Tag: Nigeria

Ookla Research™ Articles
| July 15, 2021

Speedtest Global Index Market Analyses Now Available for 37 Countries

Global Speeds

Speedtest Global IndexTM Market Analyses from Ookla® identify key data about internet performance in countries across the world. This quarter we’ve provided updated analyses for 37 markets that includes details on fastest mobile and fixed broadband providers, performance of most popular devices and chipsets and internet speeds in cities. Click a country on the list below to see highlights or scroll through the article to learn what Speedtest Intelligence® revealed in all 37 markets:

Africa and the Middle East

Algeria | Jordan | Kenya
Morocco | Nigeria | Qatar
South Africa | Tunisia | Turkey

Asia and Oceania

China | Hong Kong (SAR) | Indonesia
Malaysia | Singapore | Taiwan
Vietnam

Europe

Austria | Belgium | Czechia
Denmark | Finland | France
Germany | Hungary | Latvia
Luxembourg | Malta | Serbia
Slovakia | Spain

North and South America

Argentina | Brazil | Canada
Ecuador | Mexico | Peru
United States

Africa and the Middle East

Algeria

  • For the second quarter in a row, mobile provider Ooredoo had the highest Speed Score™ (24.27) and Consistency Score™ (84.5%) in Algeria during Q2 2021.
  • Apple devices achieved a mean download speed of 26.37 Mbps during Q2 2021, 26.4% faster than Apple’s speeds in Q1 2021 (20.86 Mbps).
  • The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G was the fastest popular device in Algeria with a mean download speed of 38.15 Mbps.

    Jordan

  • Fixed broadband provider Orange had the highest Speed Score (70.99) and Consistency Score (72.6%) in Jordan during Q2 2021.
  • Umniah achieved the fastest mobile Speed Score at 34.28 and best Consistency Score at 93.4%.
  • Amman had the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds among the most populous cities in Jordan at 43.27 Mbps and 40.29 Mbps, respectively.
  • Among popular mobile devices, Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G narrowly beat out the iPhone 12 Pro 5G for fastest median download and upload speeds at 36.06 Mbps and 17.90 Mbps.

    Kenya

  • Mobile provider Safaricom had the highest Speed Score (27.54) and Consistency Score (84.0%) in Kenya during Q2 2021, though both these scores were slightly lower than in Q1 2021.
  • For fixed broadband, Faiba was the provider that had the best Speed Score (23.19) and Consistency Score (43.9%) in Kenya during Q2 2021.
  • Mombasa had the fastest mean mobile download and upload speeds in Kenya’s most populous cities at 32.12 Mbps and 17.13 Mbps, respectively.
  • Eldoret had the fastest mean fixed broadband download speed in Kenya during Q2 2021 at 23.68 Mbps. Nairobi dropped three places from the fastest city for mean fixed broadband download speed during Q1 2021.

    Morocco

  • Fixed broadband provider Orange beat out Q1 2021 winner Maroc Telecom for fastest provider in Morocco with a Speed Score of 19.27, a 35.0% increase from Q1 2021.
  • For fixed broadband, Maroc Telecom continued to have the best Consistency Score at 32.4% during Q2 2021.
  • On mobile, Maroc Telecom achieved the best Speed Score (59.24) and Consistency Score (92.6%) during Q2 2021.
  • Salé surpassed Marrakesh as the fastest city among Morocco’s most populous cities with the fastest mobile download and upload speeds at 40.78 Mbps and 13.80 Mbps, respectively.

    Nigeria

  • For the second quarter in a row, mobile provider Airtel had the fastest Speed Score in Nigeria at 28.82 during Q2 2021. While MTN was second, it improved its Speed Score 37.9% quarter over quarter, 18.70 to 25.78.
  • MTN edged out Airtel’s Q1 2021 top spot for best Consistency Score on mobile during Q2 2021, 83.4% to Airtel’s 82.5%.
  • Fixed broadband provider ipNX continued to have the best Speed Score (19.25) and Consistency Score (39.6%) in Nigeria during Q2 2021.
  • Port Harcourt continued to have the best mobile mean download speeds of any Nigerian city at 26.34 Mbps, but Kano made huge strides forward, improving its download speed by 61.8% over Q1 2021.

    Qatar

  • Ooredoo had the best mobile and fixed broadband Speed Scores in Qatar during Q2 2021 at 149.01 and 69.45, respectively.
  • 5G performance was extremely competitive with Ooredoo achieving the fastest median 5G download speed at 393.89 Mbps, while Vodafone achieved 354.27 Mbps.
  • Ooredoo also had the best fixed broadband Consistency Score at 81.5%.
  • Vodafone had the best mobile Consistency Score at 93.7%, edging out Ooredoo’s 92.9%.
  • Umm Salal Muhammed had the fastest median mobile and fixed broadband download speeds in Qatar at 147.65 Mbps and 80.57 Mbps, respectively.
  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals that among popular devices, Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G achieved the fastest median mobile download speed at 284.32 Mbps, edging out Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G (278.42 Mbps).

    South Africa

  • Speedtest Intelligence shows Cool Ideas had the fastest fixed broadband Speed Score (45.76) and Consistency Score (65.4%) during Q2 2021. That was an increase in Speed Score of 21.1% from Q1 2021.
  • Among mobile providers, MTN had the fastest Speed Score (60.44) and best Consistency Score (90.5%).
  • Apple devices had the fastest combined mean download speed at 52.59 Mbps and fastest mean upload speed at 12.22 Mbps during Q2 2021. The iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G took top honors as the fastest popular device, achieving a mean download speed of 93.36 Mbps.
  • Johannesburg had the fastest mean fixed broadband and mobile download speeds during Q2 2021 at 61.85 Mbps and 58.06 Mbps, respectively.

    Tunisia

  • During Q2 2021, Ooredoo achieved the highest mobile Speed Score in Tunisia at 46.47.
  • Tunisie Telecom edged out Ooredoo for the highest fixed broadband Speed Score with 9.07 and 8.28, respectively.
  • Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G had the fastest mean download speed in Tunisia among popular devices during Q2 2021 at 73.21 Mbps.
  • Among popular chipsets, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 5G had the fastest mean download speed at 70.43 Mbps.
  • Sfax had the fastest mean mobile download speed in Tunisia during Q2 2021 at 45.53 Mbps.

    Turkey

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed mobile provider Turkcell had the highest Speed Score and Consistency Score in Turkey during Q2 2021 at 61.39 and 93.2%, respectively.
  • For fixed broadband, Turksat Kablo had the highest Speed Score (35.67).
  • During Q2 2021, Turknet had the highest Consistency Score for fixed broadband at 66.6%.
  • Istanbul had the fastest mean fixed broadband and mobile download speed at 40.16 Mbps and 50.21 Mbps, respectively.
  • Among top device manufacturers, Apple beat out Samsung for fastest mean download speed at 51.62 Mbps to 41.69 Mbps.

    Asia and Oceania

    China

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, China Telecom was the fastest fixed broadband provider in China during Q2 2021 with a Speed Score of 117.02, 9.3% higher than Q1 2021.
  • However, China Mobile continued to have the highest Consistency Score in China for fixed broadband during Q2 2021 at 90.0%, edging out China Telecom’s 86.8% and China Unicom’s 86.5%.
  • China Mobile achieved the highest Speed Score (113.06) and Consistency Score (92.1%) among China’s top mobile providers during Q2 2021.
  • During Q2 2021, China Telecom achieved a median 5G download speed of 304.55 Mbps, edging out China Mobile’s 303.44 Mbps. China Unicom was third at 292.04 Mbps.
  • Among top device manufacturers, Huawei had the fastest median download speed at 86.33 Mbps in China during Q2 2021. Vivo followed at 56.68 Mbps, then Xiaomi (56.48 Mbps), Oppo (55.35 Mbps) and Apple (49.65 Mbps).
  • Among popular devices, Huawei also dominated. The Huawei P40 Pro 5G had the fastest median download speed in China during Q2 2021 at 287.18 Mbps.
  • During Q2 2021, Huawei’s Kirin 9000 5G was the fastest chipset in China, achieving a median download speed of 284.74 Mbps.
  • Tianjin had the fastest median fixed broadband download speed among China’s most populous cities at 199.91 Mbps, 10.7% faster than its first place Q1 2021 results.
  • Hangzhou had the fastest median mobile download speed among China’s most populous cities at 72.97 Mbps, followed closely by Shenzhen at 70.74 Mbps and Nanjing at 69.22 Mbps.

    Hong Kong (SAR)

  • For the second quarter in a row, China Mobile Hong Kong was the fastest mobile operator in Hong Kong, earning a Speed Score of 72.21 in Q2 2021, 10.8% higher than Q1 2021.
  • China Mobile Hong Kong also blazed ahead of the competition for the fastest 5G download speed, achieving a median speed of 218.60 Mbps during Q2 2021, 7.2% faster than its Q1 2021 results. Mobile provider 3 followed at 165.35 Mbps, csl at 134.75 Mbps and SmarTone at 124.31 Mbps.
  • Among top manufacturers during Q2 2021, Samsung had the fastest median download speed at 44.68 Mbps.
  • Samsung devices also took the top four spots for fastest popular devices in Hong Kong during Q2 2021 with the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G achieving the top spot at 124.25 Mbps, edging out the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G’s 123.28 Mbps.
  • During Q2 2021, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 5G achieved the fastest median download speed among modern chipsets at 111.91 Mbps.

    Indonesia

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Biznet was Indonesia’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021, earning a Speed Score of 40.66. MyRepublic was second at 35.63.
  • Biznet also had the highest Consistency Score in Indonesia during Q2 2021, edging out MyRepublic 66.6% to 63.5%.
  • Telkomsel was the fastest major mobile provider in Indonesia during Q2 2021, earning a Speed Score of 28.02. Telkomsel also achieved the top Consistency Score at 84.1%, beating out IM3 Ooredoo’s 83.5%.
  • Jakarta had the fastest mean fixed broadband download speed of Indonesia’s most populous cities at 32.86 Mbps, while Tangerang achieved the fastest mean mobile download speed at 24.69 Mbps.

    Malaysia

  • During Q2 2021, Speedtest Intelligence reveals that TIME was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Malaysia, earning a Speed Score of 116.36. TIME also achieved the highest Consistency Score (86.7%).
  • On mobile, Digi edged out Maxis for the fastest mobile provider, earning a Speed Score of 30.20 to Maxis’ 29.92. U Mobile was third at 27.40.
  • Apple earned the top spot as Malaysia’s fastest device manufacturer during Q2 2021, with Apple devices achieving a mean download speed of 34.22 Mbps. Samsung was second at 28.77 Mbps and Huawei third at 27.68 Mbps.
  • Among Malaysia’s most populous cities, Nusajaya had the fastest mean fixed broadband speed during Q2 2021, achieving 125.88 Mbps download and 81.29 Mbps upload. Petaling Jaya was second, achieving 122.91 Mbps download and 82.56 Mbps upload.
  • Nusajaya also had the fastest mean mobile download speed at 38.51 Mbps during Q2 2021.

    Singapore

  • Speedtest Intelligence shows ViewQuest was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Singapore in Q2 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 268.70.
  • During Q2 2021, Singtel was the fastest mobile provider in Singapore, achieving a Speed Score of 83.83.
  • Singtel also blew the competition away for fastest median 5G download speed at 189.55 Mbps during Q2 2021. M1 was second at 110.43 Mbps.
  • Apple edged out Samsung for fastest device manufacturer during Q2 2021, with Apple devices achieving a mean download speed of 87.66 Mbps to Samsung’s 85.48 Mbps. Oppo followed in third with 82.10 Mbps.

    Taiwan

  • Speedtest Intelligence® reveals Chunghwa Telecom was the fastest mobile operator among top providers in Taiwan in Q2 2021 with a Speed Score of 66.47 on modern chipsets — edging out FarEasTone’s 64.46.
  • During Q2 2021, Chunghwa Telecom surpassed FarEasTone as the fastest 5G provider in Taiwan. Chunghwa Telecom achieved a blazing median download speed of 471.73 Mbps — 42.2% faster than its Q1 2021 median download speed.
  • FarEasTone had the highest Consistency Score in Taiwan during Q2 2021 at 92.1%. Chunghwa Telecom followed at 89.4% and Taiwan Mobile was third at 87.5%.
  • Among top device manufacturers during Q2 2021, Apple devices achieved the fastest mean download speed at 79.30 Mbps, edging out Oppo (77.53 Mbps) and Samsung (74.23 Mbps).
  • The Sony Xperia 1 II 5G had the fastest mean download speed at 235.44 Mbps during Q2 2021.

    Vietnam

  • Viettel once again claimed the top spot as Vietnam’s fastest mobile and fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021, earning a mobile Speed Score of 44.16 and fixed broadband Speed Score of 66.77.
  • Viettel also achieved the best fixed broadband Consistency Score at 80.9%, tightly edging out FPT Telecom’s 80.0% and Vinaphone’s 79.6% for the fastest mean fixed broadband download speed
  • Vinaphone had the highest mobile Consistency Score at 94.1%.
  • Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro 5G had the fastest mean download speed at 99.43 Mbps.
  • Ho Chi Minh City overtook the top spot for the fastest mean fixed broadband download speed among Vietnam’s most populous cities with 77.14 Mbps (69.92 Mbps upload).
  • Hanoi edged out Ho Chi Minh City (43.70 Mbps) and Da Nang (43.22 Mbps) for fastest mean mobile download speed at 43.83 Mbps.

    Europe

    Austria

  • Magenta retained its top spot as Austria’s fastest fixed broadband provider, increasing its Speed Score 28.8% from Q1 2021 from 123.45 to 158.94 in Q2 2021.
  • Magenta also had the highest Consistency Score at 88.8% for fixed broadband in Q2 2021.
  • A1 was the fastest mobile provider in Austria during Q2 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 72.64. yesss! followed at 62.49.
  • For the second quarter in a row, yesss! narrowly edged out A1 for the highest mobile Consistency Score in Austria with yesss! achieving 93.7% and A1 achieving 93.4%. Magenta Telekom ad 3 followed at 90.5%.

    Belgium

  • During Q2 2021 — much like Q1 2021 — Telenet and VOO had a fierce competition for Belgium’s fastest fixed broadband provider. However, Telenet earned the top spot again, achieving a Speed Score of 104.24 to VOO’s 102.64.
  • VOO also challenged Telenet for the highest Consistency Score for fixed broadband providers, but Telenet edged VOO out for the top place, 87.8% to 86.8%.
  • Among mobile providers, Telenet fended off competition from BASE as the fastest mobile provider, earning a mobile Speed Score of 72.34 to BASE’s 68.50.
  • Antwerp overtook Ghent for the fastest median fixed broadband download speed 81.31 Mbps to Ghent’s 80.13 Mbps.
  • However, Ghent retained its top place for fastest median mobile download speed among Belgium’s most populous cities achieving a median speed of 72.56 Mbps during Q2 2021.

    Czechia

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals T-Mobile was Czechia’s fastest mobile provider during Q2 2021, earning a Speed Score of 60.73.
  • However, Vodafone claimed the best mobile Consistency Score during Q2 2021, earning 94.6% to O2’s 91.1%.
  • There was no statistical winner for fastest median 5G download speed in Czechia during Q2 2021, though O2 achieved a median download speed of 128.01 Mbps and T-Mobile achieved 124.69 Mbps.
  • Vodafone dominated as Czechia’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021. Vodafone achieved a Speed Score of 100.26.
  • Vodafone also had the best Consistency Score for fixed broadband during Q2 2021 at 79.4%.
  • Pilsen had the fastest mean fixed broadband speeds among Czechia’s most populous cities, achieving a mean download of 111.01 Mbps and a mean upload of 82.82 Mbps.

    Denmark

  • During Q2 2021 in Denmark, Fastspeed was the fastest fixed broadband provider, earning a Speed Score of 303.16 — an increase of 47.7% from Q1 2021. Hiper was second at 231.14 and Fibia third at 164.80.
  • YouSee once again earned the top spot as Denmark’s fastest mobile provider during Q2 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 91.19.
  • An analysis of performance on some of the most popular phones in Denmark revealed the iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G had the fastest median download speed during Q2 2021 at 111.80 Mbps. The iPhone Pro 5G was second at 109.79 Mbps, edging out the iPhone 12 5G at 109.63 Mbps.

