Isla McKetta | December 10, 2018

The World’s Internet in 2018: Faster, Modernizing and Always On

When it comes to the internet, the news is mostly good for 2018. Download and upload speeds are increasing across the globe on both mobile and fixed broadband. 5G is on the horizon and gigabit service is expanding.

We looked at data from Speedtest Intelligence^TM, Ookla’s flagship data platform, from December 2017 through November 2018, to analyze everything from global internet speeds to the world’s fastest countries to when people are online. We also investigated which parts of the world are seeing the most benefit from high speed LTE on mobile and gigabit speeds on fixed broadband.

Mobile speeds increased more than 15% in 2018

Graphic-Tables-Final-v2_mobile-average-speed-3

The world’s average mobile download speed of 22.82 Mbps increased 15.2% over the past year, while mobile upload speed increased 11.6% to reach 9.19 Mbps.

Graphic-Tables-Final-v2_android-vs-ios-1

With a mean download speed of 27.84 Mbps and a mean upload of 10.61 Mbps, worldwide speeds on iOS devices were faster than those on Android (21.35 Mbps download, 8.73 Mbps upload) in 2018. This is likely due to market factors as Android devices are more popular in emerging markets where internet speeds tend to be slower.

However, download speed on Android devices increased 19.0% and upload speed increased 15.1%, more than those on iOS (18.0% increase for download and 11.1% increase for upload), which is good news for those emerging markets.

Fixed broadband speeds increased more than 26% in 2018

Graphic-Tables-Final-v2_fixed-average

On a global level, fixed broadband speeds were nearly twice as fast as those on mobile in 2018. The world’s average download speed on fixed broadband was 46.12 Mbps, 26.4% faster than last year. Upload speed increased 26.5% to 22.44 Mbps.

All said, though, both mobile and fixed broadband speeds increased at a slower rate in 2018 than they did in 2017.

Countries with the fastest internet in 2018

Graphic-Tables-Final-v2_top-5-mobile

The countries with the fastest mean download speeds over mobile in the past 12 months were: Norway (63.19 Mbps), Iceland (58.68 Mbps), Qatar (55.17 Mbps), Singapore (54.71 Mbps) and the Netherlands (53.42 Mbps).

Graphic-Tables-Final-v2_top-5-fixed

Singapore showed the world’s fastest mean download speeds over fixed broadband during the past twelve months at 175.13 Mbps. Next fastest were Iceland (153.03 Mbps), Hong Kong (138.31 Mbps), South Korea (114.67 Mbps) and Romania (109.90 Mbps).

To keep up with month-to-month internet speeds at a global level, visit the Speedtest Global Index.

Most improved countries for 2018 internet speeds

Graphic-Tables-Final-v2_most-improved-mobile

Costa Rica saw the largest increase in mobile download speed over the past year at 194.6%. Myanmar was second with 121.8%, Saudi Arabia third (113.2%), Iraq fourth (92.3%) and the Ukraine fifth (82.1%).

The countries with the largest improvements in upload speeds were Bangladesh (179.2%), the Ukraine (172.5%), Costa Rica (163.4%), Myanmar (146.9%) and Iraq (126.7%).

Graphic-Tables-Final-v2_most-improved-fixed

Paraguay saw the biggest increase in mean download speed over fixed broadband in the world over the past year at 268.6%. Guyana was second with 113.5%, Libya third (108.0%), Malaysia fourth (89.5%) and Laos fifth (76.2%).

Libya showed the most improvement in mean upload speed over fixed broadband during the past twelve months at 176.4%. Guyana was second with 116.1%, Malaysia third (95.2%), Belize fourth (88.9%) and Iraq fifth (76.8%).

4G is increasing mobile speeds

2017-2018-LTE-growth

When we looked specifically at Speedtest results on 4G, we saw that mean download speeds increased in most countries. Costa Rica was most improved for 4G download speed as was the case with overall download speed on mobile increasing 184.3% year over year. Saudi Arabia was second at 110.2% and Myanmar third at 78.0%.

Most encouragingly, we saw the number of Speedtest results over 4G increase in all but 15 countries. This could indicate that 4G availability is expanding. Tanzania saw the greatest increase with 355.0% more tests over 4G in 2018 than in 2017. Malta was second at 267.2% and Algeria third at 143.7%. We can see this expansion on the map above as 4G results fill in areas of the globe that were previously blank.

Gigabit coverage is expanding globally

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Gigabit is in the news as ISPs across the globe expand their high-speed networks. We looked at Speedtest results on fixed broadband in excess of 750 Mbps to see which cities are benefitting most. Comparing locations with 100 or more gigabit-speed results in 2017 with those in 2018, that expansion becomes obvious. In 2017, 60 countries met our gigabit test threshold. In 2018, 16 additional countries joined our gigabit list. We’re also seeing that more cities around the world now have access to gigabit speeds.

Also exciting is that cities which already had gigabit in 2017 saw increases in the number of gigabit-speed results in 2018 as ISPs continue to build out infrastructure across cities. Many cities saw their first real gigabit expansion in 2018. For example, we saw the number of gigabit tests in New Delhi increase from 119 gigabit speed results in 2017 to 20,239 in 2018, that’s a mind-boggling 16,908% increase. Chennai, India saw a 7,481% increase (from 763 to 57,840) and Cormeilles-en-Parisis, France jumped 6,480%. Huge leaps in the number of gigabit-speed results were also seen in Gdańsk, Poland (6,338%); Rome, Italy (4,909%); Lancashire, United Kingdom (3,962%); Ota, Japan (3,240%); São Paulo, Brazil (2,947%); Hangzhou, China (2,669%) and Turda, Romania (2,636%).

When people are online

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The internet is always on, but we were surprised to see how consistently and steeply usage fell off on both mobile and fixed broadband after 9 pm local time. Normalizing the time of day for Speedtest results from around the globe, we found that usage bottoms out at 4 am and then climbs steeply again until 10 am. From there, the internet gets gradually busier until that night time drop off.

Internet in the world’s largest countries

The world’s five most populous countries are notably absent from the lists of fastest and most improved countries on mobile and fixed broadband. China, India, the U.S., Indonesia and Brazil represent about 46% of the world’s population, which makes their internet speeds worth noting nonetheless.

**Internet Speeds in the World’s Largest Countries**
Speedtest Data | December 2017-November 2018
Country	Mean Mobile Download Speed (Mbps)	% Improvement in Mobile Speed	Mean Fixed Download Speed (Mbps)	% Improvement in Fixed Speed
China	30.96	-5.8%	76.03	42.5%
India	9.11	15.2%	23.00	50.4%
United States	28.50	22.3%	92.77	37.3%
Indonesia	10.39	5.3%	14.89	18.3%
Brazil	18.65	29.3%	22.95	39.4%

Mobile internet speeds in the world’s largest countries

China had the fastest average mobile download speed among the world’s most populous countries in the past twelve months. However, China’s mobile download speed decreased during that time. The United States is fast catching up with China on mobile download speed.

Brazil occupied a middle ground for mobile download speed among the world’s most populous countries and showed the fastest rate of increase. India and Indonesia were at the bottom of this list. While the two nations show similar mobile download speeds to each other, India’s mobile download speed is improving much more quickly than Indonesia’s.

Fixed broadband speeds in the largest countries in the world

The United States showed the fastest fixed broadband download speed among the world’s most populous countries over the past year. China was second, India and Brazil nearly tie for third and Indonesia follows.

India showed the largest improvement in mean download speed over fixed broadband of the world’s five largest countries. China was second, Brazil third, the U.S. fourth and Indonesia fifth.

We’ll be back throughout 2019 to report on the state of the world’s internet as it evolves. Until then, take a Speedtest to find out how your network compares.

