based on median download and upload performance, as well as latency and availability metrics, we also examined video streaming and voice call performance.

The results: LG U+ approaches gigabit median mobile speeds

LG U+ led the market in 2H 2024 overall performance, with the carrier’s consistently strong showings across speed, reliability, and latency, allowing it to capture the award for the Best 5G Network in Seoul. Based on RootMetrics RootScore methodology, which combines scores across all components of the testing, LG U+ scored 990 out of 1000, ahead of both KT and SK Telecom, which ranked second jointly, with scores of 979 and 978, respectively.

South Korean mobile providers continue to push the boundaries of mobile performance in the South Korean capital, with all three providers recording a significant uplift in download throughput when compared to 1H 2022. LG U+ led the pack, with a median download speed of 916.90 Mbps, while it also led the market based on its performance at the 5th and 95th percentiles. This marks a large increase when compared to our controlled testing in 1H 2022, where LG U+ led the market with a median download speed of 663.4 Mbps, with all three mobile providers increasing median performance significantly, highlighting their continued investment in their 5G networks to help meet consumer expectations. LG U+ recorded the highest median upload speed, with 108.00 Mbps, while SK Telecom led the way on median latency, with 98 ms.

RootMetrics Performance Results – Seoul

5G performance driving impressive user experience metrics

RootMetrics benchmarks voice calling and video streaming performance as part of its comprehensive testing suite. Among South Korean mobile providers, both LG U+ and SK Telecom use a 5G non-standalone (NSA) network configuration, where voice is delivered via VoLTE (using the 4G network), while KT employs a 5G standalone (5G SA) network, where voice is carried over the 5G new radio (VoNR). LG U+ recorded the shortest voice call setup time, of 0.882 seconds, while also achieving an impressive zero call drops or blocks from our testing.

Based on our video testing, KT recorded the fastest median video start time, at 0.91 seconds, while both LG U+ and SK Telecom were able to drive higher bitrates over their networks, of 8.0 Mbps. With these consistent bitrates, 1080p video quality was consistently delivered to users.

RootMetrics User Experience Results – Seoul

Outlook: Seoul serves as a benchmark for other cities across Asia Pacific

South Korea stands out as a global leader in 5G technology and adoption, having launched the first commercial 5G networks in April 2019, and is investing heavily in next generation technologies, with a strong focus on AI and 6G. Its capital city, Seoul, stands out as a benchmark for mobile network performance globally and has maintained its first-mover advantage.

To learn more about Ookla’s controlled drive and walk testing with RootMetrics® and first-party crowdsourced data from Speedtest®, please contact us.

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

5G
RootMetrics

About the Author

Ookla

Ookla Research™ Articles
| February 23, 2025

A Global Evaluation of Europe's Competitiveness in 5G SA

5G

The European Commission has positioned 5G SA at the center of its emerging pro-growth industrial strategy to boost competitiveness. Yet, despite setting the most ambitious 5G infrastructure targets of any advanced liberal economy, Europe trails the US and Asia in deployment progress.

The global rollout of 5G standalone (SA) networks is gaining momentum after a slower-than-expected start, driven in part by its technical complexity and significant capital requirements in a challenging business environment. Operators continue to advance cautiously, seeking monetization strategies to capture new revenues in both consumer and enterprise segments.

For governments, being at the frontier of the next phase of the 5G cycle is a key differentiator, with the low-latency and high-reliability capabilities of 5G SA pitched as critical to enabling new industrial applications, strengthening digital competitiveness, and attracting inward investment. Mobile networks are now a core pillar of strategic national infrastructure.

The European Commission’s commitment to high-performing mobile network infrastructure has been a hallmark of its Digital Decade program in recent years, further strengthened by the recent launch of the “Competitiveness Compass”—a key strategic framework based on the recommendations of Mario Draghi’s high-profile report. This initiative aims to enhance Europe’s competitiveness in critical industries through a new pro-growth industrial strategy, prioritizing 5G SA investments as a central driver of the program.

However, despite setting the most ambitious 5G infrastructure targets of any advanced liberal economy, Europe currently features the poorest outcomes in terms of 5G SA performance and availability among major global regions. Across Europe, significant disparities in 5G SA rollout progress among countries have undermined the bloc’s competitiveness in the technology, widening the gap with leaders like the US and China.

For the first time, Ookla, in collaboration with Omdia, has published comprehensive research on the global reach and performance of 5G SA networks. The report focuses on Europe’s competitiveness in the technology, progress in monetizing the 5G core for consumer and enterprise use cases, and successful government policies, forming part of a flagship global report on 5G SA commercialization progress.

Key Takeaways:

Europe severely lags other major regions in 5G SA rollout and performance

In Q4 2024, China (80%), India (52%), and the United States (24%) led the world in 5G SA availability based on Speedtest® sample share, markedly ahead of Europe (2%). The region also lagged behind its peers on other key metrics, with the median European consumer experiencing 5G SA download speeds of 221.17 Mbps—lower than those in the Americas (384.42 Mbps) and both Developed (237.04 Mbps) and Emerging (259.73 Mbps) Asia Pacific. The interplay of earlier deployments, a more diversified multi-band spectrum strategy, and greater operator willingness to invest in the 5G core to monetize new use cases have driven rollouts at a faster pace in regions outside Europe.

Europe Trails Other Regions in 5G SA Availability and Performance
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2023 – Q4 2024

Europe exhibits significant disparities in 5G SA deployment among member states

Within Europe, while 5G SA rollout progress remains highly varied, the best outcomes have been observed in countries that have specific policies intended to incentivize 5G SA deployment. Germany, the United Kingdom, and Spain—all four-player markets benefiting from targeted 5G SA-specific fiscal stimuli or coverage obligations— lead Europe in terms of 5G SA rollout across multiple operators. Meanwhile, Southern and Central European countries have supplanted the Nordics at the forefront of this phase of the 5G cycle, with Greece (547.52 Mbps) leading on median download speed in Q4 2024 thanks to its 3.5 GHz usage, and Spain and Austria excelling in rural 5G SA coverage on the back of intensive deployment of the 700 MHz band.

Spain and Austria Lead Europe's 5G SA Rollout in Urban Areas as Expansion Accelerated at the end of 2024
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2023 – Q4 2024

For Europe, the performance improvements unlocked by 5G SA demonstrate the strategic importance of the technology in driving digital competitiveness

Globally, 5G SA networks are delivering significantly improved performance across key metrics compared to the non-standalone architecture. In Q4 2024, median latency—a key beneficiary of transitioning to the 5G core—was nearly 20% lower on 5G SA networks compared to 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) networks in Europe and China, and more than 25% lower in the United States and Japan. Similarly, median download speeds on 5G SA were more than 57% higher in Europe and 84% higher in China than those on non-standalone networks.

European 5G SA Users Benefit from Markedly Lower Latency and Higher Download Speed
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q4 2024

Notwithstanding these improvements, 5G SA’s full potential remains largely untapped in Europe. Advanced uplink capabilities unlocked by the technology—such as higher-order MIMO and carrier aggregation—remain limited to a few operators in leading markets like the United States, highlighting the still nascent profile of the device and equipment ecosystems for 5G SA. 

To capture the full monetization potential of the technology, European operators need to adapt their business models and cater to new verticals

While 5G investments in Europe have yet to yield significant monetization, operators in other regions are leveraging the enhanced performance and flexibility of the new 5G core to drive tariff and service innovation. They are focusing on consumer segmentation with performance-oriented tariff upsells and developing tailored network slices to deliver new services across diverse enterprise verticals.

European operators at the forefront of business model evolution with 5G SA—such as BT’s EE in the UK, Deutsche Telekom in Germany, Elisa in Finland, and 3 in Austria—are leveraging the technology to consolidate their positions at the premium end of the market and stimulate average revenue per user (ARPU) growth.

Download the full report

For an in-depth, first-of-its-kind analysis of Europe’s competitiveness in 5G SA—covering global deployment and monetization trends, Speedtest Intelligence® network performance data, Omdia’s adoption and core spending forecasts, and key policy recommendations to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness—download our full white paper, A Global Evaluation of Europe’s Competitiveness in 5G SA.

Download .pdf

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
Europe

About the Author

Luke Kehoe

Ookla Research™ Articles
| February 24, 2025

Illustrating the Global State of 5G SA (Poster Download)

Global Speeds

Global 5G SA rollouts are gaining momentum after a sluggish start, with China, India, Singapore, and the U.S. maintaining a substantial lead

The telecoms industry is approaching the midpoint of the 5G technology cycle, with capital investment in radio access network (RAN) expansion slowing significantly in developed markets over the last two years as the initial 5G coverage layer nears maturity. Many advanced operators are now prioritizing network densification while cautiously transitioning to a new 5G core architecture with standalone (SA), seeking to unlock new monetization opportunities through the enhanced flexibility, agility, and performance that 5G SA enables.

The interplay of high interest rates driving up the cost of capital, challenges in monetizing the initial non-standalone (NSA) architecture, and the technical complexity of the new 5G core—demanding an entirely new skill set to support implementation—has weighed on the global rollout of 5G SA, with significant regional disparities persisting in commercialization progress.

For the first time, and with the goal of offering deeper insight into the state of 5G SA worldwide, Ookla® has created a high-resolution downloadable poster based on Speedtest Intelligence® data, providing a unified view of the global reach of both 5G NSA and 5G SA networks in 2024. This visual is part of a flagship global study in collaboration with Omdia, comparing the competitiveness of leading regions and countries in 5G SA deployment, performance, and monetization.

Key Takeaways:

Asia Pacific remains at the forefront of global 5G SA deployment

In 2024, seven of the top ten countries by 5G SA reach were in Asia Pacific, with China (77.1% 5G SA sample share), India (51.1%), and Singapore (37.5%) leading globally. The region’s strong position has been driven by a higher number of multi-operator 5G SA deployments (as seen in China and Australia), extensive low-band rollout (such as Reliance Jio’s use of the 700MHz band for deep nationwide coverage in India), and favorable demographics, including very high urbanization in countries like Singapore.

Asia Pacific leads the world in 5G SA reach
Speedtest Intelligence® | 2024

Outside of Asia Pacific, the United States also ranks highly in 5G SA reach, despite only one of its three largest operators engaging in a commercial launch to date. In contrast, just two European countries—Spain and Austria—make the top ten, highlighting the region’s slow pace of 5G SA deployment and the broader decline in its global competitiveness in mobile network infrastructure during the 5G cycle.