    Finland

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, DNA retained its top spot as Finland’s fastest mobile provider in Q2 2021, earning a Speed Score of 68.20. DNA also edged out Telia for the highest Consistency Score, achieving 90.9% to Telia’s 90.0%.
  • Telia overtook DNA in Q2 2021 as Finland’s fastest 5G provider, achieving a median download speed of 304.22 Mbps to DNA’s 276.20 Mbps.
  • Telia retained its top spot as the fastest fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021, increasing its Speed Score 11.2% from Q1 2021. Telia was also the most consistent, achieving a Consistency Score of 82.7%.
  • Among popular device manufacturers, OnePlus had the fastest median download speed in Finland during Q2 2021 at 67.23 Mbps. However, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G had the fastest median download speeds among major devices at 121.57 Mbps.

    France

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed a fierce competition for France’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021, though Orange narrowly edged out Free with a Speed Score of 117.15 to 115.89.
  • SFR achieved the highest Consistency Score at 68.2%.
  • Orange earned the top spot as France’s fastest and most consistent mobile provider, earning a mobile Speed Score of 81.00 and a Consistency Score of 89.9%.
  • Orange also blew away the competition as France’s fastest 5G provider by achieving a median 5G download speed of 345.10 Mbps. SFR was next fastest at 204.98 Mbps.
  • Lyon achieved the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds at 127.51 Mbps and 93.46 Mbps, respectively. Nice had the fastest median mobile download speed at 64.63 Mbps.

    Germany

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Vodafone was Germany’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021, earning a Speed Score of 120.68.
  • 1&1 edged out Vodafone for the highest Consistency Score, 80.4% to Vodafone’s 79.3%.
  • For mobile providers, Telekom achieved the highest Speed Score (76.79) and Consistency Score (91.7%) during Q2 2021.
  • O2 was the fastest 5G provider during Q2 2021 earning the fastest median 5G download speed at 172.24 Mbps. Telekom followed at 154.30.
  • The iPhone 12 Pro 5G had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Germany during Q2 2021, edging out the iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G 92.25 Mbps to 91.94 Mbps.

    Hungary

  • Vodafone overtook DIGI as Hungary’s fastest fixed broadband provider in Q2 2021, achieving an 8.6% increase in Speed Score from 137.06 in Q1 2021 to 148.79. Vodafone retained the top spot for highest Consistency Score at 87.2% during Q2 2021.
  • Magyar Telekom retained its top spot as Hungary’s fastest and most consistent mobile provider during Q2 2021, earning a Speed Score of 52.59 and Consistency Score of 90.9%.
  • OnePlus overtook Apple during Q2 2021 as the fastest device manufacturer, with OnePlus devices achieving a combined median download speed of 47.29 Mbps to Apple’s 41.81 Mbps.
  • However, Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G achieved the fastest median download speed among popular devices during Q2 2021, with an increase in download speed of 17.3% from 70.12 Mbps in Q1 2021 to 82.22 Mbps in Q2 2021.

    Latvia

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed that Balticom was the fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Latvia during Q2 2021 achieving a Speed Score of 171.56 and Consistency Score of 90.5%.
  • LMT was the fastest provider in Latvia during Q2 2021 with a Speed Score of 41.13.
  • Tele2 narrowly edged out BITE and LMT as Latvia’s most consistent provider, earning a Consistency Score of 86.0% to BITE’s 85.1% and LMT’s 83.3%.
  • Olaine had the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds, 94.16 Mbps and 94.51 Mbps, respectively.

    Luxembourg

  • Tango retained its top spot as Luxembourg’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021 by achieving a Speed Score of 125.73, an increase of 4.5% over Q1 2021.
  • Tango and Eltrona tied for the highest Consistency Score during Q2 2021 at 86.3%.
  • POST again was the fastest mobile provider in Luxembourg during Q2 2021, achieving an 18.3% increase in Speed Score from 86.31 in Q1 2021 to 102.09 in Q2 2021. POST also remained the most consistent provider with a Consistency Score of 96.3%.
  • Among Luxembourg’s most populous cities, Differdange achieved the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds at 131.26 Mbps and 93.32 Mbps, respectively.
  • Ettelbruck had the fastest median mobile download and upload speeds at 117.76 Mbps and 21.64 Mbps, respectively.

    Malta

  • Melita retained its top spot as Malta’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021, earning a Speed Score of 113.64 and Consistency Score of 83.9%.
  • GO was Malta’s fastest and most consistent mobile provider during Q2 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 56.36 and Consistency Score of 92.8%.
  • Among popular devices, Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G achieved the fastest mean download speed at 75.81 Mbps.

    Serbia

  • SBB retained its top spot as Serbia’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021 with a Speed Score of 81.09 and Consistency Score of 81.8%.
  • A1 knocked Telenor out of the top place during Q2 2021 as Serbia’s fastest mobile provider, achieving a Speed Score of 54.26 to Telenor’s 49.99.
  • A1 and Telenor tied for the most consistent provider by earning a Consistency Score of 92.5%. mts trailed at 91.0%
  • The fastest chipset in Serbia during Q2 2021 was Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 5G, which had a median download speed of 74.21 Mbps. Samsung’s Exynos 2100 was second at 57.97 Mbps and Hisilicon’s Kirin 990 at 57.49 Mbps.

    Slovakia

  • Telekom knocked Orange out of first place as Slovakia’s fastest mobile operator during Q2 2021 with a Speed Score of 58.17 to Orange’s 56.22. Telekom increased its Speed Score 18.5% from Q1 2021 to Q2 2021.
  • UPC retained its top spot as Slovakia’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider with a Speed Score of 139.35 — an increase of 23.1% from Q1 2021 — and a Consistency Score of 87.2%.
  • The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G had the fastest median download speed among popular devices at 86.11 Mbps during Q2 2021, an increase of 33.3% over Q1 2021.

    Spain

  • DIGI sped ahead of the competition, earning its place as fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Q2 2021 with a Speed Score of 259.90 and Consistency Score of 91.5%. Orange was second at 154.03, Movistar third (139.65) and Yoigo fourth (134.71).
  • Movistar provided the fastest and most consistent mobile experience among Spanish mobile providers with a Speed Score of 58.47 and Consistency Score of 90.8%.
  • Vodafone more than doubled its closest competitor as Spain’s fastest 5G provider by achieving a median download speed of 322.81 Mbps.
  • Madrid had the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds at 142.97 Mbps and 111.48, respectively, as well as the fastest median mobile download speed at 41.66 Mbps. Barcelona trailed closely behind for fixed broadband at 134.73 Mbps download and 104.54 Mbps upload, as well as for mobile download at 40.10 Mbps.

    North and South America

    Argentina

  • Telecentro achieved the highest fixed broadband Speed Score (57.16) in Argentina during Q2 2021.
  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed Personal was the fastest mobile operator in Argentina during Q2 2021 with a Speed Score of 38.49.
  • Buenos Aires achieved the fastest mean fixed broadband download speed among Argentina’s most populous cities, recording a download speed of 77.79 Mbps.
  • For mobile download speeds, La Plata recorded the fastest mean mobile download speed in Argentina at 40.28 Mbps during Q2 2021.

    Brazil

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Claro was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Brazil among top providers during Q2 2021, achieving the highest Speed Score of 42.61 and Consistency Score of 87.8%.
  • Vivo was the fastest fixed broadband provider among top providers in Brazil in Q2 2021 with a Speed Score of 93.23.
  • Among Brazil’s most populous cities, seven cities achieved mean fixed broadband download speeds of over 100 Mbps, with Goiânia having the fastest download and upload speeds at 130.15 Mbps and 76.98 Mbps, respectively.
  • Brasilia had the fastest mean mobile download speed at 43.74 Mbps.

    Canada

  • Shaw and Rogers blazed above the competition for Canada’s fastest fixed broadband providers in Q2 2021, earning Speed Scores of 181.66 and 179.95, respectively.
  • Rogers edged out Shaw for the highest Consistency Score in Canada during Q2 2021 by earning 89.0% to Shaw’s 87.0%.
  • TELUS retained its top spot as the fastest mobile operator in Canada during Q2 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 82.93.
  • Videotron also retained its top spot during Q2 2021 as Canada’s most consistent mobile operator, achieving a Consistency Score of 89.6%.
  • Competition for the fastest median 5G download speed was competitive with no statistical winner during Q2 2021. Bell achieved a median download speed of 191.26 Mbps and TELUS achieved 184.45 Mbps.
  • Rogers achieved the highest 5G Availability in Canada during Q2 2021.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador retained its top spot as Canada’s fastest region for fixed broadband during Q2 2021, achieving a median download speed of 119.77 Mbps.
  • Calgary also retained its top spot among the most populous cities with the fastest median fixed broadband download speed at 129.60 Mbps. Winnipeg retained its top spot for mobile download speed by edging out Edmonton 93.12 Mbps to 91.25 Mbps.
  • Samsung devices had the fastest combined performance, achieving a median download speed of 70.72 Mbps. The Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G edged out the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G for the fastest popular device median download speed 141.44 Mbps to 137.97 Mbps.

    Ecuador

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Netlife was Ecuador’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider during Q2 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 38.72 and Consistency Score of 69.6%.
  • CNT was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Ecuador during Q2 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 38.11 and Consistency Score of 86.9%.

    Mexico

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Telcel was Mexico’s fastest mobile operator during Q2 2021, earning a Speed Score of 47.80.
  • Telcel was also Mexico’s most consistent mobile operator, achieving a Consistency Score of 89.2%.
  • Veracruz showed the fastest mean mobile download and upload speeds among Mexico’s most populous cities during Q2 2021, recording a mean download speed of 46.24 Mbps and mean upload speed of 19.36 Mbps.
  • Apple devices had the five fastest mean download speeds in Mexico. The iPhone 12 Pro 5G narrowly beat out the iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G and iPhone 12 5G for the fastest popular device during Q2 2021, achieving respective speeds of 74.65 Mbps, 72.63 Mbps and 72.37 Mbps.

    Peru

  • Among Peru’s top providers, Claro was the fastest mobile provider during Q2 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 36.91.
  • Apple devices achieved the highest mean download speeds among top device manufacturers during Q2 2021, recording a mean download speed of 40.32 Mbps.
  • Among popular mobile devices, the Apple iPhone 12 Pro 5G had the fastest mean download speed at 80.30 Mbps. The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G was second at 77.02 Mbps and the Apple iPhone 12 5G third at 75.63 Mbps.

    United States

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Verizon was the fastest fixed broadband provider in the United States during Q2 2021, earning a Speed Score of 170.22 — 6.3% increase over Q1 2021.
  • Speedtest Intelligence also reveals that T-Mobile was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in the United States during Q2 2021, achieving a median download speed of 54.13 Mbps and a Consistency Score of 84.8%.
  • After looking at tests taken only on 5G, T-Mobile achieved the fastest median 5G download speed during Q2 2021 at 99.84 Mbps, a 21.2% increase over Q1 2021.
  • During Q2 2021, T-Mobile had the best 5G Availability of 69.0%.
  • Mobile download speeds blazed ahead in the most populous U.S. cities during Q2 2021 with Tampa, Florida supplanting St. Paul, Minnesota as the fastest city for median mobile download speed during Q2 2021 at 79.75 Mbps, an increase of 14.6% over St. Paul’s fastest median speed during Q1 2021.
  • San Antonio, Texas knocked Gilbert, Arizona out of first place as the fastest city for fixed broadband among the United State’s most populous cities, edging out Raleigh, North Carolina with a median download speed of 183.60 Mbps to Raleigh’s 183.04 Mbps.

    Read the full market analyses and follow monthly ranking updates on the Speedtest Global Index. Want to see how your internet speeds compare? Take a Speedtest® now.

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Global Speeds

About the Author

Josh Fomon

Ookla Research™ Articles
| January 18, 2022

Speedtest Global Index Market Analyses Now Available for 41 Countries

Global Speeds

Speedtest Global IndexTM Market Analyses from Ookla® identify key data about internet performance in countries across the world. This quarter we’ve provided updated analyses for 41 markets that includes details on fastest mobile and fixed broadband providers, performance of most popular devices and chipsets and internet speeds in cities. Click a country on the list below to see highlights or scroll through the article to learn what Speedtest Intelligence® revealed in all 41 markets:

Africa and the Middle East

Algeria | Jordan | Kenya | Morocco | Nigeria
Qatar | South Africa | Tunisia | Turkey

Asia and Oceania

China | Hong Kong (SAR) | New Zealand | Philippines | Singapore
Taiwan | Thailand | Vietnam

Europe

Austria | Belgium | Czechia | Denmark | Estonia
Finland| France | Germany | Hungary | Luxembourg
Malta | Poland | Slovakia | Spain

North and South America

Argentina | Brazil | Canada | Chile | Colombia
Ecuador | Guatemala | Mexico | Peru | United States

Africa and the Middle East

Algeria

  • Mobile provider Ooredoo had the highest Speed Score™ (25.05) and Consistency Score™ (82.0%) in Algeria during Q4 2021.
  • Apple devices were the fastest devices in Algeria during Q4 2021, achieving a mean download speed of 26.44 Mbps.
  • Xiaomi’s Redmi K40 5G and Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G took the top spots among popular devices with mean download speeds at 35.71 Mbps and 35.40 Mbps, respectively, during Q4 2021.

Jordan

  • Speedtest Intelligence found Umniah was once again the fastest mobile operator in Jordan during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 34.82.
  • Umniah also had the highest Consistency Score at 94.2% during Q4 2021.
  • For the third quarter in a row, fixed broadband provider Orange held the fastest Speed Score at 81.62 during Q4 2021.
  • Fixed broadband provider DAMAMAX had the highest Consistency Score at 86.2% during Q4 2021.
  • Among popular mobile devices in Jordan, Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G edged out the iPhone 12 5G for fastest median download at 38.91 Mbps to 38.35 Mbps, respectively, during Q4 2021.
  • Amman had the fastest median fixed broadband and mobile download speeds among Jordan’s most populous cities at 57.31 Mbps and 19.99 Mbps, respectively, during Q4 2021.

Kenya

  • Mobile provider Safaricom had the highest mobile Speed Score (29.67) in Kenya during Q4 2021.
  • Airtel edged out Safaricom for highest mobile Consistency Score (83.1%) during Q4 2021.
  • For fixed broadband, Faiba had the highest Speed Score (28.58) and Consistency Score (52.0%) in Kenya for the third quarter in a row during Q4 2021.
  • Apple took four out of the top five spots among popular devices in Kenya during Q4 2021, with the iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G achieving the highest mean download speed at 39.19 Mbps.
  • Mombasa had the fastest mean mobile download and upload speeds among Kenya’s most populous cities at 30.32 Mbps and 17.05 Mbps, respectively.
  • Mombasa also had the fastest mean fixed broadband download speed at 22.91 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Morocco

  • Mobile operator Maroc Telecom achieved the highest Speed Score (67.26) and Consistency Score (93.4%) during Q4 2021, both increases from Q3 2021 results.
  • Salé (44.92 Mbps), Marrakesh (44.32 Mbps) and Fes (43.57 Mbps) took the top spots for fastest mean mobile download speeds among Morocco’s most populous cities during Q4 2021.

Nigeria

  • For the fourth quarter in a row, mobile provider Airtel had the fastest Speed Score in Nigeria at 35.35 during Q4 2021 — a slight increase from 33.43 during Q3 2021.
  • Airtel maintained the top spot for highest Consistency Score on mobile during Q4 2021 at 87.5% to MTN’s 85.8%.
  • Fixed broadband provider ipNX once again had the fastest Speed Score (22.05) and highest Consistency Score (42.8%) in Nigeria during Q4 2021.
  • The iPhone 12 Pro 5G was the fastest popular device in Nigeria during Q4 2021, achieving a mean download speed of 47.20 Mbps.
  • Kano retained the top spot among Nigeria’s most populous cities for fastest mean mobile download speed at 29.35 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Qatar

  • Ooredoo had the fastest Speed Score over mobile in Qatar for the third quarter in a row at 156.85 during Q4 2021.
  • 5G performance in Qatar was extremely competitive with Vodafone overtaking Ooredoo for the fastest median 5G download speed during Q4 2021 at 421.42 Mbps to Ooredoo’s 390.59 Mbps.
  • Vodafone had the highest mobile Consistency Score in Qatar at 93.2%, beating out Ooredoo’s 87.7% during Q4 2021.
  • Ooredoo had the fastest fixed broadband Speed Score at 77.45 and highest Consistency Score at 81.1% in Qatar during Q4 2021.
  • Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro Max beat out the iPhone 13 Pro for fastest popular device in Qatar during Q4 2021 with a median download speed of 431.49 Mbps to 399.06 Mbps, respectively. All top five devices during Q4 2021 achieved median download speeds greater than 240 Mbps.
  • Al Khor once again had the fastest median mobile download speed among Qatar’s most populous cities at 137.43 Mbps during Q4 2021 .
  • Umm Salal Muhammed had the fastest fixed broadband download speeds in Qatar at 90.79 Mbps during Q4 2021.