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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Isla McKetta | September 4, 2019

In-Depth Analysis of Changes in World Internet Performance Using the Speedtest Global Index

A lot has changed in the two years since 2017 when we first began ranking mobile and fixed broadband speeds of countries around the world with the Speedtest Global Index^TM. 5G is being deployed around the world and fiber continues to make gigabit speeds a reality in more and more countries. We’ve been tracking it all and are here to report on how much speeds have increased, which countries are leading internet performance and which are falling behind, and what trends we see across continents.

World mobile speed increased 21.4% with fixed broadband up 37.4%

World-Download-Speeds-2019-OG2

Looking just at the last year, the world’s mean download speed over mobile increased 21.4% from 22.81 Mbps in July 2018 to 27.69 Mbps in July 2019. Mean upload speed over mobile increased 18.1% from 9.13 Mbps to 10.78 Mbps. The world average for download speed over fixed broadband increased 37.4% from 46.48 Mbps in July 2018 to 63.85 Mbps in July 2019. Mean upload speed over fixed broadband increased 48.9% from 22.52 Mbps to 33.53 Mbps.

Shake-ups in the country rankings for internet performance

Fastest-Countries-Mobile-2018-2019

Mobile speeds in the fastest countries have skyrocketed in the past year which has dramatically shifted the rankings. South Korea, which was not even in the top ten a year ago, saw a 165.9% increase in mean download speed over mobile during the past 12 months, in large part due to 5G. Switzerland’s mean download speed increased 23.5%. Canada’s was up 22.2%, Australia 21.2%, the Netherlands 17.3%, UAE 11.1%, Malta 10.3% and Norway 5.8%. Qatar remained in the top ten, although the country’s mean download speed over mobile actually dropped 1.4% from July 2018 to July 2019.

Individual mobile operators can make a huge difference in a country’s speeds. In 2017 we were excited to see Telenor uncap their mobile speeds, which drove Norway to the top of the Speedtest Global Index. A big part of South Korea’s mobile success in the past year is the way KT, LG U+ and SK Telecom banded together to release 5G at the same time. Switzerland has also benefited from 5G and Sunrise leads the country with 262 5G deployments across the country while Swisscomm has 52.

Fastest-Countries-Fixed-2018-2019

Fixed broadband rankings on the Speedtest Global Index have not changed as dramatically during the past 12 months as those on mobile. Singapore remains the fastest country with an increase in mean download speed over fixed broadband of 5.6%. Taiwan had the largest jump in speeds among the top 10 with a 166.5% improvement in fixed download speed between July 2018 and July 2019. Mean download speed over fixed broadband increased 52.4% in South Korea, 26.4% in Macau, 21.7% in Romania, 21.0% in Switzerland, 19.3% in the United States and 3.5% in Hong Kong.

Monaco and Andorra did not have enough tests to qualify for the Speedtest Global Index one year ago, but massive fixed broadband improvements in both countries inspired us to lower our test count threshold for inclusion and also share these smaller countries’ success stories.

Technologies paving the way: 5G and gigabit

The presence of 5G is not enough to change a market

As discussed above, 5G has the potential to rocket a country to the top of the mobile rankings on the Speedtest Global Index. In practice, we’ve seen 5G speeds that were over 1000% faster than those on LTE.

Mobile-Download-Speeds-by-Country

In reality, though, unless 5G is commercially available widely across a country and from all mobile operators (as was the case in South Korea), the change in speeds at the country level is not that significant. Though commercial 5G was launched widely across Switzerland by Sunrise and Swisscom in April 2019, the country’s mean download speed only increased 2.8% in the three months since. The average mobile download speed in the U.S. has actually declined slightly since 5G was initially deployed. This is because 5G is still only available in a very limited number of markets to consumers with 5G-capable devices.

Visit the Ookla 5G Map for the latest on 5G deployments across the globe.

Gigabit is a game-changer, if you can get it

Unlike 5G, fiber connections have been rolling out since 2007, opening up the possibility of gigabit-speed fixed broadband. That said, it’s costly and time-intensive to lay miles and miles of fiber so progress has varied widely across the globe.

Gigabit-Test---Performance_Singapore-1

Geographically small countries like Singapore have the advantage when it comes to fiber, because It’s easier and cheaper to lay fiber optic cable across the country’s small footprint. Singaporean internet service providers (ISPs) have used this advantage to go beyond mere gigabit and offer connections as fast as 10 Gbps. This is reflected both in Singapore’s dominance of the fixed rankings on the Speedtest Global Index and in the fact that 2.87% of their total Speedtest results over fixed broadband are gigabit-speed (800 Mbps or higher).

Gigabit-Test---Performance_Brazil-1

Brazil offers a good contrast for how difficult it can be for gigabit to reach the masses. While the first Brazilian ISP to offer fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) initially did so in 2007, easy access to gigabit speeds was slow to follow. However, that may be starting to change. Between June and July 2019 we saw a large uptick in gigabit-speed results in Brazil, where the proportion of gigabit speed tests increased from 0.02% of total fixed broadband tests to 0.17%. This corresponded with a large increase in mean download speed at the country level.

Comparing world mobile and fixed broadband at a glance

We were curious to see just how different internet performance experiences were around the world, so we plotted average mobile download speed against average download speed on fixed broadband. All of the graphs below use a percentage difference from the global average, a number that changed between 2018 and 2019.

fade-Performance-vs-Global---Quadrant-All

Speed Leaders

There was not much change in the list of countries that showed above-average download speeds on both mobile and fixed broadband between July 2018 and July 2019, the “Speed Leaders.” What did change was that fixed broadband speeds increased significantly enough among the group to bring the whole pack closer to Singapore and Hong Kong. On the mobile axis, South Korea’s major increase in download speed made that country more of an outlier, pushing the boundaries of what great performance can look like.

Fixed-Focused countries

Between July 2018 and July 2019 we saw the number of countries considered to be “Fixed-Focused” (having faster download speeds over fixed broadband than the world average while their average mobile download speeds were slower than average) increase. Ireland was the only country that solidly fit this category in 2018. Thailand and Chile started near the midline for fixed speeds and below-average for mobile speeds in 2018. 2019 found both countries squarely in the Fixed-Focused category. Israel also edged into this category as their mobile download speed fell between July 2018 and 2019.

Mobile-Focused countries

The “Mobile-Focused” category saw the most movement between July 2018 and July 2019 as some countries (the UAE and Qatar) increased their fixed speeds sufficiently to join the Speed Leaders. Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s mobile download speed increased year-over-year to move them into the Mobile-Focused quadrant. Georgia’s mobile download speed decreased enough to move them from Mobile-Focused to Speed Laggers.

It will be interesting to see how many of these Mobile-Focused countries double down on their mobile investments and explore 5G alternatives to fixed broadband.

Speed Laggers

No country wants to be in the position of having slower than average mobile and fixed broadband speeds. We saw 57 countries in this “Speed Laggers” quadrant in July 2018 and 78 in July 2019. This increase is mostly due to our expansion of the number of countries we consider for the Speedtest Global Index based on test count. There were enough countries in this category that we’ve considered them separately by continent below.

Regional views of mobile and fixed broadband performance

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We aggregated Speedtest results by continent to analyze mobile and fixed broadband performance by continent.

Mobile-and-Fixed-Performance-by-Continent-01

Asia had the highest percentage increase in mobile download speed followed by North America, Oceania, South America, Africa and Europe. Oceania had the fastest mean download speed in July 2019. North America placed second, Europe third, Asia fourth, South America fifth and Africa sixth.

On the fixed broadband side, South America saw the highest percentage increase in download speed. Asia came in second, Europe third, Africa fourth, North America fifth and Oceania sixth. North America had the fastest mean download speed in July 2019. Europe was second, Asia third, and Oceania fourth. As we saw with mobile, South America and Africa again ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.

A zoomed-in view of the speed quadrants separated by continent offers a more detailed view of each country’s role in these rankings.

Africa mostly lags in internet speeds

2019-Performance-vs-Global---Africa

In July 2019, all but two African countries in the Speedtest Global Index fell into the Speed Laggers category, having mobile and fixed broadband speeds that were below global averages. The exceptions were South Africa and Guinea, which both had fast enough mobile speeds to place them in the mobile-focused quadrant.