Spectrum diversity propels the U.S. to a leading position in 5G SA performance

The U.S. has distinguished itself with significantly higher 5G SA reach than competing regions like Europe while also delivering superior median download speeds. In Q4 2024, median download speeds on 5G SA in the U.S. reached 388.44 Mbps, a substantial increase from 305.36 Mbps in the same period the previous year, and well ahead of Asian competitors such as Japan (254.18 Mbps) and China (224.82 Mbps).

The U.S.’s strong performance has been driven by T-Mobile’s post-merger 5G SA buildout—the first globally—which balanced nationwide reach with network depth. Its “layer cake” strategy combined a broad 600 MHz rollout, initially launched as 5G NSA in 2019 before transitioning to 5G SA in 2020, with mid-band deployments in the 2.5 GHz band. This approach has allowed T-Mobile to more extensively implement features like carrier aggregation and Voice over NR (VoNR) on its maturing 5G SA network, lending it a competitive edge in both availability and key performance metrics such as download speed and latency.


South Korea led the world in Q4 2024 with the highest median 5G SA download speeds at 746.25 Mbps, driven by its exclusive use of the 3.5 GHz band. However, it continues to trail its regional peers in 5G SA reach due to the challenging propagation characteristics exhibited by this spectrum and the limited commercialization beyond a single operator, KT.

5G SA enhances download speeds and latency globally, yet uplink advancements remain underutilized

Globally, 5G SA networks are delivering significantly improved performance across key metrics compared to the non-standalone architecture. In Q4 2024, median latency—a key beneficiary of transitioning to the 5G core—was nearly 20% lower on 5G SA networks compared to 5G NSA networks in Europe and China, and more than 25% lower in the United States and Japan. Similarly, median download speeds on 5G SA were more than 57% higher in Europe and 84% higher in China than those on non-standalone networks.

European 5G SA Users Benefit from Markedly Lower Latency and Higher Download Speed
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q4 2024

Notwithstanding these improvements, 5G SA’s full potential remains largely untapped in Europe. Advanced uplink capabilities unlocked by the technology—such as higher-order MIMO and carrier aggregation—remain limited to a few operators in leading markets like the United States, highlighting the still nascent profile of the device and equipment ecosystems for 5G SA. 

A detailed analysis of the state of 5G SA around the world is featured in Ookla’s flagship report, produced in collaboration with Omdia, on regional competitiveness in the technology.

Ookla will be at Mobile World Congress this year, located at Booth 2I28 in Hall 2. Please drop by to discuss the state of connectivity in your market, and how Ookla’s network insights can help deliver better connected experiences.

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

Global Speeds
5G
5G SA

About the Author

Luke Kehoe

Ookla Research™ Articles
| February 4, 2025

5G FWA in Reshaping the Broadband Market in the Gulf region

5G

5G fixed wireless access (FWA) has positively impacted the Gulf region’s broadband landscape. It became popular because it provides consumers and enterprises with affordable, flexible, alternative high-broadband services to fiber. In this article, we identify the drivers for 5G FWA adoption in the Gulf region, use the example of Ooredo in Oman to examine the performance of FWA services, and discuss how local ISPs could improve the positioning of FWA to drive further adoption.

Key Takeaways:

  • The main drivers of 5G FWA’s take-up in the Gulf region are performance, affordability, reach, and convenience. These characteristics helped to make the service more accessible to a broader population segment. Moreover, the shift from data-capped plans to unlimited data offerings has made 5G FWA more appealing to consumers and businesses.
  • The evolution of 5G technology is helping FWA cater to the needs of high-demand users. For example, in Q3 2024, Ooredoo (Oman) achieved a 90-percentile download speed of 83 Mbps, narrowing the gap with the most affordable fiber package that starts at an advertised speed of 100 Mbps.
  • Gulf operators could address the negative perceptions associated with 5G FWA by continuously optimizing networks, offering flexible contract terms, affordable pricing, and popular over-the-top (OTT) bundles. 

The Gulf region is one of the global leaders in the deployment and adoption of FWA services

Some of the earliest adopters of 4G/5G FWA have been Gulf-based operators. They have been integrating it into their fixed broadband portfolios with 4G since 2021. While FWA has traditionally been considered secondary to fiber, its significance has grown with the advent of 5G as a cheaper alternative to fiber, particularly in areas of low coverage.

Operators’ emphasis on 5G FWA services is primarily influenced by their market share in the fixed broadband market and the extent of their fiber network coverage. Market incumbents initially focused on expanding their fiber services as part of transitioning from legacy technologies like DSL, viewing 5G FWA as a secondary offering. In larger countries, where fiber deployment and adoption have been slower, like Oman, all operators recognized the potential for 5G FWA to bridge the high-speed broadband divide. Hence, they have been offering FWA while actively promoting fiber.

5G FWA created an opportunity for market challengers to address the limitations of both legacy and fiber technologies, including:

  • Poor performance on legacy technologies: 5G FWA represents a significant upgrade in performance for DSL and 4G FWA users.
  • Coverage gap: 5G FWA offers an advantage in terms of reach. Mobile operators have used it to enter the fixed market, and converged operators have deployed FWA to extend broadband services to remote or hard-to-reach locations quickly.
  • Installation complexity: Self-installed indoor customer premises equipment (CPE) is typically provided free as part of an annual subscription.
  • Contract length and cost: Operators have positioned 5G FWA as lower-priced packages, offering more contract flexibility than fiber plans, which usually lock customers in a contract for two years.

Ooredoo Oman used 5G FWA to complement its fiber strategy

We use Oman as an example to analyze the market context that favored the launch of 5G FWA and discuss the operator’s business strategy. We also use Speedtest Intelligence® to assess network performance between Q3 2023 and Q3 2024 and identify the locations within the Omani capital, Muscat, where customers would have experienced the fastest median download speeds during Q3 2024.

Omantel and Ooredoo launched 5G FWA in Oman before introducing mobile 5G in April 2021. Omantel was the first to launch 5G fixed-wireless access (FWA) services in December 2019, followed by Ooredoo in May 2020. According to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), 5G broadband subscriptions increased from 37,000 in June 2021 to 212,204 in June 2024, a nearly 6-fold increase in three years. During this period, fiber subscriptions increased by almost 48% to 307,635. 

Ooredoo has been expanding its 5G coverage to serve more customers. Its 5G FWA coverage increased from 46.8% at the end of 2021 to 87.6% in June 2024, increasing its fixed 5G base by 27% by the end of 2023 compared to 2022. While 5G has driven fixed broadband growth for Ooredoo, the operator has also pursued a fiber expansion strategy by relying on a national wholesale fiber infrastructure provider, Oman BroadBand (OBB). 

At launch, Ooredoo introduced speed-tiered FWA tariffs ranging from 30 Mbit/s to 200 Mbit/s with varying monthly data allowances. It continues to segregate 4G from 5G plans and segment them by speed, contract length, and number of content packages included. In 2024, the price of FWA packages dropped to an OMR25–OMR35 ($65–$91) range per month, with faster speed, higher data allowances, and more content.

4G/5G FWA performance improved with some fluctuations. The median download speed was 18.74 Mbps in Q2 2022 and gradually increased to 43.78 Mbps by Q3 2024. This steady growth suggests that Ooredoo has improved its network infrastructure and, as a result, its user experience. 

5G FWA underperforms wired broadband service according to Speedtest Intelligence data, but the performance gap is shrinking. For reference, the median download speed measured for Ooredoo’s wired broadband users reached 64.22 Mbps in Q3 2024. Considering that this figure represents mainly fiber performance, FWA can provide a decent alternative for those who cannot subscribe to fiber services.

Ooredoo’s performance is reflected in the significant upward trend in the 90th percentile speeds. It started at 33.66 Mbps in Q2 2022 and peaked at 83.37 Mbps by Q3 2024. This increase indicates that while the median speeds were relatively modest, the top-performing users experienced substantial improvements in their download speeds.

Median and 90th percentile 5G FWA Download Speeds, Ooredoo Oman

Median and 90th percentile 5G FWA Download Speeds, Ooredoo Oman

When we look at the distribution of median download speeds around the capital city of Muscat, we note that central neighborhoods, such as Madinat Al Irfane and Ghala, and coastal areas, such as Qurm, enjoy a speed of at least 100 Mbps. Meanwhile, residents west of Falaj enjoyed a median speed of at least 200 Mbps.

Map: Distribution of 5G FWA Median Download Speeds for Ooredoo in Muscat, Oman

ISPs can adopt different strategies to enhance 5G FWA adoption in the Gulf region

Operators could adjust the way they position 5G FWA propositions to address the concerns and negative perceptions that hindered their adoption in the past, including:

  • Provide high-quality CPEs. Operators have regularly refreshed the CPEs with new models that provide better reception (for example, by using MIMO technology), support better Wi-Fi capacity (for example, by using Wi-Fi 6 standard), and indoor coverage (by offering mesh devices).
  • Position it as a more affordable alternative to fiber. Over the last two years, the price of 5G FWA has decreased considerably, and all operators in the Gulf have waived the upfront one-time payment for the CPE while shifting to unlimited data usage by default (at least in the first year).
  • Bundle FWA services with content subscriptions to help differentiate from fiber offerings with flexible content, such as video streaming and gaming. For instance, some operators offer a selection of these with their FWA plans, which adds significant value for customers and helps position it as a comprehensive home entertainment solution. 

Operators’ strategic deployment of 5G FWA, affordability, and ability to quickly extend high-speed internet access to areas with limited fiber coverage helped popularize the Gulf region service. As network coverage expands, FWA will likely play an increasingly important role in the region’s broadband market, offering a viable alternative to traditional fiber connections and helping bridge the digital divide in underserved areas. 

Challenger FWA operators, such as Ooredoo Oman, are investing in optimizing their network performance to maintain their competitiveness. The recent 5.5G trials in the region will also set a new basis for competition as the latest technology promises to offer even faster download speeds, lower latency, and enable differentiated quality of service and dedicated resources through network slicing. These enhancements will help to improve customer satisfaction and drive the growth of FWA services in the region.We will continue to monitor the evolution of 5G FWA and its adoption in the region. For more information about Speedtest Intelligence data and insights, please contact us.