South Africa

  • Speedtest Intelligence shows Cool Ideas had the fastest fixed broadband Speed Score (54.46) and highest Consistency Score (73.0%) for the second quarter in a row during Q4 2021.
  • Among mobile operators, MTN had the fastest Speed Score (65.21) and highest Consistency Score (89.1%) during Q4 2021.
  • Apple devices had the fastest combined median download speed in South Africa at 37.98 Mbps and fastest median upload speed at 7.66 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • The iPhone 13 Pro Max took top honors as the fastest popular device in South Africa during Q4 2021, achieving a median download speed of 97.59 Mbps, much faster than the Q3 2021 winning speed of 79.56 Mbps.

Tunisia

  • During Q4 2021, Ooredoo achieved the highest mobile Speed Score in Tunisia at 51.46, a slight increase from Q3 2021.
  • Tunisie Telecom had the highest fixed broadband Speed Score in Tunisia at 10.70 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro Max had the fastest mean download speed in Tunisia among popular devices at 77.55 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Among popular chipsets, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X60 5G had the fastest mean download speed in Tunisia at 77.08 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Gabes and Kairouan had the fastest mean mobile download speeds among Tunisia’s most populous cities at 50.78 Mbps and 50.47 Mbps, respectively, during Q4 2021.

Turkey

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed mobile provider Turkcell had the highest Speed Score and Consistency Score in Turkey during Q4 2021 at 71.49 and 94.6%, respectively. Both scores were slight increases from Q3 2021.
  • For fixed broadband in Turkey, TurkNet had the highest Speed Score (44.60) and Consistency Score (75.0%) during Q4 2021.
  • Istanbul had the fastest mean fixed broadband and mobile download speed among Turkey’s most populous cities at 53.29 Mbps and 54.05 Mbps, respectively, during Q4 2021.
  • Among top device manufacturers, Apple beat out Samsung for fastest mean download speed in Turkey at 59.20 Mbps to 45.02 Mbps, respectively, both slight increases from Q3 2021.

Asia and Oceania

China

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, China Telecom was the fastest fixed broadband provider in China during Q4 2021 with a Speed Score of 152.31, a moderate gain over Q3 2021.
  • On mobile, China Mobile achieved the highest Speed Score (161.10) and Consistency Score (92.9%) among China’s top providers during Q4 2021 — both increases from Q3 2021.
  • During Q4 2021, China Telecom achieved the fastest median 5G download speed at 300.00 Mbps, ahead of China Mobile (295.44 Mbps) and China Unicom (287.73 Mbps).
  • Among top device manufacturers, Huawei had the fastest median download speed at 130.28 Mbps in China during Q4 2021 — a substantial gain over Q3 2021’s top speed of 96.66 Mbps. Oppo followed at 103.57 Mbps, then Apple (101.52 Mbps), Vivo (98.26 Mbps) and OnePlus (94.78 Mbps).
  • Among popular devices in China, Huawei’s Mate 40 Pro 5G edged out Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro Max for the fastest median download speed during Q4 2021 at 284.81 Mbps to 270.06 Mbps. All five top devices achieved download speeds above 250 Mbps.
  • During Q4 2021, MediaTek’s Dimensity 700 5G chipset had the fastest median download speed in China at 291.77 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Tianjin once again had the fastest median fixed broadband download speed among China’s most populous cities at 247.84 Mbps, a moderate rise from its Q3 2021 results.
  • Tianjin also had the fastest median mobile download speed among China’s most populous cities at 139.19 Mbps during Q4 2021, edging out Shenzhen’s 130.27 Mbps. Across all major cities, there was a noticeable rise in speeds from Q3 2021 results.

Hong Kong (SAR)

  • China Mobile Hong Kong was the fastest mobile operator in Hong Kong for the fourth quarter in a row, earning a Speed Score of 84.79 in Q4 2021, a moderate increase from Q3 2021.
  • China Mobile Hong Kong once again showed the fastest 5G download speed, achieving a median speed of 179.20 Mbps during Q4 2021, a decline from its Q3 2021 results. Mobile provider 3 followed at 169.40 Mbps, then SmarTone at 148.15 Mbps and csl at 127.24 Mbps.
  • Among top device manufacturers in Hong Kong during Q4 2021, Apple overtook Samsung for fastest median download speed 50.30 Mbps to 45.20 Mbps.
  • During Q4 2021, the iPhone 13 Pro Max retained the top spot among popular devices in Hong Kong with a median download speed of 128.22 Mbps.
  • Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X60 5G was the fastest chipset in Hong Kong for median download speed at 114.13 Mbps during Q4 2021.

New Zealand

  • During Q4 2021, Vodafone was the fastest mobile operator in New Zealand, earning a Speed Score of 83.72, a moderate increase from Q3 2021.
  • Vodafone also achieved the fastest median 5G download speed in New Zealand at 344.06 Mbps during Q4 2021, an increase from Q3 2021. Spark followed at 298.85 Mbps.
  • For fixed broadband, MyRepublic blazed ahead in New Zealand with a Speed Score of 233.83 during Q4 2021.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in New Zealand at 193.18 during Q4 2021, a huge increase over Q3 2021’s top speed of 92.26 Mbps.
  • Among popular device manufacturers, Apple took the top spot for the fastest median download speed in New Zealand at 51.64 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Hamilton overtook Christchurch for the fastest median mobile download speed at 80.98 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Wellington took the top spot for fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speed at 133.59 Mbps and 84.21 Mbps, respectively, during Q4 2021.

Philippines

  • During Q4 2021, Smart had the highest Speed Score (68.78) among top mobile operators in the Philippines, a moderate increase from Q3 2021.
  • Smart also had the fastest median 5G download speed in the Philippines during Q4 2021 at 220.89 Mbps, much faster than Globe’s 117.93 Mbps.
  • Competition for the fastest popular device wasn’t close during Q4 2021, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max dominating the closest competitor — the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G — for fastest median download at 113.82 Mbps to 78.89 Mbps.
  • Caloocan retained top spot for fastest median download speed among the Philippines’ most populous cities at 25.24 Mbps during Q4 2021, a slight increase from its top speed in Q3 2021 of 22.05 Mbps.

Singapore

  • Speedtest Intelligence shows MyRepublic overtook ViewQuest as the fastest fixed broadband provider in Singapore in Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 258.01 to ViewQuest’s 254.53.
  • Singtel was the fastest mobile provider in Singapore during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 113.80, a moderate increase from its Q3 2021 Speed Score of 99.74.
  • Singtel also blazed ahead of the competition for fastest median 5G download speed in Singapore at 289.01 Mbps during Q4 2021 — a notable rise from its median 5G download speed of 248.45 during Q3 2021.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max was the fastest popular device in Singapore during Q4 2021, achieving a median download speed of 138.40 Mbps.
  • Apple beat out Samsung for fastest device manufacturer in Singapore during Q4 2021, with Apple devices achieving a median download speed of 75.81 Mbps to Samsung’s 64.68 Mbps.

Taiwan

  • During Q4 2021, Chunghwa Telecom had the fastest median 5G download speed in Taiwan at 429.63 Mbps. FarEasTone followed at 309.35 Mbps, then Taiwan Mobile (285.05 Mbps), GT (242.23 Mbps) and TSTAR (147.95 Mbps).
  • FarEasTone had the highest Consistency Score in Taiwan during Q4 2021 at 93.9%, followed closely by Chunghwa Telecom (92.1%) and Taiwan Mobile (91.9%).
  • Among top device manufacturers during Q4 2021, Apple devices achieved the fastest median download speed in Taiwan at 63.02 Mbps, a moderate increase over Q3 2021.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Taiwan at 168.43 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • The Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 5G had the fastest median download speed among popular chipsets in Taiwan at 139.56 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Taipei had the fastest median mobile download speed among Taiwan’s most populous cities at 56.60 Mbps in Q4 2021, followed by New Taipei (52.54 Mbps), Taichung (51.69 Mbps) and Taoyuan (51.47 Mbps).

Thailand

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed that AIS had the fastest Speed Score on mobile in Thailand at 74.02 during Q4 2021, beating out TrueMove H (68.12) and dtac (26.05).
  • AIS also had the fastest median 5G download speed in Thailand during Q4 2021 at 289.12 Mbps, followed by TrueMove H (217.84 Mbps) and dtac (35.73 Mbps).
  • Apple was the fastest major device manufacturer in Thailand with Apple devices achieving a median download speed of 43.82 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max was the fastest popular device in Thailand, edging out the iPhone 13 Pro for fastest median download at 158.97 Mbps to 152.09 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Vietnam

  • Viettel once again claimed the top spot as Vietnam’s fastest mobile provider during Q4 2021, earning a mobile Speed Score of 48.23, just faster than Vinaphone (45.51).
  • Viettel overtook Vinaphone for the highest mobile Consistency Score in Vietnam during Q4 2021 at 91.2%.
  • For fixed broadband, Vinaphone overtook Viettel as Vietnam’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 75.49 to Viettel’s 73.38. FPT Telecom followed at 71.10.
  • Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro Max had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Vietnam at 72.39 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Ho Chi Minh City retained the top spot for the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds among Vietnam’s most populous cities at 75.10 Mbps and 72.48 Mbps, respectively, during Q4 2021.
  • Da Nang retained the top spot for fastest median mobile download speed among Vietnam’s most populous cities at 43.88 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Europe

Austria

  • Magenta retained its top spot as Austria’s fastest fixed broadband provider with a Speed Score of 123.76 during Q4 2021. LIWEST was the closest competitor (85.16).
  • Magenta also had the highest Consistency Score in Austria for fixed broadband at 88.7% in Q4 2021.
  • A1 was once again the fastest mobile provider in Austria during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 74.06. Operator 3 followed at 58.01.
  • A1 also had the highest mobile Consistency Score in Austria during Q4 2021 at 93.2%.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Austria at 116.24 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Belgium

  • Telenet decisively claimed its spot as Belgium’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 128.13. VOO followed at 109.76.
  • Among mobile operators, Telenet edged out BASE for the fastest Speed Score in Belgium at 65.61 to 65.59, respectively, during Q4 2021. It should be noted that Telenet owns the BASE brand. Proximus followed at 62.96 then Orange at 47.23.
  • Competition for fastest popular mobile device was tight in Belgium, with the iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13 Pro achieving median download speeds of 98.53 Mbps and 98.31 Mbps, respectively.
  • Once again, Ghent retained its top place for fastest median mobile download speed among Belgium’s most populous cities, achieving a median speed of 79.69 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Competition for the fastest median fixed broadband download speed among Belgium’s most populous cities was close with Antwerp achieving a median download speed at 83.51 Mbps and Ghent achieving 83.02 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Czechia

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals T-Mobile was Czechia’s fastest mobile provider during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 69.69, a moderate increase from 58.82 during Q3 2021.
  • Competition was extremely tight for highest mobile Consistency Score in Czechia during Q4 2021, with T-Mobile achieving 93.9%, followed by O2 (93.4%) and Vodafone (93.2%).
  • Vodafone dominated as Czechia’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 99.16, a slight increase from Q3 2021.
  • Vodafone once again had Czechia’s highest Consistency Score for fixed broadband during Q4 2021 at 77.6%.
  • Pilsen had the fastest median fixed broadband speed among Czechia’s most populous cities during Q4 2021, achieving a median download of 59.37 Mbps.
  • Pilsen edged out Brno for the fastest median mobile download speed at 63.65 Mbps to Brno’s 63.26 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Denmark

  • Fastspeed was once again Denmark’s fastest fixed broadband provider, earning a Speed Score of 301.58 during Q4 2021. Hiper followed at 260.78.
  • YouSee overtook Telenor as Denmark’s fastest mobile operator, earning a Speed Score of 101.72 to Telenor’s 91.91. Telia (89.84) and 3 (77.89) followed.
  • An analysis of performance on some of the most popular phones in Denmark revealed the iPhone 13 Pro edged out the iPhone 13 Pro Max for the fastest median download speed during Q4 2021 148.17 Mbps to 144.68 Mbps.

Estonia

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Elisa was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Estonia during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 85.58.
  • Telia once again had the fastest mobile Speed Score in Estonia at 85.27 during Q4 2021, a slight increase from Q3 2021.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro was the fastest popular device in Estonia, earning a median download speed of 107.31 Mbps during Q4 2021. The iPhone 13 Pro Max followed closely at 105.15 Mbps.
  • Among major cell phone manufacturers, OnePlus had the fastest median download speed in Estonia at 70.40 Mbps during Q4 2021, a moderate increase from Q3 2021.

Finland

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, DNA retained its top spot as Finland’s fastest mobile provider in Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 86.43, a moderate increase from 79.26 during Q3 2021. DNA also edged out Telia for the highest Consistency Score 94.2% to 92.5%.
  • Telia beat out Elisa and DNA in Q4 2021 for the fastest 5G download speed in Finland, achieving a median download speed of 273.07 Mbps to DNA’s 243.87 Mbps and Elisa’s 231.13 Mbps.
  • Lounea overtook Telia as the fastest fixed broadband provider in Finland during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 122.33 to Telia and Elisa’s 98.06.
  • Lounea also took the top spot for Finland’s highest fixed broadband Consistency Score at 90.2% during Q4 2021.
  • Among popular device manufacturers, OnePlus had the fastest median download speed in Finland at 80.49 Mbps during Q4 2021, a moderate increase from Q3 2021. However, the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max had the fastest median download speed among popular devices at 157.23 Mbps.

France

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed a fierce competition for France’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q4 2021, with Bouygues narrowly edging out Free and Orange with a Speed Score of 135.66 to 134.09 and 134.07, respectively.
  • Orange once again earned the top spot as France’s fastest and most consistent mobile provider with a mobile Speed Score of 99.88 and a Consistency Score of 90.5% during Q4 2021.
  • During Q4 2021, Orange blew away the competition as France’s fastest 5G provider by achieving a median 5G download speed of 342.29 Mbps, slightly slower than in Q3 2021. SFR followed at 232.09 Mbps.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max was the fastest popular device in France during Q4 2021, edging out the iPhone 13 Pro with a median download speed of 149.83 Mbps to 136.57 Mbps.
  • During Q4 2021, Lyon achieved the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds at 161.82 Mbps and 109.91 Mbps, respectively. Nice had the fastest median mobile download speed at 88.39 Mbps.

Germany

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Vodafone was once again Germany’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 130.99.
  • Telekom achieved the highest Speed Score (91.86) and Consistency Score (91.5%) among German mobile operators during Q4 2021.
  • Telekom retained the top spot for the fastest median 5G download speed in Germany at 187.99 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • The iPhone 13 Pro Max had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Germany during Q4 2021, edging out the iPhone 13 Pro 131.71 Mbps to 127.45 Mbps.

Hungary

  • Vodafone retained its top spot as Hungary’s fastest fixed broadband provider in Q4 2021, edging out Telekom with a Speed Score of 156.98 to 151.40. Vodafone also had the highest Consistency Score at 87.2% during Q4 2021.
  • Telenor overtook Magyar Telekom as Hungary’s fastest and most consistent mobile provider during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 69.40 and Consistency Score of 90.8%.
  • Apple devices took the top spot among major device manufacturers in Hungary during Q4 2021, achieving a median download speed of 45.14 Mbps, a slight increase from Q3 2021.
  • The Apple 13 Pro dominated as the fastest popular device in Hungary during Q4 2021, achieving a median download speed of 93.66 Mbps.

Luxembourg

  • Eltrona overtook Tango as Luxembourg’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q4 2021 by achieving a Speed Score of 131.60 to Tango’s 127.96.
  • POST was again the fastest mobile operator in Luxembourg during Q4 2021, achieving a large increase in Speed Score from 109.64 in Q3 2021 to 123.86 in Q4 2021.
  • POST also remained the most consistent mobile operator in Luxembourg with a Consistency Score of 96.9% during Q4 2021.
  • The iPhone 13 Pro was the fastest popular device in Luxembourg, achieving a median download speed of 161.69 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Differdange once again achieved the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds among Luxembourg’s most populous cities at 140.24 Mbps and 94.55 Mbps, respectively, during Q4 2021.
  • Ettelbruck had the fastest median mobile download speed in Luxembourg at 113.73 Mbps Q4 2021.