Asian markets show a wide breadth of internet performance

2019-Performance-vs-Global---Asia

Asia was the most diverse continent we examined in terms of internet performance. We saw a plurality of countries in each of the four quadrants in July 2019. Most of the Speed Leaders were in East Asia: China, Hong Kong (SAR), Japan, Macau (SAR), South Korea, and Taiwan. If we include Singapore, another Speed Leader, these are among the wealthiest nations in Asia (using GDP per capita). Two of Asia’s Fixed-Focused countries are in Southeast Asia (Malaysia and Thailand) and one is in the Middle East (Israel).

The Speed Laggers category contained countries from South Asia (including Afghanistan, India and Pakistan), Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam) and the Middle East (Jordan). Mobile-Focused countries in Asia were mostly Middle Eastern, including Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

European mobile performance is mostly strong, fixed varies

2019-Performance-vs-Global---Europe

With the exception of Ireland, the European countries on the Speedtest Global Index fell into the Speed Leaders, Mobile-Focused, and Speed Laggers categories. All of the Speed Laggers (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and the Ukraine) were from Eastern Europe. Countries from Southeast Europe (including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Moldova, Serbia and Slovenia) and Central Europe (Austria and the Czech Republic) made up the bulk of the Mobile-Focused category.

Speed Leaders included countries from the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), the Nordics (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), Central Europe (Poland and Romania), and Western Europe (including Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain).

North American internet performance is sharply divided

2019-Performance-vs-Global---North-America

Canada and the U.S. are the only two North American countries in the Speed Leaders category. Panama is the only North American country under Fixed-Focused. Mexico and all of the Central American countries fall into the Speed Laggers category. There are no North American countries that are Mobile-Focused.

Each country in Oceania has a very different internet story

2019-Performance-vs-Global---Ocean

Oceania is represented in three of the four quadrants: Speed Leaders (New Zealand), Mobile-Focused (Australia) and Speed Laggers (Papua New Guinea) with Fiji straddling the divide between Speed Laggers and Mobile-Focused.

South America mostly lags in mobile and fixed internet speeds

2019-Performance-vs-Global---South-America

Most of the South American countries represented on the Speedtest Global Index are in the Speed Laggers quadrant (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela). Chile is an exception, being part of the Fixed-Focused group, as is Uruguay which sits in Mobile-Focused.

Global internet speeds are improving on average and 5G and gigabit are compounding those advances where available. However, not all countries are benefitting equally. We’ll be interested to see how 5G continues to push mobile speeds in the next year and also whether 5G Wi-Fi becomes a game changer for fixed broadband. Remember to check the Speedtest Global Index on a monthly basis for updated country rankings. And take a Speedtest to make sure your experience is represented in your country’s averages.

Editor’s Note: This article was edited on September 10, 2019 to correct an error in the labeling on the first image. The colors in a later image were updated for consistency.

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Isla McKetta

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Ookla | March 13, 2020

Tracking COVID-19’s Impact on Global Internet Performance (Updated July 20)

We are no longer updating this article as internet speeds in most countries have stabilized to pre-pandemic levels. For ongoing information about internet speeds in specific countries, visit the Speedtest Global Index^TM or contact our press team.

Ookla^® closely monitored the impact of COVID-19 on the performance and quality of global mobile and broadband internet networks in the early days of the pandemic. We shared regular information based on Ookla data to assist in the understanding of this unprecedented situation. You can still download the July 20, 2020 CSV here which contains all the public data we tracked in this article. If you are looking for information on internet or online service outages, please check Downdetector^®.

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Isla McKetta | January 12, 2021

2020 Recap: How the Internet Held Up During a Global Pandemic

There was major concern last year that the internet might fail under the pressure of increased use as COVID-19 drove unparalleled waves of remote work and schooling. We watched internet performance carefully using data from Speedtest Intelligence® as conditions changed in different areas of the world. Now we’re back to assess what happened during the year as a whole.

A note on the methodology: 5G launches drove up mean internet speeds on mobile in many countries. For this reason we’ve simplified our view to include only median speeds, which are less subject to being skewed by especially fast 5G tests.

Mobile speeds dipped in many G20 countries in the spring of 2020

Mobile-Broadband-Speeds-in-G20-Countries_0121

Median download speeds over mobile in many G20 countries dropped at some point during 2020. Countries that saw month-to-month declines during the spring include: Australia, Canada, France, India, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain and Turkey. China saw a decline in mobile speed in February while Japan suffered a drop in June and July. Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia and the United Kingdom showed only very minor decreases, while speeds in Germany, Mexico, South Africa and the United States remained unchanged or increased.

Despite the drops, almost all G20 countries saw higher median download speeds over mobile in December 2020 than they had in January 2020. Median download speed over mobile increased 76.3% in China during that time. Germany saw a 62.8% increase, the United States 56.9%, South Korea 55.5% and Saudi Arabia 48%. Turkey saw a 0.7% decrease in median download speed over mobile during the same period.

Despite interim dips, fixed broadband improved in all G20 countries during 2020

Fixed-Broadband-Speeds-in-G20-Countries_0121

There were notable dips in median download speeds over fixed broadband in many countries during the spring of 2020. G20 countries that saw these declines on a monthly basis include: Argentina, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United States. Brazil, China, Germany and Russia notably showed only increases in month-to-month median download speed over fixed broadband during this time. Other countries showed only very minor decreases.

Perhaps most important, all G20 countries saw higher median download speeds over fixed broadband in December 2020 than they had in January 2020. Median download speed over fixed broadband increased 51.9% in Brazil during that time. France saw a 48.3% increase, Japan 46.5%, Saudi Arabia 43.7% and South Africa 40%. South Korea saw the smallest increase in median download speed over fixed broadband over the same period at 8.1%.

We are impressed, on the whole, with how well the internet held up to the massive scale of increased use during the past year. Of course, month-by-month, country-level views are averages that might not reveal problems with specific mobile operators or internet service providers on individual days. If you want to assess how your internet connection is performing right now, take a Speedtest®. And if you are unable to connect to a specific service on the internet, check Downdetector® to see the status of that service.

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Isla McKetta | December 14, 2021

Find Out if 5G is Worth the Upgrade: A Multi-Country Analysis

The holidays are nearly here and with them the desire to treat yourself or a loved one to an upgraded phone, just because. The first question you’re likely to ask yourself as you browse new models is “To 5G or not to 5G?” Once you check the Ookla 5G Map^™ to see if your operator has deployed 5G in your area, you’ll probably want to know if the 5G speeds are worth the extra cost. We’ve analyzed Speedtest Intelligence® data from the most popular Android and iPhone devices around the world during Q3 2021 to help you see if it’s worth the upgrade. Click a country from the list to jump down to the related analysis.

Australia | Bahrain | Canada | ChinaFrance | Japan | Saudi Arabia | South AfricaSouth Korea | United Arab Emirates | United Kingdom | United StatesOur analysis includes data on the five 4G Android devices in each country with the largest number of results during Q3 2021 as well as the five most popular 5G-capable Android devices. We have also compared the iPhone 13 to the iPhone 11. Even the fastest device can only perform at the level of the network it’s on. For that reason, speeds for the same device vary widely from country to country in the data below. Remember that speeds can also vary within a country and the performance you see will depend on the infrastructure in your area.