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

5G

About the Author

Karim Yaici

Ookla Research™ Articles
| January 20, 2025

The Envy of Europe: Nordics Lead in 5G Availability and Network Sunsets

5G

Nordic countries have consolidated their lead in 5G Availability and network sunsets, underscoring the emergence of a two-speed Europe in 5G deployment  

Home to two of the world’s largest radio vendors, Ericsson and Nokia, and characterised by markedly higher operator profitability than much of the rest of Europe,  the Nordic region remains a key bright spot in Europe’s struggle for competitiveness against the Middle East, North America and Asia in 5G. Nordic countries have distinguished themselves in the 5G cycle through the timely release of mid-band spectrum assets, the development of innovative government policies to enable widespread rollout beyond core urban centres and a unique appetite for network sharing.

Combined with other favourable factors—such as some of the highest urbanisation rates in Europe (resulting in a smaller-than-average share of the population living in rural areas), flat topography (particularly in Denmark and Finland) and high average revenue per user (ARPU)—the Nordic countries have positioned themselves as European leaders in 5G Availability, rivaling global frontrunners like the United States, Qatar and South Korea.

Such is the importance of network quality to consumer sentiment in the Nordics that recent months have seen a flurry of operators eager to highlight major 5G coverage milestones as they complete their multi-year nationwide network refresh and expansion programmes.

At the end of 2024, Telia in Norway announced it was the first in the country to reach “close to 99% of the population” with 5G, while DNA in Finland declared that its 5G network had “reached all municipalities in mainland Finland with population coverage close to 100%“. Similar announcements came from Sweden, where Tele2 and Telenor, collaborating through the Net4Mobility joint venture, reported covering “over 90% of Sweden’s population with 5G”.

Intensive low-band deployment makes the Nordic 5G strategy the envy of Europe

Analysis of Speedtest Intelligence® data confirms that Nordic operators have much to celebrate. In Q4 2024, Nordic countries claimed three of the top five positions in Europe for 5G Availability—the percentage of users with 5G-capable devices spending most of their time connected to 5G networks. Furthermore, all four Nordic countries ranked within the top ten. Denmark retained its position as Europe’s leader, achieving an impressive 5G Availability of 83.4%, narrowly surpassing Switzerland, which remains the only other European country to exceed the 80% milestone to date. 

Two-Speed Europe: Nordic Countries Take the Lead in 5G Availability
Speedtest Intelligence® | 5G Availability (%) in Q4 2024

Spectrum configuration decisions are a critical pillar of mobile network design and play a direct role in shaping coverage outcomes. Many European countries, including Ireland (61.9%) and the Netherlands (60.5%), have achieved high levels of 5G Availability by extensively utilising Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS)—a technology that allows 4G and 5G networks to share the same frequency bands simultaneously (most commonly in the 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands)—to rapidly and cost-effectively expand 5G coverage atop the existing site footprint.

However, this reliance on DSS to fill coverage maps can negatively impact 5G performance and is intended as a temporary measure until more traffic transitions to newer 5G networks. This helps explain why the level of 5G coverage available is not always a reliable predictor of overall performance outcomes across Europe—for example, Ireland boasts above-average 5G Availability but has consistently ranked last in Europe for median mobile download speed.

The Nordic 5G Model: Early Low-Band Spectrum Access at Competitive Prices
Source: EU4Digital


The Nordic countries stand out for achieving high levels of 5G Availability without relying disproportionately on DSS technology. Operators in all four Nordic countries benefited from the early allocation of dedicated low-band spectrum for 5G in the 700 MHz band (first assigned in Finland in 2016 and most recently in Norway in 2019) and relatively low spectrum acquisition costs (e.g., €0.218 MHz/pop in Finland versus €0.701 MHz/pop in France). This combination has enabled extensive 5G deployments across the region, delivering deeper indoor and rural 5G access compared to much of Europe, thanks to the favourable propagation characteristics of the 700 MHz band.

Higher levels of 5G Availability in the Nordics have facilitated a greater shift of traffic from 4G to 5G networks compared to other parts of Europe. For example, Finnish regulator Traficom reported that nearly a quarter of all smartphone traffic in Finland originated on 5G networks during the first half of 2024, significantly surpassing other countries that track similar metrics, such as Spain and Portugal, where the 5G traffic share (even including FWA) remained well below 20% during the same period.

Innovative ‘carrot-and-stick’ policies drive Nordic 5G rollout  

Nordic countries have consistently prioritised 5G access as a cornerstone of ambitious national digital transformation strategies. For example, the Norwegian government has introduced a range of policy measures aimed at achieving its goal of becoming the “world’s most digitalised country by 2030”. Recognising the critical role of high-speed mobile networks in driving economic competitiveness, the Nordic prime ministers signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) in 2018, declaring that the region should become the “first and most integrated 5G region in the world” and establish a “common Nordic 5G space”.

Sweden has closed the 5G Availability Gap with its Nordic Peers after a Slow Start
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q4 2023 – Q4 2024

To achieve this vision, Nordic countries adopted a whole-of-government approach, introducing a suite of financial and policy tools aimed at supporting the 5G rollout. In particular, Nordic telecoms regulators have been European leaders in the development of progressive ‘carrot-and-stick’ policies to accelerate 5G deployments and have leveraged spectrum assignments to steer operator behaviour:

  • Denmark incentivised 5G rollout through multi-band auctions in 2019 by attaching regional coverage obligations to low-band spectrum (700 MHz), requiring Danish operators to serve specific underserved addresses with minimum download speeds of 30 Mbps and upload speeds of 3 Mbps by April 2022. To encourage participation, these spectrum lots were auctioned under conditions of limited competition and without a minimum price, meaning operators could bid for additional coverage commitments in exchange for reductions in their licence costs. This innovative approach rewarded Danish operators for expanding 5G access in targeted areas with limited network access.
  • Finland implemented similar coverage obligations in its 2016 auction of the 700 MHz band, requiring operators to provide coverage to 99% of the population within four years. However, it allowed coverage from other frequency bands already in use at the time (800 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2.6 GHz) to be included in meeting the target.
  • Sweden assigned two lots of 10 MHz in its 2018 auction of the 700 MHz band with coverage obligations, requiring operators to address prioritised areas with insufficient mobile coverage, ensuring minimum download speeds of 10 Mbps. Licence holders were required to deploy new mobile sites and invest up to €30 million to meet phased coverage targets, including 25% of the prioritised areas by the end of 2021 and 100% by the end of 2024.

Favourable Demographics and Topography Enable High 5G Availability Across Every Region in Denmark
Speedtest Intelligence® | 5G Availability (%) in Q4 2024

Denmark’s coverage obligations have delivered tangible results. Helped by the highest urbanisation rate, smallest rural population and flattest terrain among the Nordic countries, Denmark’s four operators have collectively achieved 5G Availability of at least 70% in each of the country’s regions (regioner), despite lower-than-average ARPU, according to Speedtest Intelligence data for Q4 2024.

Despite Lower Urbanisation Rates than its Nordic Peers, Norway Excels in 5G Availability
Speedtest Intelligence® | 5G Availability (%) in Q4 2024

Similarly, the most rural regions of northern Sweden (e.g., Norrbotten) and Norway (e.g., Finnmark), characterised by sparse populations, vast forests and a challenging Arctic climate, exhibit higher levels of 5G Availability than many more densely populated areas in Europe. Financial support of €140 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to Tele2, which also benefits Telenor through their Net4Mobility joint venture, has been instrumental in supporting 5G deployments in these rural areas of Sweden.

Rural Sweden Exhibits Higher Levels of 5G Availability than typical in Europe
Speedtest Intelligence® | 5G Availability (%) in Q4 2024

Similar financial instruments are aiding 5G deployments in rural Norway. In the first half of 2024, the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) provided a 15-year €85 million loan to Lyse AS, the owner of Norway’s third mobile operator, Ice, to finance the upgrade of over 2,800 mobile sites and the development of more than 3,500 new ones, aiming to extend Ice’s 5G coverage to 99.5% of the population over the next three years.

Network sharing accelerates Nordic 5G rollouts in rural areas  

Higher levels of inter-operator collaboration on mobile infrastructure buildouts in the Nordics compared to other European countries have been key to improving the economics of delivering 5G coverage in rural areas. Extensive network sharing agreements between at least two operators exist in Denmark (e.g., the TT Network joint venture between Telia and Telenor), Finland (e.g., the Finnish Shared Network joint venture between DNA and Telia in Northern and Eastern Finland) and Sweden (e.g., the Net4Mobility joint venture between Tele2 and Telenor).

Deep Network Sharing among Nordic Operators Drives Symmetry in 5G Availability
Speedtest Intelligence® | 5G Availability (%) in Q4 2024

The extensive depth of network sharing has contributed to balanced 5G coverage outcomes among operators in the Nordics, resulting in a greater-than-usual symmetry in 5G Availability within these countries. Sweden exemplifies this, with nearly identical 5G Availability levels (72.5%) observed for Tele2 and Telenor, according to Speedtest Intelligence data for Q4 2024. In contrast, smaller operators that have historically relied on national roaming agreements (e.g., Ice in Norway) or are not part of major sharing arrangements (e.g., 3 in Sweden) continue to exhibit lower 5G Availability, leading to greater coverage imbalances with market leaders.

Alongside a strong appetite for network sharing, Nordic operators have also embraced the shutdown of legacy networks more rapidly than other parts of Europe. Speedtest Intelligence data for Q4 2024 shows that operators in Finland and Norway have already completed the full sunset of 3G, with Denmark expected to follow suit once 3 finalises its 3G sunset in the coming months.

Low-Band Deployment and Early Network Sunsets Minimise Nordic Subscriber Time on 2G and 3G
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q4 2024

The proportion of Nordic mobile subscribers spending the majority of their time without network access was highest in Finland (1.9%) in Q4 2024, significantly above Norway (0.8%), the regional leader. Despite progress in phasing out 3G networks, several Nordic operators are postponing their 2G shutdowns to facilitate smoother migration for legacy users. Telia in Sweden, for example, recently announced a two-year delay to its 2G switch-off, now planned for 2025, to minimise disruptions in sectors like agriculture, which rely on 2G for essential equipment such as milking robots and irrigation systems.