Malta

  • Melita retained its top spot as Malta’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 128.11 and Consistency Score of 84.6%, both moderate increases from Q3 2021.

Poland

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed that UPC was the fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Poland during Q4 2021 achieving a Speed Score of 184.12 and Consistency Score of 88.8%.
  • T-Mobile had the highest Speed Score and Consistency Score among mobile operators in Poland during Q4 2021 at 61.88 and 93.7%, respectively.
  • Mobile operator Plus had the fastest median 5G download speed in Poland at 158.74 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • The iPhone 13 Pro Max was the fastest popular device in Poland during Q4 2021, achieving a median download speed of 81.93 Mbps.
  • Warsaw had the fastest fixed broadband download speed among Poland’s most populous cities at 132.99 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Łódz edged out Warsaw for the fastest mobile download speed in Poland 47.23 Mbps to 45.09 Mbps.

Slovakia

  • Orange retained the top spot as Slovakia’s fastest mobile operator during Q4 2021 with a Speed Score of 60.65, edging out Telekom’s 57.50.
  • Telekom had the highest mobile Consistency Score in Slovakia during Q4 2021 at 93.4%.
  • UPC retained its top spot as Slovakia’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider with a Speed Score of 145.52 and a Consistency Score of 87.3%.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Slovakia at 80.74 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Spain

  • Movistar once again provided the fastest and most consistent mobile experience among Spanish mobile providers with a Speed Score of 62.67 and Consistency Score of 90.9% during Q4 2021 — both moderate increases from Q3 2021.
  • Vodafone was again Spain’s fastest 5G provider by a wide margin during Q4 2021, achieving a median download speed of 277.11 Mbps, a noticeable dip from Q3 2021.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max had the fastest median download speed in Spain at 95.55 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • During Q4 2021, Madrid had the fastest median mobile download speed in Spain at 44.96 Mbps, edging out Barcelona at 44.28 Mbps.

North and South America

Argentina

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed Personal remained Argentina’s fastest mobile operator during Q4 2021 with a Speed Score of 39.30.
  • La Plata edged out Buenos Aires for mobile download speeds in Argentina’s most populous cities with a median speed of 27.26 Mbps to Buenos Aires’ 25.65 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Brazil

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Claro remained the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Brazil among top providers during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 48.10 and Consistency Score of 88.7%, both slight increases from Q3 2021.
  • Claro achieved the fastest median 5G download speed in Brazil at 71.16 Mbps during Q4 2021, followed by TIM (56.21 Mbps) and Vivo (55.95 Mbps).
  • Vivo edged out Oi and Claro for fastest Speed Score over fixed broadband in Brazil 105.49 to 99.62 and 98.44, respectively, during Q4 2021.
  • Among popular device manufacturers during Q4 2021, Apple had the fastest median download speed in Brazil at 30.68 Mbps. Apple devices took four out of five top spots among popular devices in Brazil with the iPhone 13 Pro Max achieving the fastest mean download speed at 59.00 Mbps.
  • For fixed broadband speeds among Brazil’s most populous cities, Brasilia edged out Goiânia for the fastest median download speed 105.01 Mbps to 102.93 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • Brasília also had the fastest median mobile download speed among Brazil’s most populous cities at 35.08 Mbps during Q4 2021, a slight increase from Q3 2021.

Canada

  • Shaw was Canada’s fastest fixed broadband provider in Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 197.22, a moderate increase from Q3 2021.
  • Rogers edged out Shaw for the highest fixed broadband Consistency Score in Canada during Q4 2021 with 89.0% to Shaw’s 87.7%.
  • TELUS retained its top spot as the fastest mobile operator in Canada during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 98.29, a notable increase from Q3 2021.
  • Videotron remained Canada’s most consistent mobile operator during Q4 2021, achieving a Consistency Score of 91.2%.
  • Competition for the fastest 5G was fierce during Q4 2021 with no statistical winner. Bell and TELUS achieved median 5G download speeds of 171.39 Mbps and 167.74 Mbps, respectively. Bell had the fastest median 5G download speed when looking at the full period of Q3-Q4 2021.
  • There was no statistical winner for highest 5G Availability in Canada during Q4 2021, with Rogers at 41.3% and TELUS at 39.9%.
  • New Brunswick was Canada’s fastest province for fixed broadband during Q4 2021, achieving a median download speed of 132.65 Mbps. Newfoundland and Labrador was the fastest province for mobile in Canada at 81.94 Mbps during Q4 2021.
  • St. John’s achieved the fastest median fixed broadband and mobile download speeds among Canada’s most populous cities at 166.11 Mbps and 160.48 Mbps, respectively.
  • Google devices had the fastest combined performance in Canada during Q4 2021, achieving a median download speed of 83.98 Mbps.
  • The iPhone 13 Pro Max was the fastest popular device in Canada during Q4 2021, with a median download speed of 144.24 Mbps.

Chile

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Claro was the fastest mobile operator in Chile with a Speed Score of 26.18 during Q4 2021, a slight increase from Q3 2021. Claro also had the highest Consistency Score at 81.0%.
  • The Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G had the fastest mean download speed among popular devices in Chile at 84.29 Mbps during Q4 2021, edging out the Xiaomi 11T Pro.
  • Among device manufacturers in Chile during Q4 2021, Samsung had the fastest mean download speed at 30.13 Mbps, edging out Xiaomi (27.32 Mbps). Apple, Motorola and Huawei followed.
  • Valparaíso had the fastest mobile download speed in Chile during Q4 2021, achieving a mean of 33.59 Mbps. Temuco and Viña del Mar were close followers at 31.25 Mbps and 27.74 Mbps, respectively.

Colombia

  • Tigo was the fastest mobile operator in Colombia during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 24.02. WOM followed at 19.24. Tigo also had the highest Consistency Score at 82.9%.
  • Among popular devices in Colombia during Q4 2021, the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max edged out the iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G for fastest mean download speed at 33.91 Mbps to 31.12 Mbps.
  • Barranquilla edged out Cali for the fastest mean mobile download speed among Colombia’s most populous cities at 22.41 Mbps to 22.21 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Ecuador

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Netlife was Ecuador’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 43.58 and Consistency Score of 74.0%.
  • CNT was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Ecuador during Q4 2021, with a Speed Score of 35.82 and Consistency Score of 88.6%.
  • During Q4 2021, the Apple iPhone 12 Pro 5G was the fastest popular device in Ecuador, recording a mean download speed of 40.01 Mbps. Apple devices took all of the five top spots on this list.
  • Guayaquil had the fastest fixed broadband among Ecuador’s most populous cities during Q4 2021, earning a mean download speed of 42.86 Mbps. This edged out Quito’s mean download of 41.27 Mbps.
  • Machala had the fastest mean mobile download speed in Ecuador during Q4 2021 at 28.25 Mbps.

Guatemala

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Claro was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Guatemala during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 37.29 and Consistency Score of 87.0%.
  • Tigo was the fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Guatemala during Q4 2021 with a Speed Score of 20.89 and Consistency Score of 41.3%.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max was the fastest popular device in Guatemala during Q4 2021, edging out the iPhone 12 5G with a mean download speed of 49.31 Mbps to the iPhone 12 5G’s 48.68 Mbps.
  • Villa Canales had the fastest mean mobile download speed among Guatemala’s most populous cities at 37.93 Mbps, during Q4 2021.
  • Villa Nueva had the fastest mean fixed broadband download speed in Guatemala at 30.04 Mbps during Q4 2021.

    Mexico

    • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Telcel remained Mexico’s fastest mobile operator during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 46.91.
    • Telcel was also Mexico’s most consistent mobile operator, achieving a Consistency Score of 87.6% during Q4 2021.
    • Totalplay was the fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Mexico during Q4 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 50.37 and Consistency Score of 73.7%
    • Apple devices had the five fastest mean download speeds among popular phones in Mexico during Q4 2021. The iPhone 13 Pro Max narrowly beat out the iPhone 12 Pro 5G for the fastest popular device during Q4 2021, achieving respective speeds of 69.45 Mbps and 68.36 Mbps.
    • Veracruz once again showed the fastest mean mobile download and upload speeds among Mexico’s most populous cities during Q4 2021, recording a download speed of 45.09 Mbps and mean upload speed of 19.04 Mbps.
    • Monterrey beat out Mexico City for the fastest fixed broadband download speed, earning a mean speed of 75.10 Mbps to Mexico City’s 70.99 Mbps during Q4 2021.

    Peru

    • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Winet Telecom was Peru’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q4 2021 by a wide margin, achieving a Speed Score of 99.23. Winet Telecom also had the highest Consistency Score on fixed broadband at 90.6% during Q4 2021.
    • Claro was the fastest mobile operator in Peru during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 36.91.
    • Claro also had the highest mobile Consistency Score in Peru during Q4 2021, narrowly edging out Entel at 78.1% to 77.5%.
    • Among major device manufacturers, Apple devices achieved the fastest mean download speed by a wide margin in Peru during Q4 2021, achieving 43.46 Mbps to Samsung’s 25.41 Mbps.

    United States

    • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Verizon was once again the fastest fixed broadband provider in the United States during Q4 2021, earning a Speed Score of 201.10, much higher than in Q3 2021 when it achieved 178.38.
    • T-Mobile was once again the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in the U.S. during Q4 2021, achieving a median download speed of 90.65 Mbps and a Consistency Score of 87.3% — both large increases over Q3 2021.
    • Looking at tests taken only on 5G, T-Mobile achieved the fastest median 5G download speed during Q4 2021 at 187.12 Mbps — a significant increase from 135.17 Mbps during Q3 2021.
    • During Q4 2021, T-Mobile also had the best 5G Availability in the U.S. at 61.4%.
    • T-Mobile had the highest 5G Consistency Score at 81.5% during Q4 2021.
    • The iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro were the fastest popular devices in the U.S. during Q4 2021 at 90.58 Mbps and 89.61 Mbps, narrowly faster than the Google Play 6 5G (89.05 Mbps).
    • Among popular device manufacturers in the U.S., Google devices were the fastest, achieving a median download speed of 60.82 Mbps during Q4 2021.
    • Looking at the fastest chipsets in the U.S., there was no statistical winner during Q4 2021, with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X60 5G achieving 88.56 Mbps and the Google Tensor 86.73 Mbps.
    • Jersey City, New Jersey had the fastest median mobile download speed in the U.S. at 107.20 Mbps during Q4 2021. Tampa, Florida (106.50 Mbps) and Washington, DC (103.49 Mbps) were the only other U.S. cities to achieve median mobile download speeds above 100 Mbps.
    • Charlotte, North Carolina had the fastest fixed broadband speed among the U.S.’s most populous cities during Q4 2021, edging out Raleigh, North Carolina 204.61 Mbps to 202.93 Mbps.

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

Global Speeds

About the Author

Josh Fomon

Ookla Research™ Articles
| October 18, 2021

Speedtest Global Index Market Analyses Now Available for 43 Countries

Global Speeds


Speedtest Global IndexTM Market Analyses from Ookla® identify key data about internet performance in countries across the world. This quarter we’ve provided updated analyses for 43 markets that includes details on fastest mobile and fixed broadband providers, performance of most popular devices and chipsets and internet speeds in cities. Click a country on the list below to see highlights or scroll through the article to learn what Speedtest Intelligence® revealed in all 43 markets:

Africa and the Middle East


Algeria | Jordan | Kenya | Morocco

Nigeria | Qatar | South Africa | Tunisia | Turkey

Asia and Oceania


Australia | China | Hong Kong (SAR) | Indonesia

Malaysia | New Zealand | Philippines | Singapore

Taiwan | Vietnam

Europe


Austria | Belgium | Czechia | Denmark

Estonia | Finland | France | Germany

Hungary | Latvia | Luxembourg | Malta

Slovakia | Spain

North and South America


Argentina | Brazil | Canada | Chile

Colombia | Ecuador | Guatemala | Mexico

Peru | United States

Africa and the Middle East

Algeria

  • Mobile provider Ooredoo had the highest Speed Score™ (25.69) and Consistency Score™ (83.4%) in Algeria during Q3 2021.
  • Apple devices were the fastest devices in Algeria during Q3 2021, achieving a mean download speed of 27.53 Mbps.
  • The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G was the fastest popular device in Algeria for the second quarter in a row with a mean download speed of 39.66 Mbps.
  • Apple devices took four out of the top five spots among popular devices, with Xiaomi’s Redmi K40 5G taking the runner-up spot on this list at 35.78 Mbps.

Jordan

  • Speedtest Intelligence found Umniah was the fastest mobile operator in Jordan during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 35.86.
  • Umniah also had the highest Consistency Score at 93.9%.
  • For the second quarter in a row, fixed broadband provider Orange had the fastest Speed Score (77.30).
  • Fixed broadband provider DAMAMAX overtook Orange for the highest Consistency Score at 86.5%.
  • Among popular mobile devices, Apple’s iPhone 12 5G narrowly beat out the iPhone 12 Pro 5G for fastest median download and upload speeds at 39.43 Mbps and 18.73 Mbps, respectively.
  • Amman had the fastest median fixed broadband and mobile download speeds among Jordan’s most populous cities at 51.12 Mbps and 19.46 Mbps, respectively.

Kenya

  • Mobile provider Safaricom had the highest Speed Score (29.20) and Consistency Score (85.0%) in Kenya during Q3 2021.
  • For fixed broadband, Faiba had the highest Speed Score (26.47) and Consistency Score (48.7%) in Kenya for the second quarter in a row during Q3 2021.
  • Mombasa had the fastest mean mobile download and upload speeds among Kenya’s most populous cities at 28.25 Mbps and 16.26 Mbps, respectively.
  • Mombasa overtook Eldoret as the city with the fastest median fixed broadband download speed at 22.61 Mbps during Q3 2021.

Morocco

  • Mobile operator Maroc Telecom achieved the highest Speed Score (56.99) and Consistency Score (90.9%) during Q3 2021, both slight dips from Q2 2021 results.
  • Marrakesh regained the top spot during Q3 2021 as the fastest city among Morocco’s most populous cities with a mean mobile download speed at 40.69 Mbps. Fes and Salé were close at 40.25 Mbps and 40.15 Mbps, respectively.

Nigeria

  • For the third quarter in a row, mobile provider Airtel had the fastest Speed Score in Nigeria at 33.43 during Q3 2021 — a slight increase from 28.82 during Q2 2021.
  • Airtel overtook MTN for the highest Consistency Score on mobile during Q3 2021 at 89.4% to MTN’s 82.7%.
  • Fixed broadband provider ipNX had the best Speed Score (21.66) and Consistency Score (40.2%) in Nigeria during Q3 2021.
  • The iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G was the fastest popular device in Nigeria during Q3 2021, achieving a mean download speed of 41.94 Mbps — just faster than the iPhone 12 Pro 5G (41.37 Mbps).
  • Kano took the top spot among Nigeria’s most populous cities for fastest mean mobile download speed at 24.76 Mbps during Q3 2021.

Qatar

  • Ooredoo had the best Speed Score over mobile and fixed broadband in Qatar for the second quarter in a row during Q3 2021 at 145.53 and 71.36, respectively.
  • 5G performance was extremely competitive with Ooredoo achieving the fastest median 5G download speed at 373.98 Mbps and Vodafone achieving 346.91 Mbps.
  • Ooredoo had the highest fixed broadband Consistency Score at 81.8%.
  • Vodafone had the highest mobile Consistency Score at 93.8%, edging out Ooredoo’s 91.4%.
  • Al Khor had the fastest median mobile download speed among Qatar’s most populous cities during Q3 2021 at 135.79 Mbps.
  • Umm Salal Muhammed had the fastest fixed broadband download speeds in Qatar at 83.41 Mbps.
  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals that among popular devices in Qatar during Q3 2021, Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G achieved the fastest median mobile download speed at 330.68 Mbps, a significant increase from Q2 2021’s 284.32 Mbps.

South Africa

  • Speedtest Intelligence shows Cool Ideas had the fastest fixed broadband Speed Score (53.85) and Consistency Score (73.0%) for the second quarter in a row during Q3 2021.
  • Among mobile operators, MTN had the fastest Speed Score (63.52) and highest Consistency Score (91.0%).
  • Apple devices had the fastest combined median download speed in South Africa at 38.24 Mbps and fastest median upload speed at 8.11 Mbps during Q3 2021.
  • The iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G took top honors as the fastest popular device, achieving a median download speed of 79.56 Mbps.