Australia

5G Samsung devices more than twice as fast as most popular 4G devices in Australia

Although only a year separates the release of the Samsung Galaxy S10 series and the S20 series devices, the latter were definitely faster in Australia during Q3 2021. Even the slowest 5G-capable device on this list, the Galaxy S20+ 5G was much faster than the fastest 4G phone, the Galaxy S10+.

ookla_android_performance_australia_1121-01

iPhone 13 wallops iPhone 11 for speed in Australia

Australians who recently upgraded their iPhone 11 for an iPhone 13 would have seen a more than 4X increase in median download speed during Q3 2021. If speed is your number one concern, this upgrade is necessary.

ookla_iphone_performance_australia_1121-01

Bahrain

5G Samsung variants live up to the hype in Bahrain

Fewer 5G-capable phones made our list in Bahrain during Q3 2021 due to sample counts, but those that did roundly outperformed the most popular 4G devices. The median download speed of 5G-capable devices on this list was more than two times faster than the median for 4G devices on this list.

ookla_android_performance_bahrain_1121-01

iPhone 12 85% faster than iPhone 11 in Bahrain

There weren’t sufficient samples to analyze performance of the brand new iPhone 13 in Bahrain during Q3 2021, but median download speed on the iPhone 12 was 85.0% faster than that on the iPhone 11.

ookla_iphone_performance_bahrain_1121-01

Canada

Not all 5G Android devices offer a massive improvement in Canada

Q3 2021 data from Canada shows that 5G isn’t the only way to get a fast connection. While the fastest 5G-capable device among the top five most popular (the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G) offered very fast median download speeds, two 4G devices (the Note10+ and the S10+) were nearly as fast as the slowest 5G-capable device on this list (the S20 Fan Edition 5G). To upgrade or not is definitely a question here of which device you are upgrading from and which you plan to upgrade to.

ookla_android_performance_canada_1121-01

iPhone 13 more than three times as fast as the iPhone 11 in Canada

Canadians looking for fast mobile performance on Apple devices will enjoy an upgrade to the iPhone 13 whose median download speed in Q3 2021 was more than three times as fast as that on the iPhone 11.

ookla_iphone_performance_canada_1121-01

China

5G offers major advantages on Android in China

There is no question as to whether consumers with one of the five most popular 4G Android devices would see faster speeds with one of the five most popular 5G Android devices. The 4G devices on this list saw median download speeds in the 22.00 to 34.00 Mbps range during Q3 2021 while the 5G-capable devices showed median download speeds between 155.87 Mbps (Xiaomi Mi 10 5G) and 280.22 Mbps (Huawei Mate 40 Pro 5G).

ookla_android_performance_china_1121-01

iPhone 13 more than ten times faster than iPhone 11 in China

China was home to the largest performance increase when comparing the iPhone 11 to the iPhone 13. Median download speed on the iPhone 13 was more than ten times faster during Q3 2021 than on the iPhone 11. Some of this difference may reflect market conditions where users in more rural areas have older phones and poorer infrastructure, but it’s still an impressive difference.

ookla_iphone_performance_china_1121-01

France

French 5G offers a decent speed boost on Android

The most popular 4G devices in France showed median download speeds between 37.67 Mbps (Samsung Galaxy S8) and 51.36 Mbps (S20 Fan Edition) during Q3 2021. These were easily topped by the 5G-capable devices which showed median download speeds of 73.73 Mbps (Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G) to 92.10 Mbps (Xiaomi Mi 11 5G).

ookla_android_performance_france_1121-01

iPhone 13 more than three times faster than iPhone 11 in France

French consumers who upgraded from the iPhone 11 to the iPhone 13 during Q3 2021 would have tripled their median download speed potential on the 5G-capable iPhone 13.

ookla_iphone_performance_france_1121-01

Japan

Android 5G devices are faster in Japan, but not always fast

The most popular 4G devices in Japan during Q3 2021 were much slower than the most popular 5G-capable devices. Speedtest Intelligence showed median download speeds on 4G devices ranging from 19.75 Mbps (Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S) to 26.57 Mbps (Oppo Reno A). Even the slowest 5G-capable device on this list, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G at 43.63 Mbps, was 56% faster than the fastest 4G devices. However, the fastest 5G-capable device on this list, the Sony Xperia 1 II 5G, was twice as fast as that at 94.85 Mbps.

ookla_android_performance_japan_1121-01

iPhone 13 more than twice as fast as iPhone 11 in Japan

In Japan, the median download speed of the iPhone 13 was more than twice as fast as that over the iPhone 11 during Q3 2021. This was one of the smallest differences in performance between the iPhone 11 and 13 that we saw in our analysis.

ookla_iphone_performance_japan_1121-01

Saudi Arabia

5G Android devices are much faster than 4G in Saudi Arabia

Median download speeds on the most popular 5G-capable devices were fast in Saudi Arabia compared to most other markets. 5G-capable speeds ranged from 174.43 Mbps for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G to 261.21 Mbps for the S21 Ultra 5G. 5G is definitely worth the upgrade in Saudi Arabia.

ookla_android_performance_saudi-arabia_1121-2-01

iPhone 13 was more than five times faster than the iPhone 11 in Saudi Arabia

Not only did Saudi Arabia show the second fastest median download speed over iPhone 13 during Q3 2021, the iPhone 13 was also more than five times faster than the iPhone 11.

ookla_iphone_performance_saudi-arabia_1121-01

South Africa

5G shows a small improvement over 4G on Android in South Africa

The most popular 4G devices in South Africa showed a wide range of median download speeds during Q3 2021, from 18.00 Mbps (Huawei P20 Lite) to 40.69 Mbps (Samsung Galaxy Note10+). South Africa’s median download speeds on the most popular 5G devices were among the lowest we saw, from 43.09 Mbps on the Samsung Galaxy Note20 5G to 67.09 Mbps on the S21 Ultra 5G.

ookla_android_performance_south-africa_1121-01

iPhone 12 was almost twice as fast as the iPhone 11 in South Africa

There weren’t sufficient samples in South Africa to analyze the iPhone 13, so we compared the iPhone 12 to the iPhone 11. The median download speed on the iPhone 12 was almost twice as fast as that on the iPhone 11 during Q3 2021.

ookla_iphone_performance_south-africa_1121-01

South Korea

4G Android devices in South Korea are fast, 5G even faster

The median download speeds we saw on the most popular 4G devices in South Korea during Q3 2021 rivaled the 5G speeds in South Africa with speeds ranging from 53.74 Mbps on the Samsung Galaxy Note8 to 60.41 Mbps on the S9+. However, median performance on 5G-capable devices was even faster. There was a wide variety in speeds among the most popular 5G-capable with the S10 5G showing a median download speed of 102.61 Mbps and the S21 Ultra 5G coming in at 221.18 Mbps. 5G is worth the upgrade in South Korea and consumers have a variety of high-performing devices to choose from.

ookla_android_performance_south-korea_1121-01

iPhone 12 more than three times faster than iPhone 11 in South Korea

South Korea did not have enough samples from the new iPhone 13, so we compared the iPhone 12 to the iPhone 11. Not only was the iPhone 12 more than three times faster for median download speed than the iPhone 11 during Q3 2021, South Korea’s iPhone 12 download speed beat iPhone 13 download speed in five of the countries we analyzed: Canada, France, Japan, U.K. and the U.S.

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United Arab Emirates

U.A.E. had the fastest speeds on Android 5G devices

While the median download speeds across 4G devices in the U.A.E. during Q3 2021 handily beat those of all the other countries in this analysis, the country’s 5G download speeds were even faster. We can see from this data that some of the 4G devices can perform much better when on a faster network. Even the slowest 4G device on this list, the Huawei P30 Pro, had a median download speed of 68.26 Mbps in U.A.E. compared to 30.20 Mbps in the U.K. on the same device.

ookla_android_performance_uae_1121-2-01-1

A similar story can be told for 5G devices where the U.A.E. was competing only with Saudi Arabia and South Korea for the fastest median performance on devices listed during Q3 2021. The Samsung Galaxy S21 5G showed a median download speed of 285.39 Mbps in the U.A.E. compared to 215.10 Mbps in South Korea while the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G showed a median download speed of 269.09 Mbps in the U.A.E. and 261.21 Mbps in Saudi Arabia.

iPhone 13 more than four times faster than iPhone 11 in U.A.E.

Not only did the U.A.E. have the fastest median download speed over iPhone 13 that we saw in this analysis, the 485.59 Mbps download speed was faster than any phone in any country that we analyzed in Q3 2021. The iPhone 13 capitalized on fast 5G in the U.A.E. to have a median download speed that was more than four times faster than that of the iPhone 11.