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
Europe
Nordics

About the Author

Luke Kehoe

Ookla Research™ Articles
| January 12, 2025

How consolidation is reshaping Spain’s telecoms market in 2025 | La consolidación cambia las telecomunicaciones españolas en 2025

5G
Spanish/Español

Spain continues to lead Europe in fiber rollout, but lagging mobile performance undermines country’s overall telecoms competitiveness

The dynamism of Spain’s telecoms market stood out among its European peers last year, with a flurry of mergers reshaping the market’s structure and strong investment in next-generation networks, supported by targeted government initiatives, improving outcomes for Spanish consumers. However, while increased fiber and 5G penetration have driven notable year-on-year improvements in overall network performance, Spain’s international competitiveness in telecoms remains highly imbalanced between its fixed and mobile infrastructure.

The country’s credentials as Europe’s preeminent fiber leader remain intact. In 2024, Spain ranked among the top three in the EU for fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) coverage (95.2%) and the share of fixed broadband subscriptions providing download speeds above 100 Mbps (93.5%), according to the latest edition of the European Commission’s ‘State of the Digital Decade’ report. This continues to position the country significantly ahead of some of the bloc’s largest economies, most notably Germany, which still lags in FTTP coverage (28.8%) due to a slow shift away from cable networks.

Analysis of Speedtest Intelligence® data reveals that median fixed download speeds in Spain increased from 173.32 Mbps to 210.46 Mbps between 2023 and 2024. This trend of improvement was mirrored across other fixed network performance metrics, with upload speeds increasing in the same period from 129.62 Mbps to 155.53 Mbps. In Q3 2024, DIGI achieved a median fixed download speed of 321.21 Mbps in the Spanish market, followed by Jazztel (273.18 Mbps), Orange (262.78 Mbps), Yoigo (255.74 Mbps) and Movistar (180.30 Mbps).

Spain Leads Europe in Fiber Deployment and Adoption, Boasting the Highest Coverage Among the EU's Top 10 Economies
European Commission | DESI 2018 – 2024

Having achieved exceptionally high levels of FTTP penetration across urban, suburban and rural areas—placing Spain among the top three in the European Commission’s DESI 2024 Index for FTTP coverage in sparsely populated rural areas—the focus in Spain is shifting toward enhancing quality of experience (QoE) in core use cases such as gaming and video streaming. Despite boasting higher FTTP coverage and take-up rates, Spain ranks below countries like France in Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index™. This disparity highlights the influence of factors such as Wi-Fi technology—France has a higher penetration of Wi-Fi 6 and 7 in ISP-provided CPE—and tariff provisioned speeds, with a larger share of fiber customers in France subscribing to multi-gigabit plans, on fixed broadband performance.

DIGI’s strong fixed download speed performance in Spain, detailed in Ookla’s Speedtest Connectivity Report for 1H 2024, is underpinned by similar favourable factors. Notably, it was first to market in Spain with a 10 Gbps service, fully leveraging its XGS-PON fiber infrastructure. With highly competitive pricing—starting at just €20 per month for 1 Gbps and €25 per month for 10 Gbps, including Wi-Fi 6 CPE as standard—DIGI has quickly secured a significant share of multi-gigabit capable connections in the Spanish market. 

Autonomous Communities in Northern Spain Lead in Fixed Download Speed Performance
Speedtest Intelligence® | 2024

In addition to highlighting the importance of modern CPE and higher tariff-provisioned speeds, DIGI’s business last year exemplified the accelerating consolidation trends in Spain’s highly overbuilt and fragmented fiber market. The acquisition of DIGI’s fiber infrastructure by a Macquarie-led consortium, which solidified wholesale specialist Onivia’s status as the largest of the ‘neutral’ FTTP networks in Spain, dovetailed with developments such as Telefónica’s BlueVia wholesale spin-off, the emergence of MásOrange and Zegona-controlled Vodafone’s ‘FiberCo’ tie-ups with both Telefónica and MásOrange.

As observed in other European markets with significant fiber overbuild, such as the alt-net model in the UK, consolidation is a slow and challenging process. However, Spanish operators continue to pursue it to enhance the economics of their fiber investments in highly overbuilt urban areas, unlocking scale and resources to capture future growth in rural areas where overlapping infrastructure is less common. This begins with small local operators—of which there are hundreds—being absorbed by ‘local consolidators’. These are then integrated into the infrastructure portfolios of regional consolidators, ultimately leading to acquisition by one of the largest traditional players. 

Fiber Overbuild from Smaller Players like DIGI Drives Market Share Shift from Incumbents
Analysis of CNMC Market Data | 2022 – 2024

This gradual process of consolidation is reshaping the fiber business model in Spain, as traditional operators separate their infrastructure and service units to support the growth of wholesale offerings. The coming year will provide some insight into whether a consolidated third player can successfully compete and coexist alongside the vertically integrated Telefónica and MásOrange in the long-term.

MásOrange is vying for network leadership in Spain, founded on a significant spectrum advantage

The winds of consolidation have swept through the Spanish mobile market too, culminating last year in the European Commission’s approval of a 50:50 joint venture between MásMóvil and Orange. The merger has pole-vaulted the newly formed ‘MásOrange’ into a leading position in the market, both in subscription and spectrum share. To secure regulatory approval from Brussels, the merging entity committed to divesting 60 MHz of spectrum, including 20 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band, to facilitate the entry of DIGI as a fully-fledged independent mobile operator, effectively restoring the Spanish market to a four-player structure and ‘exerting a strong competitive constraint on the joint venture’.

In addition to diversifying its portfolio of brands through the merger—with Orange and Yoigo catering to the premium segment, Jazztel and MásMóvil focusing on value for money and regional brands like Euskaltel and Telecable serving local needs—MásOrange hopes its consolidated spectrum assets will enable it to achieve network leadership in the Spanish mobile market. 

Movistar Revenues Stable YoY in Q3 2024 while Vodafone and MásOrange Face Declines
Analysis of CNMC Market Data | 2022 – 2024

The merged entity’s consolidated network will be primarily based on Orange’s infrastructure, complemented by MásMóvil’s existing site portfolio and the deployment of new greenfield sites. The integration of MásMóvil’s network, which relies entirely on mid- and high-band spectrum and has historically depended on a national roaming agreement with Orange, creates a natural synergy for the merged entity. It enables the integrated network to leverage MásMóvil’s capacity and density in urban areas alongside Orange’s extensive coverage and nationwide reach.

MásOrange is particularly focused on vying to unseat Movistar’s dominance in the premium segment, a position it has long upheld thanks to its emphasis on superior network quality. Movistar emerged as the fastest mobile operator in the Spanish market in Ookla’s Speedtest Connectivity Report for 1H 2024, delivering the highest median download speeds of 82.68 Mbps.  This placed Movistar significantly ahead of Orange (56.42 Mbps) and Yoigo (36.73 Mbps).

The merged entity’s spectrum advantage is heavily weighted toward mid- and high-bands, which are typically utilised for 5G deployments in urban and suburban areas. According to data published by MásOrange, it holds 37% of all mid- and high-band assets in the Spanish market—compared to 28% and 26% for its closest competitor, Telefónica—giving it a unique opportunity to enhance 5G speed performance and gain a competitive edge.

Movistar has maintained its strong 5G speed performance with a 100 MHz allocation in the 3.5 GHz band, but this is now overshadowed by MasOrange’s expanded allocation of 170 MHz. Capital investment by the merged entity in upgrading the 5G RAN to support advanced carrier aggregation (CA) capabilities and the standalone (SA) architecture will enable it to fully realise the performance benefits of wider channel bandwidth through the extensive deployment of its 3.5 GHz spectrum across its consolidated mobile site grid. 

Seville Leads in 5G Download Speed Among Spain's Largest Cities, but Operator Performance Varies Widely
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2024

To establish network leadership in coverage, however, MásOrange will need to move beyond its spectrum advantage and focus on increasing the number of physical sites in rural areas within its integrated network. In Q3 2024, Vodafone and Movistar recorded 4G Availability of 95.1% and 93.4% respectively in the Spanish market, followed by Orange at 92.7% and Yoigo at 91.5%.

In parallel to MásOrange’s network consolidation journey, DIGI is building out its own infrastructure to gradually wean itself off dependence on a national roaming and RAN sharing agreement with Telefónica (which DIGI selected over MásOrange, despite both being options under the merger conditions), starting with urban and suburban areas. The European Commission designed the spectrum divestment remedies to position DIGI to replicate the competitive pressure previously exerted by MásMóvil. The goal is for DIGI to carry a similar share of its total mobile data traffic on its own network in the coming years, at least matching the 40-60% on-net share that MásMóvil achieved pre-merger. 

Spain's Rural Provinces Trail in 5G Availability, Highlighting the Importance of Government Support through UNICO
Speedtest Intelligence® | Overall 5G Availability (%) in 2024

More broadly, it is hoped that the substantial long-term investment commitments from DIGI and MásOrange, driven by the consolidation activity, combined with government support through programmes such as Unico, will bolster Spain’s international competitiveness in mobile performance in the coming years. The country has significant catching up to do, ranking 57th in the Speedtest Global Index at the end of 2024 and trailing most of its European peers across a suite of network performance metrics, including download speed, consistency and coverage. 

La consolidación cambia las telecomunicaciones españolas en 2025

España sigue a la cabeza en despliegue de fibra en Europa, pero el rezagado desempeño móvil reduce la competitividad del país

El dinamismo del mercado español de telecomunicaciones destacó el año pasado frente al de otros mercados europeos, por fusiones que modificaron la estructura del sector y una fuerte inversión en redes de próxima generación, respaldadas por iniciativas gubernamentales, que supusieron mejoras para los consumidores españoles. Si bien la mayor penetración de la fibra y el 5G han impulsado año tras año notables avances en el rendimiento general de la red, la competitividad internacional de España en telecomunicaciones sigue estando muy desequilibrada entre su infraestructura fija y móvil.

Las credenciales del país como líder europeo en fibra permanecen intactas. En 2024, según la última edición del informe ‘Estado de la Década Digital’ de la Comisión Europea, España se situó entre los tres primeros países de la UE en cobertura de fibra hasta las instalaciones (FTTP), con un 95,21%, y en porcentaje de suscripciones de banda ancha fija con velocidades de descarga superiores a 100 Mbps (93,54%). Esto posicionó al país significativamente por delante de algunas de las economías más grandes del bloque, en particular Alemania, todavía rezagada en cobertura FTTP (28,80%).