Tunisia

  • During Q3 2021, Ooredoo achieved the highest mobile Speed Score in Tunisia at 44.06, a slight dip from Q2 2021.
  • Tunisie Telecom had the highest fixed broadband Speed Score at 9.31.
  • Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G had the fastest mean download speed in Tunisia among popular devices during Q3 2021 at 64.43 Mbps.
  • Among popular chipsets, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X55 5G had the fastest mean download speed for the second quarter in a row at 62.92 Mbps.
  • Sfax had the fastest mean mobile download speed in Tunisia for the second quarter in a row at 47.02 Mbps.

Turkey

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed mobile provider Turkcell had the highest Speed Score and Consistency Score in Turkey during Q3 2021 at 67.19 and 93.3%, respectively. Both scores were slight increases from Q2 2021.
  • For fixed broadband, TurkNet edged out Turksat Kablo for the highest Speed Score 38.14 to 37.57.
  • Turknet also had the highest Consistency Score for fixed broadband at 72.3% during Q3 2021.
  • Istanbul had the fastest mean fixed broadband and mobile download speed at 48.34 Mbps and 56.43 Mbps, respectively.
  • Among top device manufacturers, Apple beat out Samsung for fastest mean download speed at 55.72 Mbps to 43.52 Mbps, respectively.

Asia and Oceania

Australia

  • Aussie Broadband was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Australia, earning a Speed Score of 88.33 during Q3 2021.
  • Aussie Broadband also had the highest Consistency Score, edging out Vodafone 85.7% to 83.2%.
  • Competition for the fastest fixed broadband speed among Australia’s most populous cities was extremely tight, with seven cities achieving between 49.00 Mbps and 53.00 Mbps. Melbourne(52.53 Mbps) edged out Darwin (52.42 Mbps), Brisbane (52.41 Mbps) and Sydney (52.30 Mbps).

China

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, China Telecom was the fastest fixed broadband provider in China during Q3 2021 with a Speed Score of 129.56, a moderate gain over Q2 2021.
  • China Mobile continued to have the highest Consistency Score in China for fixed broadband during Q3 2021 at 90.3%, edging out China Telecom’s 88.4% and China Unicom’s 87.8%.
  • On mobile, China Mobile achieved the highest Speed Score (141.55) and Consistency Score (92.7%) among China’s top providers during Q3 2021.
  • During Q3 2021, China Telecom achieved a median 5G download speed of 304.03 Mbps, edging out China Mobile’s 302.99 Mbps.
  • Among top device manufacturers, Huawei had the fastest median download speed at 96.66 Mbps in China during Q3 2021 — a gain over Q2 2021. OnePlus followed at 85.92 Mbps, then Oppo (82.26 Mbps), Samsung (78.00 Mbps) and Vivo (66.97 Mbps).
  • Among popular devices, the Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max edged out Huawei’s Mate 40 Pro 5G for the fastest median download speed in China during Q3 2021 at 290.23 Mbps to 280.22 Mbps.
  • During Q3 2021, MediaTek’s Dimensity 700 5G chipset had the fastest median download speed at 295.51 Mbps, supplanting Huawei’s Kirin 9000 5G as the fastest chipset in China.
  • Tianjin once again had the fastest median fixed broadband download speed among China’s most populous cities at 215.33 Mbps, a moderate rise from its Q2 2021 results.
  • Harbin had the fastest median mobile download speed among China’s most populous cities at 92.34 Mbps, edging out Shenzhen’s 92.17 Mbps. This was a noticeable rise from Q2 2021 when Hangzhou was the fastest at 72.97 Mbps.

Hong Kong (SAR)

  • China Mobile Hong Kong was the fastest mobile operator in Hong Kong for the third quarter in a row, earning a Speed Score of 74.49 in Q3 2021.
  • China Mobile Hong Kong once again blazed ahead of the competition for the fastest 5G download speed, achieving a median speed of 191.95 Mbps during Q3 2021, a decline from its Q2 2021 results. Mobile provider 3 followed at 165.12 Mbps, then SmarTone at 147.10 Mbps and csl at 121.60 Mbps.
  • Among top manufacturers during Q3 2021, Samsung had the fastest median download speed at 44.64 Mbps, edging out Apple’s median download speed of 43.20 Mbps.
  • During Q3 2021, the iPhone 13 Pro Max took the top spot among popular devices in Hong Kong with a median download speed of 125.92 Mbps.
  • Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X60 5G was the fastest modern chipset for median download speed during Q3 2021 at 122.84 Mbps.

Indonesia

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Biznet was once again Indonesia’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 42.17.
  • Biznet also had the highest fixed broadband Consistency Score in Indonesia during Q3 2021, edging out MyRepublic 68.3% to 63.5%.
  • Telkomsel was the fastest major mobile operator in Indonesia during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 30.49. Telkomsel also achieved the top Consistency Score at 85.7%, beating out XL (82.7%) and IM3 Ooredoo (82.6%).
  • The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G edged out the Xiaomi Redmi K40 5G as the fastest popular device with a mean download speed of 44.95 Mbps to 43.18 Mbps.
  • Jakarta had the fastest mean fixed broadband download speed of Indonesia’s most populous cities at 33.73 Mbps, while Makassar achieved the fastest mean mobile download speed at 25.30 Mbps.

Malaysia

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals that TIME was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Malaysia during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 120.10. TIME also achieved the highest Consistency Score for fixed broadband at 87.6%.
  • On mobile, Digi edged out Maxis for the fastest mobile operator in Malaysia, earning a Speed Score of 33.19 to Maxis’ 31.94 during Q3 2021.
  • Apple devices showed the fastest speed in Malaysia during Q3 2021 with a mean download speed of 37.51 Mbps.
  • Competition was fierce among popular devices in Malaysia during Q3 2021, with the Apple iPhone 12 Pro 5G edging out the iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G at 55.06 Mbps to 54.78 Mbps. The iPhone 12 5G followed at 54.22 Mbps and then the Xiaomi Redmi K40 5G (54.20 Mbps).
  • Among Malaysia’s most populous cities, Petaling Jaya had the fastest mean fixed broadband speed during Q3 2021, achieving a 129.74 Mbps download and a 89.11 Mbps upload.
  • Nusajaya had the fastest mean mobile download speed at 38.08 Mbps during Q3 2021.

New Zealand

  • During Q3 2021, Vodafone was the fastest mobile operator in New Zealand, earning a Speed Score of 68.79.
  • Vodafone also achieved the fastest median 5G download speed at 326.44 Mbps. Spark was second at 266.75 Mbps.
  • The Apple iPhone 12 5G was very slightly ahead of the iPhone 12 Pro 5G for fastest median download among popular devices in New Zealand with 92.96 Mbps to 92.70 Mbps, respectively, during Q3 2021.
  • Among popular device manufacturers, Oppo edged out Apple for the fastest median download speed in New Zealand during Q3 2021, 44.00 Mbps to 43.47 Mbps.
  • Christchurch had the fastest median mobile download speed at 52.16 Mbps.

Philippines

  • During Q3 2021, Smart had the highest Speed Score (59.71) among top mobile operators in the Philippines.
  • Smart had the fastest median 5G download speed in the Philippines during Q3 2021 at 217.03 Mbps, nearly twice as fast as Globe’s 114.12 Mbps.
  • Competition for the fastest popular device was tight during Q3 2021, with all of the top five devices achieving median download speeds between 72.00 and 76.00 Mbps. However, Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro 5G edged out the iPhone Pro Max 5G at 75.27 Mbps to 74.68 Mbps.
  • Caloocan had the fastest median download speed among the Philippines’ most populous cities at 22.05 Mbps.

Singapore

  • Speedtest Intelligence shows ViewQuest was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Singapore in Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 276.23. MyRepublic, SingTel and StarHub all achieved a Speed Score above 200.00, while M1 followed at 183.83.
  • Singtel was the fastest mobile provider in Singapore during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 99.74, a moderate rise from Q2 2021.
  • Singtel also blazed ahead of the competition for fastest median 5G download speed at 248.45 Mbps during Q3 2021 — a noticeable rise from Q2 2021.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max was the fastest popular device in Singapore during Q3 2021, achieving a median download speed of 164.40 Mbps.
  • Apple beat out Samsung for fastest device manufacturer during Q3 2021, with Apple devices in Singapore achieving a median download speed of 71.98 Mbps to Samsung’s 63.73 Mbps.

Taiwan

  • During Q3 2021, Chunghwa Telecom had the fastest median 5G download speed in Taiwan at 440.93 Mbps. FarEasTone followed at 335.17 Mbps, then Taiwan Mobile (262.99 Mbps) and TSTAR (138.51 Mbps).
  • FarEasTone had the highest Consistency Score in Taiwan during Q3 2021 at 92.8%.
  • Among top device manufacturers during Q3 2021, Apple devices achieved the fastest median download speed in Taiwan at 50.25 Mbps.
  • The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Taiwan at 200.90 Mbps.

Vietnam

  • Viettel again claimed the top spot as Vietnam’s fastest mobile and fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, earning a mobile Speed Score of 46.33 and fixed broadband Speed Score of 68.01.
  • Vinaphone had the highest mobile Consistency Score in Vietnam during Q3 2021 at 94.7%.
  • Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Vietnam during Q3 2021 at 62.67 Mbps, edging out the iPhone 12 5G (61.24 Mbps) and iPhone 12 Pro 5G (61.22 Mbps).
  • Ho Chi Minh City took the top spot for the fastest median fixed broadband download speed among Vietnam’s most populous cities with 65.63 Mbps (63.05 Mbps upload).
  • Da Nang took the top spot for fastest median mobile download speed among Vietnam’s most populous cities at 42.66 Mbps during Q3 2021.

Europe

Austria

  • Magenta retained its top spot as Austria’s fastest fixed broadband provider with a Speed Score of 148.04 during Q3 2021. LIWEST was the closest competitor (83.34).
  • Magenta also had the highest Consistency Score for fixed broadband at 88.4% in Q3 2021.
  • A1 was again the fastest mobile provider in Austria during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 73.85. Operator 3 followed at 52.46.
  • A1 had the highest mobile Consistency Score in Austria during Q3 2021 at 92.8%.

Belgium

  • Telenet decisively claimed its spot as Belgium’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 123.84.
  • Telenet had the highest fixed broadband Consistency Score at 88.0% during Q3 2021.
  • Among mobile operators, BASE earned the fastest Speed Score in Belgium at 66.22, edging out Telenet (64.41) and Proximus (62.30).
  • Once again, Ghent retained its top place for fastest median mobile download speed among Belgium’s most populous cities, achieving a median speed of 86.27 Mbps during Q3 2021.
  • Ghent overtook Antwerp for the fastest median fixed broadband download speed at 81.05 Mbps to 79.89 Mbps, respectively.

Czechia

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals T-Mobile was Czechia’s fastest mobile provider during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 58.82.
  • Vodafone claimed the best mobile Consistency Score during Q3 2021, earning 93.0% to O2’s 90.3%.
  • Vodafone dominated as Czechia’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 92.47.
  • Vodafone once again had Czechia’s highest Consistency Score for fixed broadband during Q3 2021 at 76.3%.
  • Pilsen had the fastest median fixed broadband speed among Czechia’s most populous cities, achieving a median download of 53.40 Mbps, edging out Brno’s 52.74 Mbps.
  • Brno had the fastest median mobile download speed at 69.68 Mbps, beating out Pilsen’s 66.66 Mbps.

Denmark

  • Fastspeed was Denmark’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 303.91. Hiper followed at 245.03.
  • Telenor supplanted YouSee as Denmark’s fastest mobile operator, earning a Speed Score of 88.48 to YouSee’s 85.01.
  • An analysis of performance on some of the most popular phones in Denmark revealed the iPhone 13 Pro had the fastest median download speed during Q3 2021 at 124.21 Mbps.

Estonia

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Elisa was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Estonia during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 84.47.
  • Elisa also had the highest Consistency Score at 81.0%, edging out Infonet (77.7%).
  • Telia had the fastest mobile Speed Score in Estonia during Q3 2021 at 78.26.
  • The Apple iPhone 12 Pro 5G was the fastest popular device in Estonia, earning a median download speed of 100.94 Mbps. The iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G followed closely at 98.71 Mbps.
  • Among major cell phone manufacturers, OnePlus had the fastest median download speed in Estonia during Q3 2021 at 59.91 Mbps.

Finland

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, DNA retained its top spot as Finland’s fastest mobile provider in Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 79.26. DNA also edged out Telia for the highest Consistency Score, achieving 92.5% to Telia’s 89.6%.
  • Telia beat out Elisa and DNA in Q3 2021 for the fastest 5G download in Finland, achieving a median download speed of 283.34 Mbps to Elisa’s 231.45 Mbps and DNA’s 218.08 Mbps.
  • Telia retained its top spot as the fastest fixed broadband provider in Finland during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 94.56.
  • Fixed broadband provider Elisa supplanted Telia in Q3 2021 for the highest Consistency Score at 82.2% to Telia’s 80.8%.
  • Among popular device manufacturers, OnePlus had the fastest median download speed in Finland during Q3 2021 at 71.38 Mbps. However, the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G had the fastest median download speed among popular devices at 114.93 Mbps, edging out the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (113.96 Mbps).

France

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed a fierce competition for France’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, with Free narrowly edging out Bouygues with a Speed Score of 121.89 to 118.16.
  • SFR achieved the highest fixed broadband Consistency Score in France during Q3 2021 at 68.1%.
  • Orange once again earned the top spot as France’s fastest and most consistent mobile provider, earning a mobile Speed Score of 82.84 and a Consistency Score of 87.9%.
  • During Q3 2021, Orange blew away the competition as France’s fastest 5G provider by achieving a median 5G download speed of 352.77 Mbps, slightly faster than Q2 2021. SFR followed at 205.19 Mbps.
  • The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G was the fastest popular device in France during Q3 2021, edging out the iPhone 12 Pro 5G with a median download speed of 103.71 Mbps to 102.21 Mbps.
  • During Q3 2021, Lyon achieved the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds at 151.09 Mbps and 102.62 Mbps, respectively. Nice had the fastest median mobile download speed at 78.19 Mbps.

Germany

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Vodafone was once again Germany’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 126.45.
  • Vodafone also took the top spot among fixed broadband providers for highest Consistency Score at 80.2%.
  • Telekom achieved the highest Speed Score (80.92) and Consistency Score (90.1%) among German mobile operators during Q3 2021.
  • Telekom supplanted O2 for the fastest median 5G download speed in Germany with 161.14 Mbps and 157.55 Mbps, respectively, during Q3 2021.
  • The iPhone 13 Pro Max had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Germany during Q3 2021, edging out the iPhone 13 Pro with 138.74 Mbps to 134.41 Mbps.

Hungary

  • Vodafone retained its top spot as Hungary’s fastest fixed broadband provider in Q3 2021, edging out DIGI with a Speed Score of 153.79 to 148.05. Vodafone retained the top spot for highest Consistency Score at 86.6% during Q3 2021.
  • Magyar Telekom retained its top spot as Hungary’s fastest and most consistent mobile provider during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 52.30 and Consistency Score of 89.0%.
  • Apple devices took the top spot among major device manufacturers in Q3 2021, achieving a median download speed of 41.09 Mbps in Hungary.
  • The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G edged out Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G for the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Hungary during Q3 2021, 77.92 Mbps to 76.08 Mbps.

Latvia

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed that Balticom was once again the fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Latvia during Q3 2021 achieving a Speed Score of 193.08 and Consistency Score of 90.7% — both slight increases over Q2 2021.
  • LMT was the fastest mobile operator in Latvia during Q3 2021 with a Speed Score of 47.79.
  • Tukums had the fastest median mobile download speed in Latvia at 50.02 Mbps during Q3 2021.

Luxembourg

  • Tango retained its top spot as Luxembourg’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021 by achieving a Speed Score of 126.48.
  • POST was again the fastest mobile operator in Luxembourg during Q3 2021, achieving a small increase in Speed Score from 102.09 in Q2 2021 to 109.64 in Q3 2021.
  • POST also remained the most consistent mobile operator in Luxembourg with a Consistency Score of 96.0%.
  • Differdange achieved the fastest median fixed broadband download and upload speeds among Luxembourg’s most populous cities at 116.46 Mbps and 92.67 Mbps, respectively.
  • Ettelbruck had the fastest median mobile download and upload speeds at 148.58 Mbps and 22.41 Mbps, respectively.