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United Kingdom

5G represents a solid improvement over 4G on Android devices in the U.K.

Consumers upgrading from one of the most popular 4G devices in the United Kingdom to one of the most popular 5G-capable devices would have seen a 2-3X increase in median download speed during Q3 2021. This is in part because the 4G devices on this list were slower in the U.K. than elsewhere in the world during Q3 2021 as 4G speeds have stagnated in the U.K. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S8 showed a median download speed of 24.20 Mbps in the U.K., 37.67 Mbps in France and 46.31 Mbps in Canada. All five of the 5G-capable devices that we analyzed in both the U.S. and the U.K. were faster in the U.K. during Q3 2021.

ookla_android_performance_uk_1121-01

iPhone 13 more than five times faster than the iPhone 11 in the U.K.

Our analysis of Speedtest Intelligence data from Q3 2021 showed that the iPhone 13 had a median download speed that was more than five times faster than that on the iPhone 11. This makes the iPhone 13 very much worth the upgrade if speed is your main concern.

ookla_iphone_performance_uk_1121-01

United States

5G Android devices were twice as fast as 4G in the U.S.

The most popular 4G devices in the U.S. were about half as fast for median download speed as the most popular 5G-capable devices during Q3 2021. The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G showed the highest median download speed among these devices at 69.78 Mbps, compared to the fastest 4G device surveyed, the Note10+ at 35.98 Mbps. That said, 5G-capable devices in the U.S. underperformed when compared to other countries, except Japan and South Africa.

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iPhone 13 nearly three times as fast as the iPhone 11 in the U.S.

Data from Speedtest Intelligence reveals that median download speed on the iPhone 13 was nearly three times as fast as that on the iPhone 11 in the U.S. during Q3 2021.

ookla_iphone_performance_us_1121-01

Our analysis shows that increased speed is one of the benefits of upgrading your 4G phone to a 5G-capable one, regardless of where you live but not all countries see the same speed increases. Customers in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E, China and South Korea will see especially good performance if upgrading an Android phone. The U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, China and Australia have especially good speeds on the iPhone 13. Whatever choice you make for your next phone, take a Speedtest® on Android or iOS to make sure your mobile operator is delivering the speeds you want to see.

About the Author

Isla McKetta

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Mark Giles | February 15, 2023

Are 5G Networks Meeting Consumers’ Expectations?

Key messages

In-market 5G performance varies widely. Reviewing the top 10% and worst 10% of Ookla® Speedtest Intelligence® samples reveals significant variance in the consumer experience on today’s 5G networks, with 5G speeds peaking at over 1 Gbps for the top 10% of users in the U.A.E on average, but falling to below 20 Mbps for the lower 10% in Norway, the U.S., Japan, Germany, and Spain.
Median 5G performance is declining in many early launch 5G markets. While understandable as 5G adoption grows and users in more remote locations access 5G, declining median download speeds also point to investment and deployment challenges in some markets. At the same time, many of these markets are facing economic headwinds, placing more emphasis than ever on cost control. As a result, operators must carefully balance network investment priorities.
5G Net Promoter Scores (NPS) significantly higher than 4G LTE in most markets, but waning. With the exception of Sweden and Qatar, all the early launch 5G markets in our analysis saw 5G NPS fall year-over-year. Operators’ 5G NPS still trade at a premium compared to 4G, and while performance is just one part of the equation, operators should take care to build on the positive sentiment that 5G has brought to date.

Despite impressive headline speeds, 5G performance varies a lot

Median 5G performance allows us to gauge the midpoint of user experience on 5G networks, however it doesn’t paint the full picture. While headline 5G speeds impress, Speedtest Intelligence data lays bare the ups and downs of 5G performance for consumers, even in early launch, advanced 5G markets. We recently looked at 5G network performance over high frequency (mmW) bands, painting a view of the true potential of 5G networks. However, if we look at performance on today’s 5G networks, looking beyond the median at the range of performance between users in the top 10% and those in the lower 10%, Speedtest Intelligence data reveals huge variance in the performance users experience.

The U.A.E. was the fastest 5G market in our analysis, based on median download performance of 545.53 Mbps in December 2022, followed by South Korea and Qatar. However, the top 10% of users in the U.A.E. recorded speeds of at least 1,266.49 Mbps on average, while the lowest 10% of users experienced speeds of 127.52 Mbps or slower on average. At the other end of the scale, Spain recorded a median 5G speed of 94.14 Mbps, but also demonstrated wide variance between the top 10% of samples at 537.95 Mbps or faster and the lowest 10% with 10.67 Mbps or less.

Based on many of the marketing messages around 5G, consumers are led to expect a big bang change in performance. However, with 5G operating over a greater range of spectrum bands than previous generations, including high frequency spectrum which has relatively poorer propagation, it’s understandable that 5G performance will vary more than previous generations of mobile network technology.

5G markets set to face performance challenges during 2023

While globally 5G speeds have remained stable, for many of the markets in our analysis, median 5G download speeds have fallen over the past year. The U.S. was the main outlier, recording the strongest uplift in 5G performance as T-Mobile continued to drive home its performance advantage in the market, while Verizon’s performance improved early in 2022 through its deployment of 5G in C-band spectrum. This trend is likely to continue in 2023 in the U.S., as more C-band spectrum is made available. However, the picture remains concerning for a number of other 5G markets, particularly those where median 5G speeds are at the lower end of the spectrum.

In some markets, 5G was initially priced at a premium to 4G, with operators focused on driving incremental returns on the new network technology. However, operators have been increasingly opening up 5G access by removing incremental costs for consumers and adding prepaid plans too. As 5G adoption scales, it places more strain on the new networks. The challenge for many of these markets is that network performance is likely to degrade further unless network densification picks up.

For network operators, this investment imperative is occuring amidst macroeconomic headwinds, which are driving up operating costs and putting pressure on consumer and enterprise spend. In addition, there remain challenges in deploying additional 5G cell sites in dense urban areas where demand is strongest, while in some markets EMF limits and other regulations can limit the deployment of high-capacity 5G sites.

Degrading 5G performance impacts consumer sentiment

Net Promoter Score (NPS) from Speedtest Intelligence paints a largely positive picture of current 5G networks. NPS is a key performance indicator of customer experience, categorizing users into Detractors (score 0-6), Passives (score 7-8), and Promoters (score 9-10), with the NPS representing the percentage of Promoters minus the percent of Detractors, displayed in the range from -100 to 100. Across the markets we analyzed, 5G users on average rated their network operator with NPS scores that were universally higher than those for 4G LTE users. However, consumer sentiment for users on 5G networks is beginning to shift, with NPS scores falling, coinciding with lower median 5G performance in many of the markets we analyzed.

Declining performance levels will be a factor driving NPS down for some 5G users. It’s also important to remember that as 5G scales in many of these early launch markets, the profile of 5G users is also changing from predominantly urban-based users, to more of a mix of urban, suburban, and rural users, which brings additional coverage and performance challenges for network operators. We plan to examine the relationship between 5G performance and spectrum in an up-coming content piece. Please get in touch if you’d like to learn more about Speedtest Intelligence data.

About the Author

Mark Giles

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Isla McKetta | December 18, 2022

Stable and Expanding: The State of Worldwide 5G in 2022

5G is no longer a new technology, however, consumers in many countries are still waiting to see the full benefits of 5G (or even to connect to 5G at all). We examined Speedtest Intelligence® data from Q3 2022 Speedtest® results to see how 5G performance has changed since last year, where download speeds are the fastest at the country level, and how satellite technologies are offering additional options to connect. We also looked at countries that don’t yet have 5G to understand where consumers are seeing improvements in 4G LTE access.