Según Speedtest Intelligence la velocidad mediana de descarga fija en España aumentó de 173,32 Mbps a 210,46 Mbps entre 2023 y 2024. Esta tendencia de mejora se reflejó en otras métricas de rendimiento de la red fija, con velocidades medianas de carga que se incrementaron de 129.62 Mbps a 155.53 Mbps en el mismo período. En el tercer trimestre de 2024, DIGI alcanzó una velocidad mediana de descarga fija de 321,21 Mbps, por delante de Jazztel (273,18 Mbps), Orange (262,78 Mbps), Yoigo (255,74 Mbps) y Movistar (180,30 Mbps).

España lidera Europa en despliegue y adopción de fibra, con la mayor cobertura entre las 10 principales economías de la UE
Comisión Europea | DESI 2018-2024

Habiendo alcanzado niveles excepcionalmente altos de penetración de FTTP en áreas urbanas, suburbanas y rurales (que posicionan a España entre los tres primeros del índice DESI 2024 de la Comisión Europea  sobre cobertura FTTP en zonas rurales escasamente pobladas), España está cambiando el foco hacia la mejora de la calidad de la experiencia (QoE) para casos de uso como los vídeojuegos y el streaming. A pesar de contar con más cobertura y tasas de aceptación FTTP, España está por debajo de países como Francia en el Índice Global de Speedtest de Ookla.

Este desequilibrio pone de relieve la influencia en el rendimiento de la banda ancha fija de factores como la tecnología Wi-Fi (Francia tiene una mayor penetración de Wi-Fi 6 y 7 en los router proporcionados por los operadores) y las velocidades ofrecidas en la tarifa (con una mayor proporción de clientes de fibra suscritos a planes multi-gigabit en Francia).

El sólido rendimiento de la velocidad de descarga fija de DIGI en España, detallado en Informe de Conectividad de Speedtest, está respaldado por factores favorables similares. Fue el primero en comercializar en España un servicio de 10 Gbps, aprovechando al máximo su infraestructura de fibra XGS-PON. Con precios altamente competitivos (desde sólo 20€ al mes por 1 Gbps y 25€ por 10 Gbps y router Wi-Fi 6 incluido), DIGI se ha asegurado rápidamente una cuota importante de conexiones con capacidad multigigabit en el mercado español. 

Las comunidades autónomas del norte de España, líderes en rendimiento de velocidad de descarga fija
Speedtest Intelligence® | 2024

Además de evidenciar la importancia de un router moderno y velocidades más altas, el negocio de DIGI ejemplificó el año pasado la acelerada tendencia de consolidación en el fragmentado y sobredimensionado mercado español de fibra. La adquisición de la infraestructura de fibra de DIGI por parte de un consorcio liderado por Macquarie, que consolidó el estatus de Onivia como la mayor red FTTP ‘neutra’ en España, coincidió con otros acontecimientos como la escisión de BlueVia de Telefónica, la aparición de MásOrange y las alianzas de ‘FibreCo’ de Vodafone con Telefónica y MásOrange.

Como se observa en otros mercados europeos con un importante despliegue de fibra (como Reino Unido), la consolidación es un proceso lento y desafiante. Sin embargo, los operadores españoles continúan persiguiéndola para mejorar la rentabilidad de sus inversiones en fibra en áreas urbanas altamente edificadas, liberando recursos para aprovechar el crecimiento futuro en áreas rurales donde la superposición de infraestructura es menos común. Esto comienza con la absorción de pequeños operadores locales (de los que hay cientos) por “consolidadores locales”. Luego, éstos se integran en las carteras de infraestructura de los consolidadores regionales, lo que en última instancia conduce a la adquisición por parte de uno de los actores tradicionales más grandes.

El despliegue de fibra por parte de actores más pequeños como DIGI impulsa el cambio en la cuota de mercado de los operadores tradicionales
Análisis de datos de CNMC | 2022-2024

Esta consolidación gradual está modificando el negocio de la fibra en España, mientras que los operadores tradicionales separan sus unidades de infraestructura y servicios para apoyar el crecimiento de la oferta mayorista. Este año se podrá saber si un tercer actor consolidado puede competir y coexistir con éxito a largo plazo con Telefónica y MásOrange.

MásOrange compite por el liderazgo de la red en España, apoyándose en una importante ventaja de espectro

La consolidación también ha afectado al mercado móvil español. A finales del año pasado, la Comisión Europea aprobó la creación de una empresa conjunta entre MásMóvil y Orange. La fusión ha llevado a la recién formada MásOrange a una posición de liderazgo, tanto en suscripción como en cuota de espectro. Para obtener la aprobación de Bruselas, la entidad se comprometió a vender 60 MHz de espectro, incluidos 20 MHz en la banda de 3,5 GHz, para facilitar la entrada de DIGI como un operador móvil independiente de pleno derecho, convirtiendo así el mercado español en una estructura de cuatro actores. 

Además de diversificar su cartera de marcas a través de la fusión (con Orange y Yoigo en el segmento premium, Jazztel y MásMóvil centrándose en la relación calidad-precio y Euskaltel y Telecable atendiendo las necesidades locales), MásOrange espera que sus activos de espectro le permitan alcanzar el liderazgo en el mercado móvil español.

Los ingresos de Movistar se mantienen estables interanualmente en el 3T de 2024 mientras que Vodafone y MásOrange afrontan caídas
Análisis de datos de mercado de CNMC | 2022-2024

La red de la entidad se basará principalmente en la infraestructura de Orange, complementada con la cartera de sites existentes de MásMóvil y el despliegue de nuevos. La integración de la red de MásMóvil, que depende íntegramente del espectro de banda media y alta e históricamente ha dependido de un acuerdo de roaming nacional con Orange, crea una sinergia para la entidad: aprovechar la capacidad y densidad de MásMóvil en áreas urbanas junto con la amplia cobertura y alcance nacional de Orange.

MásOrange está centrado en desbancar a Movistar en el segmento premium, que ha liderado durante mucho tiempo gracias a su foco en la calidad superior de la red. Movistar emergió como el operador móvil más rápido del mercado español en el Informe de Conectividad Speedtest de Ookla para el primer semestre de 2024, al ofrecer la velocidad de descarga media más alta de 82,68 Mbps.  Esto sitúa a Movistar muy por delante de Orange (56,42 Mbps) y Yoigo (36,73 Mbps).

La ventaja espectral de MásOrange se inclina hacia las bandas medias y altas, normalmente utilizadas para implementaciones 5G en áreas urbanas y suburbanas. De acuerdo con los datos publicados por la compañía, MásOrange cuenta con el 37% de todos los activos de banda media y alta de España (en comparación con el 28% y el 26% de su competidor más cercano, Telefónica), lo que le da una oportunidad única de mejorar el rendimiento de la velocidad 5G y adelantarse a sus competidores.

Movistar ha mantenido su liderazgo en velocidad 5G con una asignación de 100 MHz en la banda de 3,5 GHz, pero esto se ve ahora eclipsado por la asignación de MásOrange de 170 MHz. La inversión de ésta para actualizar la RAN 5G para que cuente con capacidades avanzadas de agregación de operadores y arquitectura independiente (SA), le permitirá aprovechar los beneficios de rendimiento de un ancho de banda mayor a través del amplio despliegue de su espectro de 3,5 GHz en toda su red móvil consolidada. 

Sevilla lidera en velocidad de descarga 5G entre las principales ciudades de España, pero el rendimiento de los operadores varía ampliamente
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2024

Sin embargo, para liderar en cobertura de red, MásOrange necesitará ir más allá de su ventaja de espectro y centrarse en incrementar el número de sites físicos en áreas rurales. En el tercer trimestre de 2024, Vodafone y Movistar registraron en el mercado español una disponibilidad 4G del 95,1% y 93,4% respectivamente, seguidas de Orange con un 92,7% y Yoigo con un 91,5%.

Paralelamente a la consolidación de la red de MásOrange, DIGI está construyendo su propia infraestructura para dejar de depender gradualmente de un acuerdo de roaming y del uso compartido de RAN con Telefónica, comenzando con zonas urbanas y suburbanas. La Comisión Europea diseñó los remedies de desinversión de espectro para que DIGI replique la presión competitiva ejercida anteriormente por MásMóvil. El objetivo es que DIGI transporte una proporción similar de su tráfico total de datos móviles en su propia red en los próximos años, al menos igualando la cuota on-net del 40-60% que MásMóvil lograba antes de la fusión. 

Provincias rurales de España, a la zaga en disponibilidad de 5G, lo que destaca la importancia del apoyo gubernamental a través de UNICO.
Speedtest Intelligence® | Disponibilidad general 5G (%) en 2024

En términos generales, se espera que los compromisos de inversión a largo plazo de DIGI y MásOrange, impulsados ​​por la consolidación, unidos al apoyo gubernamental con programas como Único, impulsen la competitividad internacional de España en rendimiento móvil en los próximos años. El país tiene mucho por hacer, ya que a finales de 2024 ocupa el puesto 57 en Índice Global de Speedtest, situándose por detrás de la mayoría de sus colegas europeos en rendimiento de red, incluidas velocidad de descarga, coherencia y cobertura.

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
Europe
FTTH

About the Author

Luke Kehoe

Ookla Research™ Articles
| December 16, 2024

DIGI makes a splash as fourth MNO in Belgium, leans on convergence

5G

Belgium’s new entrant jolts the market with aggressive pricing, eyes Wi-Fi 7 in bid for QoE advantage

Romania’s DIGI has taken another bold step in its ambitious multi-country expansion strategy—the largest in Europe in over a decade—by launching fixed and mobile services in Belgium. It is replicating its signature disruptor strategy to swiftly capture market share, introducing a cut-price mobile tariff priced at €5 per month for 15 GB of data, alongside a fixed broadband offering at €10 per month for a 500 Mbps full-fibre connection.

The long-anticipated commercial launch is founded on a rebranded joint venture between Citymesh (51%), a subsidiary of IT services group Cegeka specialising in the B2B segment, and RCS & RDS, a subsidiary of the DIGI group. A five-year national roaming agreement with Proximus, Belgium’s largest mobile operator, has enabled DIGI’s market entry while it works to deploy its own greenfield radio infrastructure. DIGI aims to achieve 30% 5G population coverage by the end of 2025 and establish a network of 4,500 sites by the end of this decade.