Malta

  • Melita retained its top spot as Malta’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 112.49 and Consistency Score of 82.9%.

Slovakia

  • Orange knocked Telekom out of first place as Slovakia’s fastest mobile operator during Q3 2021 with a Speed Score of 55.57 to Telekom’s 53.63.
  • Telekom had the highest mobile Consistency Score in Slovakia during Q3 2021 at 89.6%.
  • UPC retained its top spot as Slovakia’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider with a Speed Score of 139.98 and a Consistency Score of 86.6%.
  • The Apple iPhone 12 Pro 5G had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Slovakia at 67.29 Mbps during Q3 2021.

Spain

  • Movistar provided the fastest and most consistent mobile experience among Spanish mobile providers with a Speed Score of 54.30 and Consistency Score of 88.5%.
  • Vodafone was Spain’s fastest 5G provider by a wide margin during Q3 2021, achieving a median download speed of 323.13 Mbps.
  • The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G had the fastest median download speed in Spain during Q3 2021 at 70.14 Mbps.
  • During Q3 2021, Madrid had the fastest median mobile download speed at 41.85 Mbps. Barcelona followed at 38.58 Mbps.

North and South America

Argentina

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed Personal remained Argentina’s fastest mobile operator during Q3 2021 with a Speed Score of 40.08.
  • Buenos Aires edged out La Plata for mobile download speeds in Argentina’s most populous cities with a median speed of 25.45 Mbps to La Plata’s 23.98 Mbps during Q3 2021.

Brazil

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Claro remained the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Brazil among top providers during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 44.76 and Consistency Score of 88.2%.
  • There was no statistically fastest provider for median 5G download speed, though Claro showed 65.92 Mbps, Vivo 64.61 Mbps and TIM 58.14 Mbps.
  • Among popular device manufacturers, Apple had the fastest median download speed in Brazil at 29.98 Mbps. Apple devices took four out of five of the top spots among popular devices in Brazil with the iPhone 12 5G achieving the fastest mean download speed at 53.28 Mbps.
  • Brasília had the fastest median mobile download speed among Brazil’s most populous cities at 31.44 Mbps during Q3 2021.

Canada

  • Shaw was Canada’s fastest fixed broadband provider in Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 184.26.
  • Rogers edged out Shaw for the highest Consistency Score in Canada during Q3 2021 with 89.0% to Shaw’s 86.7%.
  • TELUS retained its top spot as the fastest mobile operator in Canada during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 81.93.
  • Videotron also retained its top spot during Q3 2021 as Canada’s most consistent mobile operator, achieving a Consistency Score of 87.4%.
  • Competition for the fastest 5G was fierce during Q3 2021. Bell achieved the fastest median 5G download speed of 183.39 Mbps and TELUS followed at 176.38 Mbps.
  • Rogers achieved the highest 5G Availability in Canada during Q3 2021 at 35.9%.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador retained its top spot as Canada’s fastest region for fixed broadband during Q3 2021, achieving a median download speed of 124.22 Mbps. This province was also fastest for mobile.
  • Calgary also retained its top spot among the most populous cities with the fastest median fixed broadband download speed at 134.33 Mbps. Halifax took the top spot for mobile download speed by a wide margin with a median download speed of 113.10 Mbps.
  • Samsung devices had the fastest combined performance in Canada during Q3 2021, achieving a median download speed of 67.14 Mbps.
  • The iPhone 13 Pro Max was the fastest popular device in Canada during Q3 2021, achieving a median download speed of 164.63 Mbps.

Chile

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Claro was the fastest mobile operator in Chile with a Speed Score of 24.44 during Q3 2021. Claro also had the highest Consistency Score at 78.1%.
  • The Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G had the fastest mean download speed among popular devices in Chile during Q3 2021 at 33.37 Mbps, edging out the iPhone 12 Mini 5G (32.25 Mbps).
  • Among popular device manufacturers in Chile, Apple had the fastest mean download at 22.81 Mbps, a hair faster than Samsung’s 21.56 Mbps. Xioami, Motorola and Huawei followed.
  • Temuco had the fastest mobile speeds in Chile during Q3 2021, achieving a mean download speed of 23.08 Mbps. Valparaíso and Viña del Mar were close followers at 22.97 Mbps and 22.59 Mbps, respectively.

Colombia

  • Tigo was the fastest mobile operator in Colombia during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 26.21. WOM followed at 17.36. Tigo also had the highest Consistency Score at 85.5%.
  • Among popular devices in Colombia during Q3 2021, the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G edged out the iPhone 12 Pro 5G for fastest mean download at 32.08 Mbps to 32.01 Mbps.
  • Cartagena narrowly beat out Barranquilla for the fastest mean mobile download speed among Colombia’s most populous cities at 22.78 Mbps to 22.25 Mbps during Q3 2021.

Ecuador

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Netlife was Ecuador’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 41.54 and Consistency Score of 73.0%.
  • CNT was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Ecuador during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 41.65 and Consistency Score of 85.7%.
  • During Q3 2021, the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G was the fastest popular device in Ecuador, achieving a mean download speed of 39.89 Mbps. Apple devices took all of the five top spots on this list.
  • Quito had the fastest fixed broadband among Ecuador’s most populous cities during Q3 2021, achieving a mean download speed of 39.07 Mbps. This edged out Guayaquil’s mean download of 38.90 Mbps.
  • Machala had the fastest mean mobile download speed in Ecuador during Q3 2021 at 27.28 Mbps.

Guatemala

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Claro was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Guatemala during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 38.01 and Consistency Score of 89.2%.
  • Tigo was the fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Guatemala during Q3 2021 with a Speed Score of 19.97 and Consistency Score of 38.7%.
  • The Apple iPhone 12 5G was the fastest popular device in Guatemala during Q3 2021, edging out the iPhone 12 Pro 5G with a mean download speed of 50.23 Mbps to the iPhone 12 Pro 5G’s 50.20 Mbps.
  • Guatemala City had the fastest mean mobile download speed among Guatemala’s most populous cities at 31.11 Mbps.
  • Villa Nueva had the fastest mean fixed broadband download speed at 29.78 Mbps.

Mexico

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Telcel remained Mexico’s fastest mobile operator during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 46.79.
  • Telcel was also Mexico’s most consistent mobile operator, achieving a Consistency Score of 87.9% during Q3 2021.
  • Totalplay was the fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Mexico during Q3 2021, achieving a Speed Score of 46.24 and Consistency Score of 71.9%
  • Apple devices had the five fastest mean download speeds among popular phones in Mexico during Q3 2021. The iPhone 12 Pro 5G narrowly beat out the iPhone 12 5G and iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G for the fastest popular device during Q3 2021, achieving respective speeds of 72.22 Mbps, 70.99 Mbps and 69.62 Mbps.
  • Veracruz once again showed the fastest mean mobile download and upload speeds among Mexico’s most populous cities during Q3 2021, recording a speed of 45.76 Mbps and mean upload speed of 19.56 Mbps.
  • Monterrey beat out Mexico City for the fastest fixed broadband download speed, earning a mean speed of 69.32 Mbps to Mexico City’s 65.39 Mbps.

Peru

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Movistar was Peru’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q3 2021, narrowly edging out Claro for fastest Speed Score with 44.39 to 42.22, respectively. Claro had the highest Consistency Score on fixed broadband during Q3 2021, beating out Movistar 72.9% to 65.9%.
  • Claro was the fastest mobile operator in Peru during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 34.05.
  • Entel had the highest mobile Consistency Score in Peru during Q3 2021, narrowly edging out Claro at 78.1% to 77.4%.
  • Among major device manufacturers, Apple devices achieved the fastest mean download speed by a wide margin in Peru during Q3 2021, achieving 40.32 Mbps to Samsung’s 23.90 Mbps.

United States

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Verizon was once again the fastest fixed broadband provider in the United States during Q3 2021, earning a Speed Score of 178.38.
  • T-Mobile was once again the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in the U.S. during Q3 2021, achieving a median download speed of 62.35 Mbps and a Consistency Score of 84.4%.
  • Looking at tests taken only on 5G, T-Mobile achieved the fastest median 5G download speed during Q3 2021 at 135.17 Mbps — a significant increase from 99.84 Mbps during Q2 2021.
  • During Q3 2021, T-Mobile had the best 5G Availability in the U.S. at 64.4%.
  • Competition for the highest 5G Consistency was extremely close in the U.S. during Q3 2021, with Verizon Wireless achieving a 5G Consistency Score of 78.8%, T-Mobile 78.4% and AT&T 73.8%.
  • The recently released iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 13 Pro blazed ahead of the competition for fastest popular device in the U.S. during Q3 2021, achieving median download speeds of 95.96 Mbps and 94.72 Mbps, respectively. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G was next at 83.81 Mbps.
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania had the fastest median mobile download speed in the U.S. during Q3 2021 at 82.94 Mbps.
  • Austin, Texas had the fastest fixed broadband speed among the U.S.’s most populous cities during Q3 2021, achieving a median download speed of 196.28 Mbps.

Read the full market analyses and follow monthly ranking updates on the Speedtest Global Index.

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

Global Speeds

About the Author

Josh Fomon

Ookla Research™ Articles
| April 18, 2022

Speedtest Global Index Market Analyses Now Available for 43 Countries

Network Performance

Speedtest Global Index™ Market Analyses from Ookla® identify key data about internet performance in countries across the world. This quarter we’ve provided updated analyses for 44 markets that include details on fastest mobile and fixed broadband providers, performance of most popular devices and chipsets and internet speeds in cities. Click a country on the list below to see highlights or scroll through the article to learn what Speedtest Intelligence® revealed in all 43 markets:

Africa and the Middle East

Côte d’Ivoire | Jordan | Kenya | Libya | Nigeria
South Africa | Tanzania | Turkey

Asia and Oceania

China | Hong Kong (SAR) | New Zealand | Philippines | Singapore
Taiwan | Thailand | Vietnam

Europe

Austria | Belgium | Czechia | Denmark | Estonia
Finland| France | Germany | Hungary | Latvia
Lithuania | Luxembourg | Malta | Moldova | Poland
Slovakia | Spain

North and South America

Argentina | Brazil | Canada | Chile | Colombia
Ecuador | Guatemala | Mexico | Peru | United States

Africa and the Middle East

Côte d’Ivoire

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed mobile provider MTN had the fastest median download speed (15.71 Mbps) and Consistency Score™ (71.1%) in Côte d’Ivoire during Q1 2022.
  • There was no statistical winner for fastest fixed broadband provider in Côte d’Ivoire during Q1 2022, though Orange had a median download speed of 33.65 Mbps and CANALBOX had a median download speed of 33.35 Mbps.

Jordan

  • Speedtest Intelligence found Umniah was the fastest mobile operator in Jordan during Q1 2022, earning a median download speed of 30.42 Mbps.
  • Fixed broadband provider Orange held the fastest median download speed in Jordan at 78.08 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Kenya

  • Mobile operator Safaricom had the fastest median mobile download speed at 20.49 Mbps in Kenya during Q1 2022.
  • For fixed broadband, Faiba had the fastest median download speed (24.64 Mbps) and Consistency Score (49.8%) in Kenya during Q1 2022.

Libya

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals that mobile operator Libyana had the fastest median mobile download speed in Libya at 12.54 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • Among top fixed broadband providers, AWAL Telecom had the fastest median download speed in Libya at 20.02 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Nigeria

  • Fixed broadband provider ipNX had the fastest median download speed (21.34 Mbps) and highest Consistency Score (45.9%) in Nigeria during Q1 2022.
  • There was no statistical winner for fastest top mobile operator in Nigeria during Q1 2022, though Airtel and MTN led the way at 22.42 Mbps and 21.71 Mbps, respectively.

South Africa

  • Speedtest Intelligence shows Cool Ideas had the fastest fixed broadband median download speed (46.05 Mbps) and highest Consistency Score (73.2%) in South Africa during Q1 2022.
  • MTN had the fastest median 5G download speed in South Africa at 213.37 Mbps during Q1 2022, much faster than Vodacom (132.11 Mbps).
  • The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra dominated for fastest popular device in South Africa during Q1 2022 and achieved a median download speed of 105.21 Mbps. The Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max followed at 82.23 Mbps.

Tanzania

  • Among top mobile operators in Tanzania, Halotel had the fastest median download speed (17.84 Mbps) and highest Consistency Score (80.1%) during Q1 2022.
  • Mwanza had the fastest median mobile download speed among Tanzania’s most populous cities at 13.76 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Turkey

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals mobile provider Turkcell had the fastest median download speed and highest Consistency Score in Turkey at 53.77 Mbps and 92.7%, respectively, during Q1 2022.
  • For fixed broadband in Turkey, TurkNet had the highest median download speed (47.43 Mbps) and Consistency Score (76.8%) during Q1 2022.

Asia and Oceania

China

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, China Telecom was the fastest fixed broadband provider in China with a median download speed of 146.70 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • During Q1 2022, China Mobile achieved the fastest median 5G download speed at 300.96 Mbps, ahead of China Telecom (296.97 Mbps) and China Unicom (280.62 Mbps).
  • Among top device manufacturers, Huawei had the fastest median download speed in China at 108.94 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Hong Kong (SAR)

  • China Mobile Hong Kong was the fastest mobile operator in Hong Kong, achieving a median download speed of 66.11 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • China Mobile Hong Kong also showed the fastest 5G download speed, achieving a median speed of 172.19 Mbps during Q1 2022. Mobile provider 3 followed at 155.81 Mbps.

New Zealand

  • Vodafone was the fastest mobile operator in New Zealand during Q1 2022, earning a median download speed of 59.65 Mbps.
  • 2degrees blazed ahead with the fastest median 5G download speed in New Zealand at 479.71 Mbps during Q1 2022, beating out Vodafone (342.45 Mbps) and Spark (307.21 Mbps).
  • For fixed broadband, MyRepublic achieved the fastest median download speed in New Zealand at 217.66 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Philippines

  • During Q1 2022, Smart had the fastest median download speed (24.07 Mbps) among top mobile operators in the Philippines.
  • Smart also had the fastest median 5G download speed in the Philippines during Q1 2022 at 200.43 Mbps.
  • Caloocan took the top spot for fastest median mobile download speed among the Philippines’ most populous cities at 25.71 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Singapore

  • Speedtest Intelligence shows Singtel was the fastest top mobile operator in Singapore with a median download speed of 93.00 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • Singtel blazed ahead of the competition for fastest median 5G download speed in Singapore at 360.31 Mbps during Q1 2022 — a strong rise over its median 5G download speed of 289.01 Mbps during Q4 2021.

Taiwan

  • During Q1 2022, Chunghwa Telecom had the fastest median 5G download speed in Taiwan at 415.45 Mbps. FarEasTone followed at 310.83 Mbps.
  • The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 had the fastest median download speed among popular chipsets in Taiwan at 162.51 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Thailand

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed that AIS had the fastest median download speed on mobile in Thailand at 43.52 Mbps during Q1 2022, beating out TrueMove H and dtac.
  • AIS also had the fastest median 5G download speed in Thailand during Q1 2022 at 261.19 Mbps, followed by TrueMove H and dtac.

Vietnam

  • Vinaphone was Vietnam’s fastest mobile operator during Q1 2022, reaching a median mobile download speed of 42.43 Mbps, just faster than Viettel (40.61 Mbps).
  • Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro had the fastest median download speed among popular devices in Vietnam at 70.91 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Europe

Austria

  • Magenta took the top spot as Austria’s fastest fixed broadband provider with a median download speed of 154.44 Mbps during Q1 2022. LIWEST was the closest competitor (88.75 Mbps).
  • A1 was the fastest mobile provider in Austria during Q1 2022, achieving a median download speed of 69.80 Mbps. Operator 3 followed at 53.73 Mbps.

Belgium

  • Telenet decisively claimed its spot as Belgium’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q1 2022, earning a median download speed of 129.18 Mbps. VOO followed at 109.76 Mbps.
  • Among mobile operators, Telenet/BASE had the fastest median download speed at 66.92 Mbps.

Czechia

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals T-Mobile was Czechia’s fastest mobile provider during Q1 2022, recording a median download speed of 55.63 Mbps.
  • Vodafone was Czechia’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q1 2022, achieving a median download speed of 89.23 Mbps.