5G speeds were stable at the global level

In 2021, we discussed how an expansion of 5G access led to a decline in overall speed at the global level. This year showed a stabilization in overall speed, even as 5G access broadened, with a median global 5G download speed of 168.27 Mbps in Q3 2022 as compared to 166.13 Mbps in Q3 2021. Median upload speed over 5G slowed slightly to 18.71 Mbps (from 21.08 Mbps) during the same period. According to the Ookla® 5G Map™, there were 127,509 5G deployments in 128 countries as of November 30, 2022, compared to 85,602 in 112 countries the year prior.

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates led countries for 5G speeds

South Korea and the U.A.E. had the fastest median download speed over 5G at 516.15 Mbps and 511.70 Mbps, respectively, during Q3 2022, leading a top 10 list that included Bulgaria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Kuwait, New Zealand, Bahrain, and Brazil. Bulgaria, Singapore, Bahrain, and Brazil were new to the top 10 in 2022, while Norway, Sweden, China, and Taiwan fell out of the top 10.

Satellite became more accessible but performance slowed

2022 saw a proliferation of fast, low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet from Starlink across the world. Q1 2022 saw Starlink speeds increase year over year in Canada and the U.S., with Starlink in Mexico having the fastest satellite internet in North America, Starlink in Lithuania the fastest in Europe, Starlink in Chile the fastest in South America, and Starlink in Australia the fastest in Oceania.

Q2 2022 saw Starlink speeds decrease in Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. from Q1 2022 as Starlink crossed the 400,000 user threshold across the world. Starlink in Puerto Rico debuted as the fastest satellite provider in North America. Starlink outperformed fixed broadband averages in 16 European countries. Starlink in Brazil had the fastest satellite speeds in South America. And Starlink in New Zealand was the fastest satellite provider in Oceania.

During Q3 2022, Starlink performance dipped once again from Q2 2022 in Canada and the U.S., while remaining about the same in Chile. Starlink in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands had the fastest satellite speeds in North America, while Starlink in Brazil again was the fastest satellite provider in South America.

With Viasat, HughesNet, and Project Kuiper set to launch huge LEO constellations in 2023, consumers around the world are poised to have more fast satellite internet options, particularly as the European Commission makes its own play for a constellation and Eutelsat and OneWeb potentially merging.

5G Availability points to on-going challenges

5G Availability measures the proportion of Speedtest users with 5G-capable handsets, who spend a majority of time connected to 5G networks. It’s therefore a function of 5G coverage and adoption. We see wide disparity in 5G Availability among markets worldwide, with for example the U.S. recording 54.3% in Q3 2022, well ahead of markets such as Sweden and the U.A.E., with 8.6% and 8.3% respectively.

Critical levers for mobile operators to increase 5G Availability include:

Increasing 5G coverage by deploying additional base stations
Obtaining access to, or refarming, sub-GHz spectrum, to help broaden 5G coverage, as sub-GHz spectrum has superior propagation properties than that of higher frequency spectrum bands.
Encouraging 5G adoption among users with 5G-capable handsets.

Speedtest Intelligence points to 5G adoption challenges in some markets, with 5G Availability dropping in Bulgaria, South Korea, the Netherlands, and the U.A.E. As more users acquire 5G-capable devices, operators need to balance their pricing models to ensure users have sufficient incentives to purchase a 5G tariff.

Where 5G continues to fail to reach

Speedtest Intelligence showed 29 countries in the world where more than 20% of samples were from 2G and 3G connections (combined) during Q3 2022 and met our statistical threshold to be included (down from 70 in Q3 2021). These are mostly countries where 5G is still aspirational for a majority of the population, which is being left behind technologically, having to rely on decades-old technologies that are only sufficient for basic voice and texting, social media, and navigation apps. We’re glad to see so many countries fall off this list, but having so many consumers on 2G and 3G also prevents mobile operators from making 4G and 5G networks more efficient. If operators and regulators are able to work to upgrade their users to 4G and higher, everyone will benefit.

Countries That Still Rely Heavily on 2G and 3G Connections

Speedtest IntelligenceⓇ | Q3 2021

Country	2G & 3G Samples
Central African Republic	76.2%
Turkmenistan	58.5%
Kiribati	51.6%
Micronesia	47.4%
Rwanda	41.1%
Belarus	39.7%
Equatorial Guinea	37.7%
Afghanistan	36.7%
Palestine	33.5%
Madagascar	27.5%
Sudan	27.4%
Lesotho	26.5%
South Sudan	26.3%
Benin	26.0%
Guinea	25.5%
Cape Verde	24.3%
Tonga	24.3%
Syria	23.4%
The Gambia	23.4%
Ghana	23.3%
Palau	22.9%
Niger	22.8%
Tajikistan	22.7%
Mozambique	22.4%
Guyana	21.8%
Togo	21.8%
Congo	21.1%
Moldova	20.8%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	20.0%

We were pleased to see the following countries come off the list from last year, having dropped below the 20% threshold: Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Burundi, Caribbean Netherlands, Cook Islands, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gabon, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Liberia, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. While countries like Belarus, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Guinea, Guyana, Madagascar, Palestine, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tajikistan, Togo, and Turkmenistan are still on this list, they have improved the percentage of their samples on these outmoded technologies when compared to last year by at least 10 points. Palestine improved by more than 50 points. 2G and 3G samples in Kiribati increased 3.2 points when comparing Q3 2022 to Q3 2021.

We’re glad to see performance levels normalize as 5G expands to more and more countries and access improves and we are optimistic that 2023 will bring further improvements. Keep track of how well your country is performing on Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index™ or track performance in thousands of cities worldwide with the Speedtest Performance Directory™.

About the Author

Isla McKetta

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Sylwia Kechiche | June 27, 2022

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

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

Key takeaways

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Songkhla tops the charts for median 5G download speed

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

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

Bangkok has the highest 5G Availability

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

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

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

Consolidation wave across Asia-Pacific could stifle competition

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

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

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

The shape of the Thai mobile market

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

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

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

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

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

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

If approved, M&A would change the spectrum landscape

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

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

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

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

The benefits of scale are obvious

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

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

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

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

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

The NewCo will operate:

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

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

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

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

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Isla McKetta | December 18, 2019

A Global Look at Mobile Modem Market Share and Device Performance

Analysts discuss the latest devices all the time, but rarely is enough attention paid to the phone’s real powerhouse — the modem. We were interested to see how market share for modem manufacturers divides up on a global level, so we investigated device data from Speedtest Intelligence^TM during Q3 2019. We also looked at how popular phones performed in different markets, including a look at 5G phones in 5G countries.

Global modem market share

Ookla_Global-Modem-Market-Share_1219-2

Speedtest data showed Qualcomm was the most common modem manufacturer in 133 countries during Q3 2019 — the highest market share was in Hong Kong with 73.6% of the devices analyzed showing Qualcomm modems. Qualcomm’s slimmest majority was in Botswana with 25.6% of devices analyzed showing Qualcomm modems.

This is not surprising as Qualcomm chipsets power many flagship devices sold around the world. In the U.S., virtually all Android OEMs use Qualcomm-powered chipsets. The latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ mobile platform with Snapdragon X24 integrated LTE modem (up to 2Gbps) powers popular devices from Samsung, LG and OnePlus. It’s worth noting that Qualcomm has multi-year licensing deals with multiple OEMs based in China, namely Vivo, OPPO, Lenovo, Xiaomi and OnePlus, providing their complete modem-to-antenna solutions for optimal RF performance. This includes valuable RF Front End (RFFE) components such as power amplifiers, envelope trackers, RF switches, filters and antenna tuners.

These OEMs also have access to Qualcomm’s first and second generation 5G modems. As of right now, Qualcomm is also the only chipset manufacturer providing modem-to-antenna solutions for 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) deployments, providing all-in-one mmWave antenna modules that contain radio transceiver, RFFE and phased array antenna.