As part of this roaming agreement, Proximus proposed to decommission and transfer around 400 of its own mobile sites to InSky, the company responsible for deploying the infrastructure for DIGI and Citymesh. With extensive spectrum holdings, including assets in the 700, 900, 1800 and 2100 MHz bands, along with a valuable 50 MHz of unpaired 3.6 GHz spectrum and 2.6 GHz frequencies it secured from neutral host operator Dense Air, it is fully equipped to execute its mobile network rollout. 

DIGI subscribers rely on Proximus’ 4G network as it races to deploy its own 5G Standalone (SA) infrastructure

Subscribers to the new operator may initially be surprised by the limited availability of 5G services. DIGI’s roaming agreement with Proximus is restricted to its 4G network, with 5G access reliant on the progress of DIGI’s own greenfield site deployment. Whether this rollout will enhance Belgium’s international standing in 5G coverage remains to be seen, as the country continues to lag behind most of its developed peers due to delays in network deployment caused by conflicts between regional governments at the start of the 5G cycle. 

Belgium continues to lag its neighbours in 5G Availability
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2023 – Q3 2024

Analysis of Speedtest Intelligence® data from Q3 2024 reveals that Proximus, DIGI’s roaming partner, led the market in 4G download speed performance. Proximus’ subscribers enjoyed median 4G download speeds of 55.68 Mbps in the period, outperforming Telenet (47.91 Mbps) and Orange (36.22 Mbps). 

DIGI subscribers will roam on Proximus' 4G network, which leads the Belgian market in 4G download speed performance
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2023 – Q3 2024

However, this performance advantage does not extend to network reach. In Q3 2024, Proximus lagged behind its competitors in 4G Availability. Telenet led the market with 93.74% 4G Availability, followed by Orange at 86.02% and Proximus at 81.07%. Proximus’ comparatively lower 4G Availability has also contributed to its subscribers spending more time on 3G than those of other operators. On Proximus’ network, 11.21% of devices spent the majority of their time on 3G, compared to 7.92% on Orange’s network and just 3.41% on Telenet’s network. 

Proximus' subscribers spend more time on 2G and 3G compared to competitors, primarily due to lower 4G Availability
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2024

Fibre ambitions put convergence and Wi-Fi 7 in the spotlight

DIGI’s ambitions in Belgium extend beyond disrupting the mobile market—it is taking aim at fixed broadband too. The operator has introduced ‘DIGI Fiber’, bringing its signature aggressive pricing to the FTTH market. Launching with a limited footprint in select Brussels suburbs, DIGI Fiber offers download speeds of up to 10 Gbps for as little as €20 per month. It plans to scale this fibre footprint rapidly, as it has done in Spain, targeting 2 million households within two years.

DIGI’s fibre offering is highly competitive in the Belgian market context, promising speeds that are many multiples of the country-wide median of 101.97 Mbps observed across fixed networks in Belgium in Q3 2024. While Proximus’ fibre service led the market during this period with median download speeds of 303.25 Mbps, DIGI’s entry may disrupt the market order. 

Proximus Fiber leads in fixed download speed performance across Belgium's largest cities
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2024

The operator is placing significant emphasis on Wi-Fi performance as part of its foray into the home, providing Wi-Fi 6-capable CPE as standard and preparing to introduce Wi-Fi 7 solutions “soon” for customers subscribing to its 10 Gbps service. This follows the playbook of other leading fixed operators seeking to differentiate fibre services through an enhanced focus on quality of experience (QoE) in the home, with BT’s EE in the UK and Iliad’s Free in France also debuting Wi-Fi 7 solutions in a bid to sell premium fibre experiences.

DIGI aims to leverage converged bundling of fixed and mobile tariffs to maximise customer retention and minimise churn, as it seeks to position itself as a leader in both price and network quality in Belgium. However, this convergence strategy is far from novel in the Belgian market, where competitors have successfully offered triple- and quad-play bundles for years. Notably, DIGI has yet to introduce a TV service in Belgium, leaving a gap in its bundling proposition at launch. 

Has DIGI precipitated a race to the bottom in Belgium?

DIGI’s arrival disrupts a market long known for generating some of the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) levels in Western and Central Europe, coupled with a higher degree of market concentration compared to other countries in the region, based on analysis of GSMA Intelligence data. In Q3 2024, Belgian operators reported a monthly ARPU of €18.26, significantly outpacing neighbouring markets such as the Netherlands (€13.15) and Germany (€11.03).

Belgian operators maintain higher ARPU levels compared to many other European markets
Analysis of GSMA Intelligence data | Q3 2024

Market incumbents have been bracing for an intense price war for some time. Earlier this year, Proximus cut its dividend, increased debt and struck agreements with alt-nets to accelerate its fibre rollout in Flanders. In a strategic counter move, Orange responded to DIGI’s aggressive mobile pricing by launching an equivalently priced tariff through its budget-focused ‘Hey!’ sub-brand, setting the stage for a race to the bottom in Belgium’s telecoms market.

This development shifts the Belgian market from a three- to four-player structure, marking a notable countertrend at a time when regulators in Brussels are signalling a softer stance on merger reviews and competition policy. It also follows closely on the heels of the Vodafone-Three merger approval in the UK, highlighting the increasingly diverse regulatory dynamics at play across Europe. 

DIGI's success in Spain has been a cornerstone of its revenue growth, fueling its expansion ambitions in Belgium
Analysis of DIGI Group financial accounts | 2018 – 2024

Regardless of the outcome in the Belgian market, this marks a critical litmus test for DIGI’s growth ambition in Western Europe. Over the past decade, the Bucharest-based group has nearly tripled its annual revenues, growing from €624 million in 2013 to over €1.69 billion in 2023. It continues to distinguish itself through an obsessive strategic focus on operational efficiency—a model that has been similarly instrumental to Iliad’s success in Europe and its ability to achieve economies of scale. 

This emphasis on a lean organisational structure has not dampened its long-term investment commitments. Last year alone, DIGI splurged €729.7 million on network spending and sold part of its fixed network in Spain to unlock additional funds for reinvestment, as it navigates a period of record capital intensity across its markets. 

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
Europe
Convergence
Wi-Fi 7
DIGI

About the Author

Luke Kehoe

Ookla Research™ Articles
| December 9, 2024

UK Telecoms at a Crossroads: Consolidation, Convergence, and Looking Ahead to 2025

Global Speeds

After years of decline in international rankings, can the UK’s largest telecoms merger in decades revive competition in network quality?

In this special year-end article, we examine the past year in UK telecoms, assessing the country’s global competitiveness, evaluating 5G SA rollouts and monetisation strategies, highlighting the growing trend of convergence and looking ahead to what the market may bring in 2025.

The State of the UK’s Mobile Networks

The UK continued to trail its developed peers in mobile performance in 2024

Reports of mobile not-spots, outages and peak-time congestion dominated discussions around the UK’s mobile networks this year, with high-profile publications highlighting their underperformance compared to developed peers elsewhere in Europe and North America. Particular attention has been drawn to indoor coverage deficits—where over 80% of mobile traffic originates today—and lingering blackspots along key rail corridors nationwide.

Consumer research published by Ookla earlier this year, based on a survey of over 2,000 smartphone users in the UK and US, revealed significantly higher dissatisfaction among UK mobile users. Quality of experience (QoE) issues, such as slow-loading web pages (37%) and interrupted video streams (19%), were prominent, with over a quarter of UK respondents also reporting service interruptions or outages at least once a month. These experiences are likely driving a higher propensity to churn, with 27% of users planning to switch operators within the next twelve months citing coverage as their primary reason. 

Analysis of Speedtest Intelligence® data underscores UK consumers’ concerns, revealing the country’s stark international underperformance. Over the past eight years, the UK has shifted from being a G7 leader to a laggard in mobile download speeds at the 10th percentile—a key measure of baseline network performance, as it reflects the experience of users with the slowest connections. These speeds are now lower in the UK than in all but one other G7 country (Japan), with the gap to the leader (France) now widening rapidly on a year-on-year basis.

Outside the G7, the UK recorded the lowest Consistency score in Europe (82.56%) during Q2-Q3 2024, ahead of only Ireland. This metric reflects the percentage of consumer-initiated Speedtest samples meeting minimum speed thresholds: 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload on 4G, and 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload on 5G. Market-wide Consistency in the UK saw only slight increases over the year, primarily driven by improvements in the performance of 4G networks. 

Investments in RAN upgrades and site expansion are driving progress in coverage and QoE moving into 2025

Notwithstanding the challenges, there is evidence that the performance of the UK’s mobile networks improved notably during the year, as reflected in other key indicators. Speedtest Intelligence data revealed a reduction in market-wide latency to 51.83 ms, reflecting progress across three of the four operators. Moreover, the observed quality of experience for bread-and-butter activities such as gaming and video streaming moved in the right direction again after a decline last year.

Significant investments in RAN upgrades and site expansions, bolstered in part by the government’s 4G-focused Shared Rural Network (SRN) initiative, contributed to substantial improvements in network coverage across all operators over the year. Overall 5G Availability in the UK rose by nearly 10 percentage points to 36.25% between 2023 and 2024, while 4G Availability increased from 93.8% to 95.7% during the same period. 

Ofcom noted, however, that there remains a substantial rural-urban divide in terms of 5G deployment progress in the UK, with 5G deployed on 42% of sites in urban areas, compared with just 16% of sites in rural areas, at the end of 2024.

Progress in the 3G sunset underlines the importance of supporting new measures to improve indoor connectivity outcomes

The shutdown of 3G networks, which reportedly accounted for less than 1% of traffic but over a quarter of operators’ RAN electricity consumption in some cases, has played an important role in freeing up spectrum for 4G and 5G. EE, for instance, has expanded its refarmed 2100 MHz spectrum deployments (n1) for 5G, increasing channel bandwidth from 15 MHz to 20 MHz during the year.

Speedtest Intelligence data reveals a decrease in overall 3G General Availability in the UK from 3.43% last year to 1.60% in 2024, indicating the percentage of users falling back to and mainly using 3G networks more than halved in the period. A potential consequence of the 3G sunset, however, is an increased reliance on 2G networks, particularly in deep indoor environments—the percentage of overall users that spend the majority of their time on 2G increased from 0.37% in 2023 to 0.76% this year.