Denmark

  • Fastspeed was Denmark’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q1 2022, achieving a median download speed of 284.28 Mbps. Hiper followed at 239.43 Mbps.
  • YouSee was Denmark’s fastest mobile operator, earning a median download speed of 115.87 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Estonia

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Elisa was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Estonia during Q1 2022, achieving a median download speed of 74.48 Mbps.
  • Telia had the fastest mobile median download speed in Estonia at 73.20 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Finland

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, DNA took the top spot as Finland’s fastest mobile operator in Q1 2022, earning a median download speed of 70.76 Mbps. DNA also edged out Telia for the highest Consistency Score 93.1% to 91.7%.
  • In addition, DNA had the fastest 5G download speed in Finland, achieving a median download speed of 297.70 Mbps. Telia (259.68 Mbps) and Elisa (230.35 Mbps) followed.
  • Competition was tight for Finland’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q1 2022. DNA (87.87 Mbps) raced past Elisa (86.54 Mbps) and Telia (86.13 Mbps) to take the top spot.

France

  • Orange earned the top spot as France’s fastest and most consistent mobile operator with a median mobile download speed of 81.03 Mbps and a Consistency Score of 89.8% during Q1 2022.
  • During Q1 2022, Orange dominated the competition as France’s fastest 5G provider by achieving a median 5G download speed of 366.42 Mbps. SFR followed at 247.32 Mbps.

Germany

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Vodafone was Germany’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q1 2022, earning a median download speed of 108.67 Mbps.
  • Telekom achieved the fastest median mobile download speed (79.34 Mbps) and Consistency Score (90.9%) among German mobile operators during Q1 2022.
  • Telekom took the top spot for the fastest median 5G download speed in Germany at 193.09 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Hungary

  • Vodafone was Hungary’s fastest fixed broadband provider with a median download speed of 159.59 Mbps during Q1 2022. Vodafone also had the highest Consistency Score at 87.9% during Q1 2022.
  • Yettel was Hungary’s fastest mobile operator during Q1 2022, earning a median download speed of 50.62 Mbps.

Latvia

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Balticom had the fastest median fixed broadband download speed in Latvia at 188.27 Mbps and highest Consistency Score (91.9%) during Q1 2022.
  • LMT had the fastest median mobile download speed in Latvia at 50.70 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Lithuania

  • Telia had the fastest median mobile download speed in Lithuania at 77.77 Mbps during Q1 2022. Tele2 followed at 41.75 Mbps, then BITE (29.81 Mbps).
  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals that Cgates had the fastest median fixed broadband speed in Lithuania at 99.50 Mbps during Q1 2022, edging out Penki (93.52 Mbps) and Telia (86.84 Mbps).

Luxembourg

  • Eltrona took the top spot as Luxembourg’s fastest fixed broadband provider during Q1 2022 by achieving a median download speed of 119.65 Mbps.
  • POST was the fastest mobile operator in Luxembourg, achieving a median download speed of 122.74 Mbps in Q1 2022.

Malta

  • Melita took the top spot as Malta’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider during Q1 2022, earning a median download speed of 117.68 Mbps and Consistency Score of 85.2%.

Moldova

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Orange dominated as Moldova’s fastest fixed broadband provider, achieving a median download speed of 203.54 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • Tiraspol showed the fastest median mobile download speed among Moldova’s most populous cities at 35.62 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Poland

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed that UPC was the fastest fixed broadband provider in Poland, achieving a median download speed of 195.74 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • Mobile operator Plus had the fastest median 5G download speed in Poland at 167.37 Mbps during Q1 2022, a slight gain over Q4 2021.

Slovakia

  • Orange took the top spot as Slovakia’s fastest mobile operator with a median download speed of 53.30 Mbps, edging out Telekom’s 45.90 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • Orange also dominated as the fastest 5G operator in Slovakia with a median 5G download speed at 299.09 Mbps during Q1 2022. 4ka followed at 177.76 Mbps.
  • UPC took the top spot as Slovakia’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider with a median download speed of 146.65 Mbps and a Consistency Score of 87.5% during Q1 2022.

Spain

  • Movistar provided the fastest and most consistent mobile experience among Spanish mobile operators during Q1 2022 with a median download speed of 52.44 Mbps and Consistency Score of 89.4%.
  • Vodafone was Spain’s fastest 5G provider by a wide margin, achieving a median download speed of 192.40 Mbps during Q1 2022.

North and South America

Argentina

  • Speedtest Intelligence revealed Personal was Argentina’s fastest mobile operator with a median download speed of 25.57 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • There was a tight race for the fastest median mobile download speed in Argentina’s most populous cities with no statistical winner during Q1 2022. However, Buenos Aires (25.26 Mbps) and La Plata (25.18 Mbps) led the way.

Brazil

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Claro was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Brazil during Q1 2022, achieving a median download speed of 33.53 Mbps and Consistency Score of 84.6%.
  • Claro achieved the fastest median 5G download speed in Brazil at 72.35 Mbps during Q1 2022. TIM (62.80 Mbps) and Vivo (62.38 Mbps) followed.

Canada

  • Shaw was Canada’s fastest fixed broadband provider, earning a median download speed of 213.47 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • TELUS took the top spot as the fastest mobile operator in Canada, achieving a median download speed of 94.48 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • Competition for the fastest 5G in Canada was tight during Q1 2022 with TELUS edging out Bell 162.47 Mbps to 155.71 Mbps, respectively.

Chile

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Entel was the fastest mobile operator in Chile with a median download speed of 23.13 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • Temuco had the fastest median mobile download speed in Chile at 24.86 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Colombia

  • Cali had the fastest median mobile download speed among Colombia’s most populous cities at 15.32 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • Among major device manufacturers in Colombia, Apple devices had the fastest median download speed at 17.20 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Ecuador

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Netlife was Ecuador’s fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider during Q1 2022, achieving a median download speed of 45.53 Mbps and Consistency Score of 75.5%.
  • CNT was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Ecuador during Q1 2022, with a median download speed of 33.11 Mbps and Consistency Score of 87.4%.

Guatemala

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Claro was the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in Guatemala during Q1 2022, achieving a median download speed of 21.40 Mbps and Consistency Score of 80.5%.
  • Tigo was the fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Guatemala with a median download speed of 26.56 Mbps and Consistency Score of 58.3% during Q1 2022.

Mexico

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Telcel was Mexico’s fastest mobile operator during Q1 2022, leading the market with a median download speed of 40.25 Mbps.
  • Totalplay was the fastest and most consistent fixed broadband provider in Mexico, achieving a median download speed of 49.33 Mbps and Consistency Score of 74.3% during Q1 2022.

Peru

  • According to Speedtest Intelligence, Winet Telecom was Peru’s fastest fixed broadband provider by a wide margin, achieving a median download speed of 102.83 Mbps during Q1 2022.
  • Claro was the fastest mobile operator in Peru during Q1 2022, earning a median download speed of 19.55 Mbps.

United States

  • Speedtest Intelligence reveals Verizon was the fastest fixed broadband provider in the United States during Q1 2022, edging out XFINITY with a median download speed of 184.36 Mbps to XFINITY’s 179.12 Mbps.
  • T-Mobile took the top spot as the fastest and most consistent mobile operator in the U.S. during Q1 2022, achieving a median download speed of 117.83 Mbps and a Consistency Score of 88.3% — both increases over Q4 2021.
  • Looking at tests taken only on 5G, T-Mobile achieved the fastest median 5G download speed at 191.12 Mbps during Q1 2022. Verizon also had a notable increase in 5G download speed during Q1 2022 over Q4 2021 , which was helped by turning on new C-Band spectrum in January.
  • The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra was the fastest popular device in the U.S. at 116.33 Mbps during Q1 2022.

Read the full market analyses and follow monthly ranking updates on the Speedtest Global Index.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on May 11, 2022.

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

Network Performance

About the Author

Ookla

Ookla Research™ Articles
| October 24, 2023

Government and Regulatory Support is Key to Improving 4G Performance in Africa

Africa

In this article, we analyze select African countries that have consistently improved their ranking in Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index™ between June 2020 and June 2023 and discuss the drivers that contributed to this rise. These countries can provide lessons and best practices that other operators and regulators can apply to bridge the 4G performance gap.

Key takeaways

  • Government and policy intervention is critical in supporting the rollout of 4G networks in Africa. Operators need more than ever support amid the challenging macroeconomic, operating conditions, and shrinking consumer disposable income. For example, the government intervened in Nigeria to cancel excise tax to reduce operators’ financial burden, promoted infrastructure sharing in Cote d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe to speed up network deployment, and led the expansion of 4G infrastructure in Libya.
  • Spectrum availability is crucial to improving network performance and coverage to meet growing data demand. For example, public authorities encouraged the efficient spectrum usage by freeing up legacy bands and refarming existing ones in Mauritius, Namibia, and Tanzania, and by adopting technology-neutral spectrum licensing in Zimbabwe.
  • Non-punitive network QoS compliance policies can help drive investments and promote fair competition. Policymakers and regulators in Africa are increasingly adopting alternatives to financial sanctions to encourage operators to meet coverage and QoS obligations. For example, the regulator in Tanzania mandated network investments instead of issuing non-compliance penalties.

Some African countries show a marked improvement in 4G download and upload speeds as well as coverage

Cellular networks are critical to connect individuals and businesses as internet access in Africa is predominantly mobile. In addition, the adoption of digital services, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, has rapidly increased the demand for data services. As a result, consumer needs and economic growth will increasingly depend on a fast, reliable mobile network.

We used Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index™ to identify African countries that have consistently improved their mobile speed ranking between June 2020 and June 2023. We then used Speedtest Intelligence® data to compare 4G mobile performance on modern chipsets between Q2 2020 and Q2 2023.

We focused on markets that offer strong growth potential for 4G, so we selected countries whose 4G share of connections was lower than 50% at the end of 2022 (based on data from GSMA Intelligence). The shortlisted countries represent different sub-regions and have different demographical and geographical characteristics, as shown on the map below. 

Map of Demographic and 4G Data in Select African Countries

According to Speedtest Intelligence data, Cote d’Ivoire showed impressive improvement in 4G network performance since Q2 2020, reaching a median download speed of 23.8 Mbps in Q2 2023, the third highest speed behind only Mauritius with 27.33 Mbps and Namibia with 26.92 Mbps. Tanzania doubled its 4G download speeds to 20.83 Mbps while Libya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe had download speeds between 15 Mbps and 20 Mbps in Q2 2023.

Chart of 4G Median Mobile Downloads Speeds Comparison in Select African Countries | Q2 2020 - Q2 2023

Improvements in upload speeds over the same period and the differences between the countries were less pronounced than download speed results. With a jump of 1.6 times in 4G upload speed between Q2 2020 and Q2 2023, Tanzania moved from fourth to second place, ahead of Cote d’Ivoire and Mauritius and just behind Namibia. Notably, Libya lagged behind other countries in download and upload speeds but improved markedly over three years, despite being the last one to launch 4G in 2018, and arguably, where operators had the most challenging environment. 

Chart of 4G Median Mobile Uploads Speeds Comparison in Select African Countries | Q2 2020 - Q2 2023

In the following sections, we analyze market dynamics in each country, review operators’ 4G investments, and discuss the factors that drove (or inhibited, at times) 4G market development.

Cote d’Ivoire has plenty of room to increase 4G adoption

Mobile penetration of the population in Cote d’Ivoire increased rapidly since 2020 to reach 142.4% in Q1 2023 (according to Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications (ARTCI)). 

Orange is the largest mobile operator in Côte d’Ivoire in terms of subscribers (45.6% in Q1 2023) and 4G network population coverage (90.6% in December 2022). It launched 4G services in March 2016 over 1800 MHz. It expanded its subscriber base rapidly thanks, in part, to a $312 million investment in network deployment and upgrades in 2019 and 2020. It also set a plan to invest a further USD120 million between 2020 and 2025 to upgrade the fiber-optic backbone of its 4G network. 

MTN captured just over a third of mobile subscribers in March 2023. It launched 4G shortly after Orange, followed by LTE-A in Abidjan in December 2020, the only operator to offer this service to date in the country. In October 2022, it signed a $75 million five-year contract with Canadian infrastructure supplier NuRAN Wireless to expand its network coverage in rural areas. However, we understood that this only concerns 2G and 3G services. MTN’s 4G coverage reached 57.4% of the population at the end of 2022, way behind Orange. 

Moov had been capturing an increasing share of mobile connections until 2018. Since then, its market share has remained mostly stable at around 20%. It launched 4G services in Q3 2016 over 900 MHz. Moov has extensive network coverage in remote areas, which has helped it to grow its subscriber base. Coverage reached just over half of the population at the end of 2022, lagging behind Orange and MTN.

The three operators managed to rapidly expand 4G coverage after launch. According to Speedtest Intelligence®, 4G service availability, which represents the proportion of an operator’s known locations where a device has access to 4G LTE service, already reached 83.5% in 2018 and increased to 94.3% during Q1-Q3 2023. Despite this, 4G share of mobile connections remains low at 18.8% in 2022 (according to GSMA Intelligence). The unaffordability of smartphones, combined with the limited coverage in rural areas and poor network QoS remain obstacles to mobile data adoption.

To address these challenges, Orange and MTN launched financing schemes and introduced affordable handset models. Further, ARTCI initiated discussions with the operators in 2022 on how to implement improvements in their network and was given additional powers to improve service quality levels. ARTCI also awarded the three operators 2×20 MHz in the 2600 MHz band for LTE to improve network data capacity and is looking for infrastructure sharing as an option to speed up 5G deployment, in time for the African Cup, which will take place at the beginning of 2024.

Government support was pivotal in Libya to accelerate 4G rollout amidst challenging conditions

Libya experienced prolonged political unrest and violence since 2011, leading to the destruction of communication networks, equipment theft, and power shortage. The progressive return to stability since 2021 has somewhat enabled the restoration and extension of existing network infrastructure.

Despite these challenges, Libya has one of the highest mobile penetration in Africa (178.5% in June 2023, according to GSMA Intelligence), and it is one of the few North African countries with an MVNO (albeit capturing less than 1% of the market). The market is a duopoly with two subsidies of Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Company (LPTIC): Al Madar Aljaded and Libyana. Both operators introduced 4G over 1800 MHz in 2018, initially covering only a few cities.

Libyana took the lead by launching LTE in January 2018 and covering 30 major towns and cities by the end of that year. It subsequently expanded coverage to more than 49 towns and cities by April 2022. 

Almadar Aljaded launched LTE and LTE-A in October 2018 in Greater Tripoli Benghazi and Misrata before expanding nationwide, claiming coverage for more than 80% of the population in 2022. 

4G deployment gained momentum and the restoration of the telecoms infrastructure resumed thanks to LPTIC’s program launched in 2021 to extend LTE coverage to underserved areas thanks to cooperation agreements with foreign governments and telecoms groups. According to Speedtest Intelligence®, access to 4G service increased from 11.8% in 2019 to 76.8% during Q1-Q3 2023. Northern regions had particularly benefited from network coverage enhancements as shown in the map below where green squares show locations where 4G service is available and red squares where 4G service is unavailable.

This coverage expansion was accompanied by a boost to median download and upload speeds reaching 15.08 Mbps and 6.43 Mbps in Q2 2023, respectively. However, 4G network throughput is low compared to the performance of other countries featured in this article, suggesting that there is room to improve capacity.

Unfortunately, the deadly floods that struck the eastern part of the country in September 2023 are a significant setback. We expect network expansion and upgrade efforts will be delayed as funding will be directed toward relief efforts and the restoration of basic mobile services.

Maps of 4G Service Availability in Northern Regions, Libya | 2019 and 2023

The allocation of additional spectrum in Mauritius helped to improve 4G coverage and speed

Mauritius is an early adopter of 4G with a saturated mobile market (population penetration reached 160.0% in Q3 2023). The market has three active mobile network operators: incumbent operator Cellplus Mobile Communications (under my.t mobile), Emtel, and Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Limited (MTML) (operating under the CHiLi brand).

Cellplus Mobile launched 4G in 2012 over the 1800 MHz band. It initiated a major network modernization project in 2017, which resulted in a 50% increase in data traffic in 2018 enabling 4G traffic to overtake 3G traffic for the first time. It achieved quasi-nationwide 4G coverage by mid-2019.

The second operator Emtel also launched 4G in 2012 and claimed its 4G network covered the whole island by end-2022. Lastly, MTML (CHiLi), introduced LTE services in 2015 and progressively expanded coverage until it reached 90% of the population by end-2022. This led to a 7% increase in monthly data traffic year-on-year in FY2022/2021.