Intel was the most common modem manufacturer in 32 counties during Q3 2019. The highest percentage of devices with Intel modems was seen in Greenland at 55.6%. Intel’s slimmest majority was in South Africa with 28.6% of devices analyzed showing Intel modems. Intel’s main customer in the smartphone space is Apple. Starting in 2016, Apple began powering some iPhone devices with Intel’s flagship LTE chipsets, and since 2018, all iPhones have Intel’s cellular chipsets.

Samsung was the most common modem manufacturer in 16 countries during Q3 2019. South Korea had the highest percentage of devices with Samsung modems at 53.8%. Samsung’s slimmest majority was in Mozambique with 29.1% of devices analyzed powered by Samsung modems. Samsung’s Exynos LTE modem is seen in variants of Samsung’s Galaxy S and Note devices. Except in the Americas and China, most of Samsung’s flagship S10 and Note 10 devices around the world are powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 982x SoC (system on a chip), with an integrated LTE Category 20 modem capable of download speeds of up to 2 Gbps.

Speedtest data showed HiSilicon as the most common modem manufacturer in two countries during Q3 2019. In Costa Rica, 32.4% of devices analyzed showed HiSilicon modems, and in Namibia that number was 27.6%. HiSilicon is a semiconductor company based in Shenzhen and fully owned by Huawei. Huawei integrates its own flagship modem into its flagship P and Mate series devices. These devices have a large user base in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Device performance is affected by market factors

A phone’s performance is always going to depend on the conditions within its specific market. Factors affecting network performance can include: geography, cell site and population density, the amount of wireless spectrum deployed and the overall capabilities of user equipment seeded to market. Multiple factors can impact the performance of a device, including: varying degrees of RF transparency in the materials used for device chassis, variations in RF front-end and antenna design complexity and whether the baseband processor is more or less capable of handling network tasks. We used Speedtest data to analyze how three popular phones — the Apple iPhone Xs, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S10 — performed in specific markets around the world during Q3 2019. We excluded data from devices with fewer than 100 samples in a market during the period.

Mean-DL-Speeds-on-Flagship-Phones

The Samsung Galaxy S10 was the fastest of these three devices in all but five markets during Q3 2019. However, the mean download speed on the Galaxy S10 varied between 18.06 Mbps in India and 95.91 Mbps in Canada. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro showed the fastest mean download speed of these three devices in France and the U.K. during Q3 2019 and often placed second in the remaining markets on the list. Mean download speed on the Mate 20 Pro during Q3 2019 ranged from 14.57 Mbps in India to 93.66 Mbps in Canada.

Apple’s iPhone Xs was at a slight disadvantage in this comparison, as it came out in 2018 where the other devices debuted in 2019. Because the iPhone 11 was not fully seeded to markets in Q3 2019, we considered its predecessor, the iPhone Xs, in this analysis. The iPhone Xs showed the fastest mean download speed in Germany, Japan and Nigeria during Q3 2019. Mean download speeds on the iPhone Xs varied from 15.92 Mbps in India to 71.72 Mbps in Canada.

Device performance in 5G markets

5G currently offers the pinnacle of mobile performance. We looked at 5G-capable devices in markets where 5G exists to see how download speeds compare. These results include Speedtest results on all technologies, not just 5G, which means averages also reflect consumers using 5G phones with a 4G connection.

Mean-DL-Speeds-on-5G-Phones

Both the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G showed mean download speeds in excess of 200 Mbps in some markets during Q3 2019. However, there’s clearly some difference in which devices are supported by which operators, as not all operators in 5G markets are offering 5G equally (if at all). Related, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G models sold in the U.S. and China are powered by Qualcomm’s first-generation Snapdragon X50 5G modem, while other 5G markets receive the variant powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 5100 5G modem.

Mobile operators continue to incentivize consumers to upgrade to newer and more capable devices to ensure a more efficient use of spectrum assets for network operators. This leads to an improved utilization of shared resources, faster overall speeds and better quality of experience.

We’re looking forward to updating these analyses as more markets adopt 5G and as newer and even faster phones are released. For more information about how our device data can help you, contact us.

About the Author

Isla McKetta

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Isla McKetta | December 20, 2021

Growing and Slowing: The State of 5G Worldwide in 2021

5G continues to offer new and exciting ways of rethinking everything from streaming video to performing remote surgery. However, not everyone shares equally in these possibilities as many countries do not have access to 5G and even those that do, do not experience the same level of performance from their 5G connections. We examined Speedtest Intelligence® data from Q3 2021 Speedtest® results to see how 5G speeds have changed, where download speeds are the fastest at the country and capital level, where 5G deployments have increased and what worldwide 5G Availability looked like in Q3 2021. We also looked at countries that don’t yet have 5G to understand where consumers are seeing improvements in 4G access.

5G slowed down at the global level

Median-Speeds-Worldwide_1221-01

It’s common to see new mobile access technologies slow down as adoption scales, particularly early on in the tech cycle. Over the past year from Q3 2020 to Q3 2021, the median global 5G download speed fell to 166.13 Mbps, down from 206.22 Mbps in Q3 2020. Median upload speed over 5G also slowed to 21.08 Mbps (from 29.52 Mbps) during the same period.

More users are logging on to existing 5G networks, and we’re also at the stage in the evolution of 5G where countries that have historically had slower speeds are starting to offer 5G. In addition, the widespread use of dynamic spectrum sharing that has been used to boost early 5G coverage weighs on 5G download speeds. While the dip in speeds looks like a letdown, it’s more of a compromise to enable broader access. With additional spectrum and further deployments slated for 2022, we anticipate speeds will begin to pick up again.

South Korea had the fastest 5G in the world

ookla_5g-download_performance_countries_1221-01-1

South Korea had the fastest median download speed over 5G during Q3 2021, leading a top 10 list that included Norway, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Sweden, China, Taiwan and New Zealand. Sweden, China, Taiwan and New Zealand were new to the top 10 in 2021 while South Africa (whose 5G was brand new last year), Spain and Hungary fell out of the top 10.

5G expanded to 13 additional countries

According to the Ookla® 5G Map^™, there were 5G deployments in 112 countries as of November 30, 2021. That’s up from 99 countries on the same date a year ago. The total number of deployments increased dramatically during the same time period with 85,602 deployments on November 30, 2021 compared to 17,428 on November 30, 2020, highlighting the degree to which 5G networks scaled during the year. Note that there are often multiple deployments in a given city.

Seoul and Oslo lead world capitals for 5G

ookla_5g-download_performance_capitals_1221-01

Speedtest Intelligence data from Q3 2021 shows a wide range of median 5G speeds among global capitals. Seoul, South Korea and Oslo, Norway were in the lead with 530.83 Mbps and 513.08 Mbps, respectively; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Doha Qatar followed. Brasilia, Brazil had the slowest median download speed over 5G on our list, followed by Warsaw, Poland; Cape Town, South Africa and Rome, Italy. Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway had some of the the fastest median upload speeds over 5G at 56.26 Mbps and 49.95 Mbps, respectively, while Cape Town had the slowest at 14.53 Mbps.

The U.S. had the highest 5G Availability

The presence of 5G is only one indicator in a market, because even in markets where 5G has launched, coverage and adoption can be pretty low. We analyzed 5G Availability to see what percent of users on 5G-capable devices spent the majority of their time on 5G, both roaming and on-network during Q3 2021.

ookla_5g-availability_countries_1221-01

The United States had the highest 5G Availability at 49.2%, followed by the Netherlands (45.1%), South Korea (43.8%), Kuwait (35.5%) and Qatar (34.8%). Brazil had the lowest 5G Availability on our list at 0.8%, followed by Sweden (1.5%), South Africa (2.7%), New Zealand (2.9%) and Hungary (3.6%).

Not all 5G networks are created equal

Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data shows a growing disparity in the performance of 5G networks worldwide, even among the pioneer markets who were among the first to launch the new technology. We see leading markets such as South Korea, Norway, the UAE and China pulling well ahead of key European markets, the U.S. and Japan on 5G download speeds, creating what increasingly looks like two tiers of 5G markets.

ookla_5g-download_performance_1221-01

Part of the reason for this divergence is access to key 5G spectrum bands, with Verizon and AT&T in the U.S. for example, soon to deploy their C-band spectrum holdings for 5G use. However, what really seems to separate these markets is the level of 5G network densification. The number of people per 5G base station ranges from 319 in South Korea and 1,531 in China, to 4,224 in the EU and 6,590 in the US, according to the European 5G Observatory’s International Scoreboard during October 2021.