By the end of 2025, all four of the UK’s mobile operators are expected to have completed their 3G sunsets. Reducing the propensity to fall back to 2G and enhancing the handover experience to 4G and 5G networks are likely to remain key priorities for operators’ RAN strategies. Progress in enhancing the indoor mobile network experience in the UK, enabled by deployment models such as Boldyn Networks’ small cell rollout on the London Underground and new in-building neutral host solutions from companies like Freshwave and Proptivity, will be key and may benefit from policy support.

Merger approval transforms spectrum landscape and provides certainty moving into 2025

The successful approval of the merger between Three and Vodafone by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) brings much-needed certainty to the market heading into 2025. This decision is expected to encourage long-term commitments to capital spending on network upgrades across all operators in the UK market, not just required by the merged entity for integrating its networks and complying with the CMA’s behavioural remedies. With the consolidation and redistribution of spectrum benefiting both the merged entity and Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), two of the three in-market operators will have more headroom to expand network capacity where needed.

Research published by Ookla earlier this year examined the impact of operator consolidation on network quality outcomes across Europe and a sample of other high-income countries. It found that a three-player market structure—now set to define the UK market following the merger—tends to be associated with higher median download speeds, improved network consistency and more positive consumer sentiment in the markets where it is present over time. 

The UK leads Europe in the commercialisation of 5G SA

While the UK lags behind its developed peers in mobile network performance, it has emerged as a global leader in the commercial rollout of the standalone (SA) 5G architecture. It remains the only European country with three commercially available 5G SA networks at the end of 2024, as VMO2 and EE joined Vodafone this year in launching the technology, primarily targeting dense urban areas in cities and towns. Ofcom reported that there were 3,300 5G SA-capable sites by the end of 2024, representing 15% of all reported 5G sites and carrying 3% of the UK’s overall monthly mobile traffic.

Controlled network testing by RootMetrics®, an Ookla company, on EE’s 5G network in Birmingham in October confirmed the significant latency improvements unlocked by the SA architecture. With 115 MHz of channel bandwidth observed across much of EE’s SA deployments along the test route, the operator stands out as the closest European equivalent to T-Mobile in the US which, like EE, has distinguished itself through extensive SA spectrum allocation spanning multiple carriers from low-band to mid- and high-bands.

In addition to upgrading traditional rooftop and monopole sites for 5G SA, operators like VMO2 are deploying street-level 5G SA small cells in increasing numbers to boost network capacity in high-footfall areas. This approach to network densification is expected to accelerate next year as macro site grid upgrades mature and operators collaborate with local authorities to streamline deployment processes for street-level mobile infrastructure. 

Stimulating consumer demand for 5G SA proves a challenge, with bundling emerging as a key sales strategy

On a business level, each operator has adopted a distinct strategy to market 5G SA in the UK, highlighting the persistent challenges of monetising 5G investments as far as mid-way through the technology cycle. Vodafone led the charge with a consumer-focused launch in 2023, branding its SA service as ‘5G Ultra’. In an effort to upsell its base, the offering was limited to postpay subscribers, with ‘improved phone battery life’ promoted as a key selling point.

In contrast, VMO2 launched its 5G SA network this year, following the playbook of operators like Iliad’s Free in the French market, by offering access to its existing subscribers at no additional cost. While the operator touted improvements in latency and uplink performance unlocked by the new 5G SA core and enhanced carrier aggregation, the aggressive pricing strategy reinforces the increasing industry consensus in Europe that consumers are unwilling to pay a premium for 5G SA alone.

Recognising this challenge in marketing the technology as a worthy consumer upgrade from the NSA architecture, and aligning with its strategy to transition from a traditional telecoms operator to a dynamic, service-led household brand, EE has taken a more ambitious approach. The operator has bundled its 5G SA offerings, restricted to its most expensive tariffs, with content packages, securing a partnership with Google to provide access to its premium Gemini Advanced AI model as part of the deal.

Bundling has proven effective for upselling in other advanced markets, particularly in Asia, where operators have successfully boosted ARPU by introducing differentiated services early in the 5G cycle. In addition to bundling Google’s AI services, EE introduced a ‘Network Boost’ subscription add-on with its 5G SA launch, offering premium subscribers the option to pay for prioritised network access during times of congestion.

This bundling strategy is expected to expand further in the UK next year, aligning with converged fixed and mobile offerings from operators like BT and VMO2. As the rollout of 5G SA matures and is afforded greater strategic priority under the government’s Wireless Infrastructure Strategy (WIS), and the device and solution ecosystem continues to mature, operators are likely to shift their focus to the enterprise segment—arguably the only market where SA-specific features, such as network slicing, hold any substantive monetisation potential.

The State of the UK’s Fixed Broadband Networks

Fibre land grab boosts the UK’s international ranking in fixed broadband performance

The recent groundswell of investment in fibre infrastructure across the UK is paying off, with median download speeds on fixed networks increasing by nearly 40% between 2023 and 2024 to 107.07 Mbps, according to Speedtest Intelligence data. This improvement trend also extended to other key metrics, including a 6% reduction in latency to 20.47 ms and enhanced QoE for gaming and video streaming across major ISPs. Ofcom reported that FTTH reached nearly 7 in 10 homes at the end of 2024, putting the UK on track to reach the government’s target of 85% full-fibre coverage by the end of 2025.

UK leads Germany and Italy in Fixed Download Speeds, but Trails G7 Leaders
Source: Speedtest Intelligence® | 2018 – 2024
Spline plot comparison of median fixed download speeds among the G7 countries between 2018 and 2024 based on Speedtest Intelligence® data.

Notably, in the context of Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index™, the UK continues to rank relatively higher in fixed network performance compared to mobile performance. The significant gains in median fixed download, upload and latency performance over the last year have propelled the UK up twelve places in the index, positioning it ahead of other G7 countries like Germany and Italy. However, it remains in the lower half of Western European countries. 

Wi-Fi 7 poised to become the default standard for ISPs targeting premium experiences in 2025

The growing adoption of advanced Wi-Fi solutions, including mesh routers for enhanced whole-home coverage and Wi-Fi 6E-capable access points for higher throughput on multi-gigabit FTTH connections, continues to play an important role in enhancing fixed performance outcomes in the UK. In the year gone by, fixed ISPs have increasingly relied on ‘Wi-Fi guarantees’ as a cornerstone of their marketing strategies, offering promises of minimum download speeds in every room—backed by money-back assurances.

Building on this momentum, Wi-Fi 7 is expected to become the default standard for CPE provided by UK ISPs on premium FTTH tariffs from next year. BT was among the first ISPs globally to launch a next-generation Wi-Fi 7 router earlier this year, partnering with Qualcomm to introduce its new ‘Smart Hub Pro’ and ‘Smart Wi-Fi Pro’ CPE solutions to EE Home Broadband customers. 

Merger approval ups the ante on convergence moving into 2025

The merger between Three and Vodafone paves the way for the UK to have three converged operators for the first time. The merged entity, following in the footsteps of previous tie-ups between BT and EE in 2016 and Virgin Media and O2 in 2021, will aim to fully integrate its fixed and combined mobile networks to deliver a differentiated experience that is better than the sum of its individual parts.

This trend is expected to drive operators to move beyond basic cross-selling of mobile and fixed services, instead positioning converged solutions as premium tariff bundles that deliver seamless, best-in-class experiences across fixed, mobile and Wi-Fi—on any device, anywhere. BT’s ‘EE One’ converged solution, unveiled alongside its 5G SA and Wi-Fi 7 launches earlier this year, offers a preview of the kinds of solutions likely to emerge from all converged operators in 2025.

Operator investments in bringing their fixed and mobile networks closer together will play a key role in ensuring subscribers enjoy an improved experience across all access paths. VMO2, for example, recently announced the activation of its ‘Converged Interconnected Network’ architecture, which it touted as improving the operator’s ability to manage traffic flows across its fixed and mobile services by aggregating data closer to the end user before routing it back to the core network. 

Key Trends to Watch in 2025

Mobile Data Traffic Growth Plateau

The UK, like other advanced mobile markets in Europe and North America, is entering a phase of declining mobile data traffic growth, following an S-curve trajectory. Ofcom reported an 18% increase in total monthly traffic in 2024, marking a slowdown from the 25% growth observed in both 2022 and 2023.  This trend of moderated growth is expected to continue next year and warrants close attention, as it could significantly impact mobile operators’ capital cycles, spectrum demand and equipment vendors’ business models over the long term in the UK and further afield. 

Private Network Proliferation

The removal of the requirement to individually register end-user devices for low-power use in shared bands, increased availability of medium-power licenses and the launch of a comprehensive spectrum mapping tool for the 3.8-4.2 GHz band were key milestones in Ofcom’s support for private networks in 2024. These measures contributed to the provision of 113 new shared access licenses between July and November, including 45 in the 1800 MHz band and 68 in the 3.8-4.2 GHz band. Further growth in the UK’s private network ecosystem is expected in 2025, with Ofcom set to enable low-power indoor access in the 2.3 GHz band.

Direct-to-Device (D2D) Arrival

Ofcom is developing a framework to authorise and facilitate D2D services in the UK, with a consultation scheduled for the first half of 2025. It will also review its approach to the mobile satellite service (MSS) licences in the 2 GHz band, as the current EU-wide licences are set to expire in 2027, allowing the UK to independently determine their future use. EE and O2 are the most likely potential candidates for a Direct-to-Cell (D2C) partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink, while Vodafone has been flirting with AST SpaceMobile.

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.

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Luke Kehoe

Ookla Research™ Articles
| November 6, 2024

The Path to "Full" 5G: Challenges and Opportunities in Standalone 5G Deployment

5G

5G technology has been making headlines for years, but the transition to standalone 5G (5G SA) has been slower than many expected. While non-standalone 5G (NSA) uses 5G radio technology alongside existing 4G core networks, 5G SA represents a complete transition to an independent 5G network with its own core. Think of SA 5G as “pure” or “real” 5G, with 4G LTE removed entirely from the equation. This evolution promises notable improvements in network performance and capabilities, yet its deployment has faced obstacles.

Our recent webinar, “The Slow Road to 5G Standalone: What’s Delaying Deployment?” explored the challenges and opportunities in 5G SA deployment and implementation. Featuring experts from Ookla and T-Mobile, the discussion provided comprehensive insights into the current state and future potential of this technology.