Despite the noise around 6G, 5G still has a long way to run

Median 5G mobile download speeds across these markets are respectable relative to the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) IMT-2020 target of 100 Mbps for user experienced download data rates. However, 5G Speedtest® results in each market demonstrate significant variability, with the bottom 10th percentile only recording speeds in excess of the IMT-2020 target in South Korea and Norway, and falling significantly short in many other markets, with Spain, Italy and the U.S. below 20 Mbps.

The story gets worse for upload speeds, where no market’s median speed broke the IMT-2020 recommended 50 Mbps, and where the bottom 10th percentile lay in single digits across the board. Operators are clearly prioritizing download speeds over upload, which makes sense given the asymmetric nature of demand, with most consumer applications requiring higher download speeds. However, as operators increasingly look to target the enterprise market with 5G connectivity and consumer demand for services such as video calling and mobile gaming continues to rise, operators will need to boost upload speeds.

ookla_5g-upload_performance_1221-01-1

Demand for mobile internet bandwidth continues to grow, up 43% year-on-year in Q3 2021 according to Ericsson’s latest mobility report. Looking ahead to 2022, operators will need to increase the capacity of their 5G networks to tackle this growing demand while driving network speeds to new heights. We’ve seen the impact the deployment of new spectrum can have on congested networks during 2021, with Reliance Jio witnessing a bump in 4G LTE performance and consumer sentiment following its acquisition of additional spectrum in India.

Where 5G still fails to reach

Speedtest Intelligence showed 70 countries in the world where more than 20% of samples were from 2G and 3G connections (combined) during Q3 2021 and met our statistical threshold to be included. These are mostly countries where 5G is still aspirational for a majority of the population. As excited as we are about the expansion of 5G, we do not want to see these countries left behind. Not only are 2G and 3G decades old, they are only sufficient for basic voice and texting, social media and navigation apps. To deliver rich media experiences or video calling, users need access to 4G or higher. Having so many consumers on 2G and 3G also prevents mobile operators from refarming that spectrum to make 4G and 5G networks more efficient.

Countries That Still Rely Heavily on 2G and 3G Connections

Speedtest IntelligenceⓇ | Q3 2021

Country	2G & 3G Samples
Central African Republic	89.9%
Palestine	84.7%
Yemen	72.4%
Turkmenistan	71.8%
Micronesia	56.3%
Madagascar	55.0%
Belarus	53.2%
Rwanda	51.7%
Kiribati	48.4%
Equatorial Guinea	47.6%
Afghanistan	44.4%
South Sudan	43.4%
Guyana	42.3%
Guinea	37.0%
Angola	36.8%
Cape Verde	35.9%
Tajikistan	35.6%
Zimbabwe	34.7%
Benin	34.4%
Togo	33.8%
Ghana	33.0%
Sierra Leone	31.7%
Antigua and Barbuda	30.2%
Vanuatu	30.1%
Lesotho	30.0%
Syria	29.6%
Moldova	29.4%
Saint Kitts and Nevis	28.9%
Mozambique	28.8%
Sudan	28.4%
Palau	28.3%
Grenada	28.1%
Tanzania	27.6%
Uganda	27.5%
Niger	27.5%
Gabon	27.5%
Haiti	27.4%
Suriname	27.4%
Tonga	27.3%
Liberia	27.0%
Namibia	26.7%
Swaziland	26.5%
The Gambia	26.3%
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	26.3%
Dominica	26.3%
Somalia	26.1%
Cook Islands	26.0%
Zambia	25.9%
Barbados	25.7%
Armenia	25.5%
Algeria	25.4%
Papua New Guinea	25.2%
Jamaica	24.5%
Venezuela	24.2%
Ethiopia	24.1%
Uzbekistan	24.0%
El Salvador	23.5%
Honduras	23.1%
Nigeria	23.0%
Solomon Islands	22.8%
Caribbean Netherlands	22.7%
Botswana	22.3%
Anguilla	21.7%
Mauritania	20.6%
Saint Lucia	20.5%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	20.3%
Burundi	20.3%
Ecuador	20.2%
Ukraine	20.1%
Trinidad and Tobago	20.0%

We were pleased to see the following countries come off the list from last year, having dropped below the 20% threshold: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Iraq, Kenya, Laos, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Tunisia. While countries like Palestine, Suriname, Ethiopia, Haiti and Antigua and Barbuda are still on this list, they have improved the percentage of their samples on these outmoded technologies when compared to last year (dropping 10-15 points, respectively), 2G and 3G samples in Belarus increased 6.7 points when comparing Q3 2021 to Q3 2020.

We’re excited to see how performance levels will normalize as 5G expands to more and more countries and access improves. Keep track of how well your country is performing on Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index^™.

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Isla McKetta

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Ookla Joins Ericsson's Leading Telecommunications Open RApp System

The World’s Internet in 2018: Faster, Modernizing and Always On

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Mobile speeds increased more than 15% in 2018

Fixed broadband speeds increased more than 26% in 2018

Countries with the fastest internet in 2018

Most improved countries for 2018 internet speeds

4G is increasing mobile speeds

Gigabit coverage is expanding globally

When people are online

Internet in the world’s largest countries

Mobile internet speeds in the world’s largest countries

Fixed broadband speeds in the largest countries in the world

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Isla McKetta

In-Depth Analysis of Changes in World Internet Performance Using the Speedtest Global Index

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World mobile speed increased 21.4% with fixed broadband up 37.4%

Shake-ups in the country rankings for internet performance

Technologies paving the way: 5G and gigabit

The presence of 5G is not enough to change a market

Gigabit is a game-changer, if you can get it

Comparing world mobile and fixed broadband at a glance

Speed Leaders

Fixed-Focused countries

Mobile-Focused countries

Speed Laggers

Regional views of mobile and fixed broadband performance

Africa mostly lags in internet speeds

Asian markets show a wide breadth of internet performance

European mobile performance is mostly strong, fixed varies

North American internet performance is sharply divided

Each country in Oceania has a very different internet story

South America mostly lags in mobile and fixed internet speeds

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Isla McKetta

Tracking COVID-19’s Impact on Global Internet Performance (Updated July 20)

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Ookla

2020 Recap: How the Internet Held Up During a Global Pandemic

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Mobile speeds dipped in many G20 countries in the spring of 2020

Despite interim dips, fixed broadband improved in all G20 countries during 2020

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Isla McKetta

Find Out if 5G is Worth the Upgrade: A Multi-Country Analysis

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Australia

5G Samsung devices more than twice as fast as most popular 4G devices in Australia

iPhone 13 wallops iPhone 11 for speed in Australia

Bahrain

5G Samsung variants live up to the hype in Bahrain

iPhone 12 85% faster than iPhone 11 in Bahrain

Canada

Not all 5G Android devices offer a massive improvement in Canada

iPhone 13 more than three times as fast as the iPhone 11 in Canada

China

5G offers major advantages on Android in China

iPhone 13 more than ten times faster than iPhone 11 in China

France

French 5G offers a decent speed boost on Android

iPhone 13 more than three times faster than iPhone 11 in France

Japan

Android 5G devices are faster in Japan, but not always fast

iPhone 13 more than twice as fast as iPhone 11 in Japan

Saudi Arabia

5G Android devices are much faster than 4G in Saudi Arabia

iPhone 13 was more than five times faster than the iPhone 11 in Saudi Arabia

South Africa

5G shows a small improvement over 4G on Android in South Africa

iPhone 12 was almost twice as fast as the iPhone 11 in South Africa

South Korea

4G Android devices in South Korea are fast, 5G even faster