In this article, we’ll explore key takeaways from the webinar, including the benefits, challenges, emerging use cases of 5G SA, and we’ll also take a look at T-Mobile’s aggressive approach to 5G SA. For a deeper look at these topics, including expert analysis and detailed performance data, watch the full webinar! 

Key benefits and technical improvements of 5G SA

5G Standalone (SA) technology promises to deliver significant advantages over its predecessors, opening new possibilities for consumers and industries alike. But the transition to 5G SA involves more than just upgrading cell towers—it requires the implementation of an entirely new core network. This core acts as the “brain” of the system, managing data connections, handling security, and enabling advanced features.

To fully realize the potential of 5G SA, several technological innovations have been introduced to enhance network performance and user experiences. These include better management of network resources and more efficient data transmission. A standalone 5G core is essential to unleash these developments, setting 5G SA apart as “real” 5G and enabling capabilities that were impossible with 4G-dependent networks.

The result is better use of available spectrum, faster data speeds, and extended coverage in challenging environments like indoor spaces or rural regions. Key benefits for users include:

  • Improved upload speeds: Faster upload speeds for activities like social media sharing, file uploads, and cloud services.
  • Better coverage in more places: Improved connectivity in areas previously underserved by mobile networks, enhancing user experiences in more locations.
  • Lower latency: Near-real-time responsiveness for applications like gaming and augmented reality.
  • Increased network efficiency: Operators can serve more users with improved quality of service, leading to a smoother and more reliable mobile experience.

Beyond these immediate improvements, 5G SA also paves the way for transformative technologies like network slicing, which we’ll explore in later sections.

Challenges to 5G standalone deployment

While 5G SA promises significant advancements in mobile technology, our webinar discussed a perhaps surprising reality: the deployment of 5G SA has been slower than many industry experts anticipated, with only about 12% of 5G networks worldwide utilizing SA technology. This gap between the technology’s potential and its current adoption raises important questions about the obstacles facing network operators and the future trajectory of 5G technology. Several challenges have contributed to this slow adoption:

  • Technical complexity and core network upgrades: Transitioning to a fully independent 5G core network presents significant hurdles, requiring extensive and costly upgrades to the core infrastructure, which is both technically challenging and time-consuming.
  • Transition hurdles: Operators must carefully manage the transition from NSA to 5G SA to minimize disruptions to existing services while gradually introducing SA capabilities. This process requires coordinating changes across the network infrastructure, device ecosystem, and service offerings simultaneously.
  • Unclear ROI: Some operators are hesitant to invest heavily in 5G SA without a clear return on investment.
  • Lack of a widely recognized “killer use case”: While applications like network slicing and enhanced Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) show promise, some operators are still waiting for more compelling use cases that clearly demonstrate the need for SA capabilities before making the leap.
  • 5G SA ecosystem compatibility and availability: Ensuring all network components, devices, and applications are SA 5G-compatible presents a significant challenge, and the limited availability of SA-compatible devices in the market can slow down adoption.

Despite these industry-wide challenges, some carriers have chosen to forge ahead with 5G SA deployment, recognizing its long-term potential. T-Mobile, in particular, has taken a bold approach to 5G SA implementation.

T-Mobile’s aggressive approach to 5G SA

While many mobile carriers have been cautious in their approach to 5G SA, T-Mobile has taken a decidedly different path. The company recognized early on that to truly differentiate its 5G offerings and introduce new features, a full transition to 5G SA was necessary. T-Mobile has since positioned itself as a leader in 5G SA, providing valuable insights for the industry into both the challenges and benefits of this technology.

T-Mobile viewed 5G SA as a pathway to improved network performance, advanced features, and more efficient use of its spectrum assets. Central to this vision was T-Mobile’s recognition that a dedicated 5G core network was essential to achieve superior performance beyond what NSA 5G could offer. The carrier’s approach has thus far yielded promising results:

  • Enhanced coverage and capacity: Broader network reach and ability to serve more users, especially in densely populated urban areas
  • Advanced features: Early implementation of network slicing and Voice over New Radio (VoNR), enabling new service possibilities
  • Improved uplink performance: Faster upload speeds and better coverage, benefiting applications like live streaming and large file transfers

While T-Mobile and its users have clearly benefited from this technology, the carrier’s journey hasn’t been without challenges. T-Mobile had to navigate issues such as ensuring device compatibility across its customer base, optimizing network performance during the transition, and educating customers about the benefits of 5G SA.

Emerging use cases for 5G SA

The true measure of SA 5G’s value lies in the new applications and services it enables. While many mobile operators are still cautious about immediate 5G SA deployment, this technology represents the future of 5G. As carriers inevitably move in this direction, they’re looking to both enhance existing services and enable entirely new possibilities. 

Our webinar delved into three key areas where 5G SA is already making an impact and showing its transformative potential: Network Slicing, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), and Voice over New Radio (VoNR). 

Network slicing is a capability unique to 5G SA that allows operators to create virtual network segments tailored to specific use cases or customers. This enables the allocation of dedicated network resources to ensure optimal performance for critical services. T-Mobile has leveraged this capability to launch T-Priority, the world’s first network slice for first responders. Key benefits of network slicing include:

  • Better prioritization: Up to 5x higher network resource prioritization for critical services
  • Customized performance: Ability to optimize network parameters for specific applications or user groups
  • Improved reliability: Dedicated resources to ensure consistent performance for essential services

Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) uses 5G technology to provide home internet services, competing directly with traditional broadband options. 5G SA’s expanded capacity and performance make it particularly well-suited for this application. T-Mobile has identified FWA as a major growth opportunity, setting an ambitious target of 12 million FWA customers by 2027-2028. Key advantages of 5G SA for FWA include:

  • Expanded wireless capacity: Ability to serve more home internet customers in a given area compared to previous wireless technologies
  • Competitive performance: Offers speeds and latency that can rival or exceed traditional home broadband options in many areas, providing consumers with more choices
  • Simplified and cost-effective deployment: Implementation is faster and more cost-effective than laying traditional broadband infrastructure

Voice over New Radio (VoNR) represents the next evolution in mobile voice technology. By enabling voice calls to be carried entirely over a 5G network, VoNR promises improved call quality and lower latency compared to existing voice services. (We’ll explore VoNR in more detail in the next section.)

With T-Mobile’s T-Priority in use, we’re already seeing the real-world impact of 5G SA. As other applications continue to develop and mature, we can expect 5G SA’s influence to expand across various industries and services.

Voice over New Radio (VoNR): the next evolution in mobile voice

As 5G SA networks mature, they’re not just improving data services—they’re also revolutionizing voice communications. Voice over New Radio (VoNR) represents a significant leap forward from its predecessor, Voice over LTE (VoLTE). This technology enables voice calls to be carried entirely over a 5G network, potentially offering superior call quality and reduced call setup times. 

T-Mobile has been at the forefront of VoNR deployment, providing valuable insights into its real-world performance and benefits. Key aspects of T-Mobile’s VoNR deployment and performance include

  • Nationwide reach: VoNR is now enabled for over 300 million people in the U.S.
  • Controlled rollout: T-Mobile implemented VoNR market-by-market, ensuring performance met specific metrics before enabling the service.
  • Device compatibility: A large portion of T-Mobile’s device base is either VoNR-capable or can be enabled for VoNR.
  • Promising performance: Call failure rates for VoNR are comparable to, and in some cases better than, VoLTE.
  • Rapid adoption: VoNR’s share of calls has increased threefold from the second half of 2023 to the first half of 2024.

As more devices become VoNR-capable and coverage expands, more and more users should enjoy a seamless voice experience that fully leverages the capabilities of 5G technology.

Measuring 5G SA performance: Complementary datasets from Speedtest and RootMetrics

As mobile operators deploy 5G SA, measuring its real-world impact is crucial for understanding the technology’s true benefits and challenges. Ookla’s complementary datasets—combining RootMetrics’ controlled testing methodology with Speedtest’s crowdsourced data—provide a comprehensive view of network performance from both controlled and real-world environments. 

Data from RootMetrics testing across 125 of the largest metropolitan markets in the U.S. revealed several notable findings about 5G SA performance:

  • Network usage patterns vary significantly between operators: While T-Mobile extensively uses 5G SA when available, other carriers often default to LTE for lighter data tasks such as loading apps or webpages.
  • Latency improvements are task-dependent: RootMetrics testing showed that latency benefits become more pronounced with complex tasks like video streaming, which requires multiple network interactions.
  • Urban deployment focus: 5G SA availability and usage is currently more prevalent in metropolitan areas than in more rural areas. 

RootMetrics’ real-world performance data provides quantitative evidence of 5G SA’s benefits across various network scenarios and use cases, offering valuable insights for mobile operators as they plan their 5G SA deployments.

 If you’d like to see Ookla’s tools in action yourself, reach out to our team! 

The Road Ahead: 5G Advanced and Beyond

As 5G SA networks continue to evolve, the industry is already looking toward the next phase of development. Our webinar provided insight into the future of 5G technology, including the upcoming 5G Advanced standard and early considerations for 6G. These developments promise to further optimize network capabilities and open up new possibilities for innovation. Some key points about the future of 5G include: 

  • 5G Advanced: The next evolution of 5G, focusing on improving network efficiency and user experiences. 
  • 6G planning: Initial discussions and research into 6G technology have begun, with a focus on creating new value and revenue streams beyond enhanced mobile broadband. 
  • Spectrum refarming: Carriers are actively shifting spectrum from LTE to 5G, aiming to improve network efficiency and overall 5G performance.
  • Industry applications: The industry is expanding Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) capabilities and exploring new use cases for network slicing across various sectors, aiming to harness the full potential of mature 5G networks.

The evolution from 5G SA to 5G Advanced and early 6G research signals the industry’s commitment to continuous innovation. These developments aim to refine existing capabilities and create entirely new value propositions, potentially reshaping various aspects of technology and society in the coming years.

Conclusion

The journey to widespread 5G SA adoption is complex, but the potential benefits are immense. As we’ve seen, early adopters like T-Mobile (and its users) are already reaping the rewards of their investment, from improved network performance to innovative services like network slicing and enhanced FWA offerings.

To dive deeper into the intricacies of 5G SA deployment, including expert insights and real-world examples, watch our full webinar on demand!

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.

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Dave Andersen