Operators continued to improve 4G coverage and speed as they prepared to launch 5G. According to Speedtest Intelligence®, access to 4G service increased from 64.40% in 2019 to 96.3% during Q1-Q3 2023. During that period, Mauritius pulled further ahead than the other countries with 27.33 Mbps median 4G download speed in Q2 2023, overtaking Namibia which, until then, had the fastest download speed among the countries analyzed.

These achievements were partly driven by initiatives led by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) which continually encouraged the refarm and release of additional spectrum. For example, the 2100 MHz spectrum (1920‐1980 MHz paired with 2110‐2170 MHz) was reused for LTE and LTE-A services since 2018, after being used exclusively for 3G. ICTA also assigned 2×10 MHz of spectrum in the range 832MHz-862MHz and 791MHz-821MHz for LTE services in 2021, which helped to increase 4G coverage.

Access to additional spectrum and operators’ investment in Namibia helped to boost 4G coverage and performance

Mobile population penetration reached 110.7% in Q3 2023, behind other African markets with similar GDP. Similar to Libya, the market is a duopoly with two mobile operators controlled by a state company, Namibia Post and Telecommunications Holdings (NPTH): MTC, with an 86% market share, and Telecom Namibia (TN Mobile).

Market leader MTC launched a 4G LTE network over 1800 MHz in May 2012, initially for mobile broadband only. MTC then activated LTE-A in April 2016 contributing to boosting download speed, despite limited service availability in selected urban areas. MTC refarmed 2100 MHz for LTE in 2018 and was awarded 2x5MHz lots in the 900 MHz spectrum band in August 2021, but that was deemed insufficient to serve its large subscriber base. It initiated the ‘081EVERY1’ project to build additional base stations and upgrade 4G infrastructure in towns to provide 100% population coverage by the end of 2023. However, we understand that this objective has not been attained as of October 2023 (LTE coverage expanded to more than 68% of the population in 2022).

TN Mobile launched 4G in November 2013 and LTE-A in late 2019, using only 1800 MHz. In July 2022, the operator outlined a plan to invest more than $124 million over five years to modernize its network, starting with its national backbone, core network, and access technologies to boost population coverage and network QoS. Before that, TN Mobile had been deploying or upgrading mobile sites in selected rural and urban areas since 2019 to achieve 100% population 4G coverage by end-2023. However, the cost of competing with the dominating incumbent operator will likely make it difficult to achieve it.

According to Speedtest Intelligence, 4G service availability in Nambia increased from 24.7% in 2019 to 76.6% over January-October 2023, with the Otjozondjupa region showing substantial improvement (see map below). However, according to the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), only seven out of fourteen regions were covered by 4G, calling for more private-sector investment to increase 4G footprint. To support these efforts, the CRNA kicked off the auction process for 700 MHz (703-788 MHz) and 800 MHz (790-862 MHz) frequency bands in February 2023. The spectrum was awarded in October 2023 to the two mobile operators and local ISP Loc8 Mobile for 4G and 5G services.

The three licensees should provide 4G and 5G services with at least 20 Mbps download speed and have to extend 4G coverage to at least 80% of the population in six out of the 14 regions. This suggests that operators will need substantial investments in network infrastructure to satisfy these coverage and speed requirements.

Maps of 4G Service Availability in Otjozondjupa Region, Northern Namibia | 2019 and 2023

Access to multiple spectrum bands helped operators in Nigeria to rapidly expand 4G network coverage

Nigeria is the largest market in Africa in terms of mobile connections with over 220 million mobile subscribers. The market peaked in 2020 and then contracted due to the implementation of the SIM registration policy. The market started recovering more in the second half of 2021 as previously-restricted subscribers obtained a new SIM through ID verification. Mobile penetration reached 90.3% in Q3 2023.

The market is highly competitive with three main players: MTN (38.7% share of subscribers in July 2023), Glo (Globacom) (27.82%), and Airtel (27.24%). 4G coverage increased rapidly to reach 80.9% at the end of 2022 though adoption peaked at around 25% before starting to fall as some customers migrate to 5G. 

Glo was the first main operator to introduce 4G services in 2016 over 700 MHz, which it then combined with 1800 MHz spectrum in 2019. It launched LTE-A in 2023 by combining  700 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2600 MHz (which it acquired recently), and plans to deploy 4,000 LTE-A mobile sites in major towns and cities.

MTN launched 4G the same year using 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands. It then launched LTE-A by combining 2600 MHz and 1800 MHz in 2019. MTN then acquired 800 MHz spectrum to improve coverage 4G coverage which reached 83% in 2023. Its CAPEX (excluding right-of-use assets) increased by 18.1% in 2022 to around $470 million to accelerate 4G and 5G network expansion. In September 2023, it acquired an additional 10 MHz of spectrum in the 2600 MHz band to improve the capacity of its LTE network. 

Airtel was the last to launch LTE over 1800 MHz, before incorporating 2600 MHz in 2019 and 900 MHz in 2022, which helped to expand coverage to more than 463 locations in the country.

Maps of 4G Service Availability in Nigeria | 2019 and 2023

Operators faced several technical and operational challenges that impacted the quality of 4G connectivity in Nigeria. This was the result of the network infrastructure not being able to keep up with pent-up demand for mobile device services. Other factors also contributed to the deterioration of network quality including the limited access to continuous power supply, vandalism, and multiple taxes and levies. 

Furthermore, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the government took a tough stand against operators for failing to meet QoS obligations or delaying tax payments, resulting in significant fines between 2012 and 2016. 

The NCC started adopting less punitive measures against operators recently and being more actively engaged with them on QoS issues, following the South African model. The government also reversed its decision to impose a 5% excise duty on telecom services in 2023. These measures should help somewhat operators weather the current challenging macroeconomic climate.

The regulator’s efforts helped improve 4G coverage in Tanzania but data services remain unaffordable to most of the population

Tanzania has a crowded mobile market with seven operators and fierce price competition. The introduction of biometric SIM identification slowed market growth in 2020 (the market contracted by 9.5 million) before recovering in 2021. Mobile penetration reached 93.9% in June 2023.

Three operators dominate the market: Vodacom (30% of subscribers in June 2023), Airtel (27%), and third-placed Tigo (27%), which was acquired by a consortium led by Axian Telecom in April 2022.

Vodacom launched 4G commercially in 2016. It uses 700 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum bands. It reported having deployed 2315 4G sites by the end of 2022 (up from 1814 in September 2021) and that broadband coverage reached 93% of the population.

Airtel launched LTE services over 1800 MHz in the capital Dodoma in November 2019 then expanded to other cities in 2020. It announced the deployment of its ‘Supa 4G’ LTE-A network in 2021 which uses 700 MHz and 2100 MHz in 500 cities and villages. It claims to have rolled out LTE-A in 80% of its mobile sites by April 2022. Airtel was also allocated an additional spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in 2019. 

Tigo launched LTE services in Dar es  Salaam in April 2015 over 800 MHz. It progressively expanded its network to reach 26 regions by February 2022. It launched LTE-A in September 2018 over 800/1800 MHz in a limited number of cities. In May 2022, Axian Telecom announced plans to invest $500 million in infrastructure over the next five years to improve 4G coverage and QoS, especially in rural areas, and to support the country’s digital transformation and bridge the digital divide. 

Maps of 4G Service Availability in Tanzania | 2019 and 2023

The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has been less punitive than before. For example, in 2019, it fined the six operators $2.6 million for failing to meet QoS standards. However, in 2021, the TCRA ordered the operators to invest $16.4 million to address network issues rather than issue a new fine

The government also freed up the 700 MHz band and auctioned it off in 2018 to enable operators to provide 4G data services to more communities. Four years later, another auction was completed for 2300 MHz, 2600 MHz, and 3500 MHz bands to be used for 4G and 5G. More recently, the government launched the ‘Digital Tanzania’ project in May 2023 in partnership with mobile operators and with support from the World Bank to reach 80% broadband population penetration by 2025. Operators will use the universal access fund to deploy 758 mobile towers to provide data services to 1407 villages and over 8.5 million potential users. 

While 4G coverage reached 65%, Tanzania has the lowest 4G share of connections among the countries reviewed in this article, at 17.8% in Q2 2023. Furthermore, according to TCRA, only 27% of Tanzanians owned smartphones and mobile internet-enabled devices in 2022. 

This suggests that many consumers still can not afford data-enabled handsets and that data tariffs remain out of reach for most Tanzanians, given low income levels, since most of them live in rural areas and work in the agriculture sector.

The government plays a crucial role in progressing the national broadband connectivity agenda in Zimbabwe

According to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ), mobile penetration reached 91.9% at the end of Q2 2023. Mobile data connectivity is the most common way to access internet services. 3G and 4G services represented more than 98% of data connections in the country, and the main driver for internet penetration.

The market is dominated by Econet which controls 72.3% of subscriptions as of June 2023. It launched 4G over 1800 MHz in August 2013, but adoption was muted because of limited coverage, and expensive tariffs. Fast forward to October 2022, and 4G network reached 39% of the population. Econet has the highest number of LTE base stations in the country, 54.3% of the 1962 stations in June 2023. In September 2023, it announced the deployment of 30 new 4G sites by March 2024 and an upgrade of all existing 2G sites to 4G in the eastern provinces. 

NetOne is a state-owned operator and the second-largest player with a 25.5% market share in June 2023. It launched 4G in November 2014, using 1800 MHz before adding 700 MHz in 2016. It resumed deployment of LTE base stations in rural areas in 2021, which helped it to control more than 44.5% of total 4G towers in the country (867 base stations) and grow its data subscribers.

Telecel has been struggling to maintain its market share over the past few years. It initially opted not to launch LTE along with competitors because it believed that the market was not ready. It eventually introduced LTE in late 2017 but had just 17 LTE base stations according to the regulator by mid-2022.

The government announced its plan to raise internet penetration to above 75.0% by 2025, up from 65.2% in Q2 2023. It announced the national broadband program covering 2023–2030 to reduce the cost of broadband access to 2% of the average monthly income from 10.1%. The government is committed to raising the funds for this plan which includes the deployment of fibre infrastructure for broadband access and backhaul. It also plans to deploy 300 base stations across the country to be shared by the operators to support mobile services in rural areas using the universal services fund.

This is a vital initiative as operators are struggling to finance their network deployment and upgrade their networks due to currency depreciation, and limited access to foreign currency to pay for equipment. Their revenues are also down due to the reduction in consumer spending as a result of inflation and reduced disposable income, which is impacting their ability to finance their infrastructure development plan.

It is clear, from the examples discussed above, that the role of governments and regulatory authorities is crucial to making mobile data services accessible in Africa. Operators need sufficient spectrum, favorable policies and regulations, and the support they need to expand 4G infrastructure. In light of the current macroeconomic and operational challenges hindering the adoption of 4G, such as spectrum availability, coverage requirements, and handset affordability, overcoming these challenges will help with the next phase of 5G development.

Connectivity is crucial to economic development, competitiveness, and innovation in the Middle East and Africa region. Ookla’s crowdsourced insights and data help policymakers make informed decisions on how to use spectrum efficiently and improve network performance and user experience. Ookla also regularly hosts events in the region to help regulators share knowledge and experiences on how to close the digital divide. Regulatory officials from Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, and Libya attended the last regulatory summit in June 2023 in Jordan.

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.

Africa
sub-saharan-africa
4G
LTE

About the Author

Karim Yaici

Ookla Research™ Articles
| July 5, 2017

How Internet Speeds at African Airports Compare

Global Speeds

Our investigations of free airport Wi-Fi were nearly grounded when we reached Africa. Not only is free airport Wi-Fi not universally available on the African continent, when you do find it, it’s often very slow and available for only limited periods of time. But digging into Speedtest data for March-May 2017, we did discover a few bright spots.

Fastest airport Wi-Fi

Only five of the 10 busiest airports in Africa showed Speedtest results on free, publicly-available Wi-Fi during the time we surveyed. And three of those airports were in South Africa.

Fastest airport Wi-Fi

Of those five airports, though, Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport wins download speed by far. At 33.46 Mbps, the airport Wi-Fi is faster than any airport we’ve seen in Africa or Europe, and faster than all of the airports in Asia except for Dubai. Upload speed is terrible, though, so if Rick wants to send Ilsa a few snapshots of their final meeting, he’s going to spend more than a little time watching that upload wheel spin.

South Africa’s free airport Wi-Fi is all managed by VAST, an open-access Wi-Fi infrastructure provider, which doesn’t explain why the download speed at Durban’s King Shaka International Airport is about half that in Cape Town, but the company does seem to offer a general band of speed for free service. We saw other, faster tests on VAST-related SSIDs and can only assume that these are the pay-to-play options that are available to users after their first four hours of free Wi-Fi have expired.

Though we found many reports of free airport Wi-Fi, we were not able to verify tests on published SSIDs for airports in Cairo, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Lagos and Tunis. And as far as we can tell, there is no free, public Wi-Fi at the airport in Algiers. If we’re wrong, take a Speedtest using your phone on the airport Wi-Fi and share your results with us on Twitter or Facebook.

Fastest airport cell

The good news is that cellular service is available at all the busiest African airports. The better news is that download speeds are decent at eight out of 10 of those airports.

Fastest airport cell

Mobile downloads are slower at all three of South Africa’s major airports than the country average of 34.45 Mbps, but they are still three of the four fastest airports in Africa for mobile.

The mobile download speed at Tunis’ airport is nearly twice as fast as the country average of 15.08 Mbps while the speed at Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed is just over 50% faster than Nigeria’s average of 10.64 Mbps. And although the Houari Boumediene download speed is among the slowest on the list, it’s 68% faster than the average download speed in Algeria.

Nairobi Kenyatta’s mobile download speed is closer to the Kenyan average of 14.51 Mbps, and downloads at Casablanca’s Mohammed V are slightly slower than the Moroccan average of 16.54 Mbps.

The slowest airports on our list, Bole and Cairo, are both located in countries with some of the slowest mobile downloads we saw, with Ethiopia at 10.50 Mbps and Egypt at 7.68 Mbps.

Upload speeds overall are slow, but they are in the same range as airports in Asia and Europe and they should get you by for any normal usage.

Wi-Fi or cell?

At five of the African airports we examined, the choice between Wi-Fi and cellular service is a no-brainer because the free Wi-Fi just doesn’t exist.

Wi-Fi or cell?

Casablanca’s download speed over Wi-Fi is 120% faster than over cellular, but it’s alone in this distinction.

At all other airports in Africa, choose cellular downloads rather than the free Wi-Fi. Cellular services is 88% faster than Wi-Fi at the Cape Town airport, 96% at Johannesburg, 326% at Durban and 53% at Addis Ababa.

Regional trends

Northern Africa

On the whole, the airports we surveyed in Northern Africa offer slower cellular downloads than those elsewhere on the continent. Tunisia is the exception.

Northern African airports were also the least likely to offer free Wi-Fi with three out of four airports showing no Speedtest results over free airport Wi-Fi. Morocco is the exception here, not only because Casablanca offers free airport Wi-Fi, but because that Wi-Fi is the fastest we found on the entire continent.

Eastern Africa

We only surveyed two airports in Eastern Africa, but what they have in common is ranking at the bottom of the list for cellular download speeds. Addis Ababa offered Wi-Fi, albeit slow. Cairo did not.

Western, Central, and Southern Africa

Africa is a very large and diverse continent and so we only examined one airport apiece in Western and Southern Africa this time around. And because we were focused on the busiest airports in Africa, we didn’t look at any airports in Central Africa at all. We’re hesitant to draw any trend lines based on this limited data, but we are definitely interested to learn more about internet performance in Africa as a whole and at airports in Africa. If you want to show us what your experience of the internet in any part of Africa (or anywhere else) is like, take a Speedtest on Android or iOS.

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

Global Speeds

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| January 24, 2018

GOOOOAL: Which World Cup Finalist Scored the Fastest Internet in their Capital City?

Global Speeds

Whether you call it soccer or football, everyone calls the World Cup fun. We couldn’t wait for the actual match-ups in June, so we decided to pit the qualifying countries against one another to see who has the fastest internet speeds in their capital cities. The results might surprise you.

Get ready to watch Russia best Brazil and Portugal defeat Iran; meanwhile, Argentina and Nigeria and Belgium and England are preparing for penalty shoot-outs.

Using data from Speedtest Intelligence for Q3-Q4 2017, we’ve calculated which capital cities of World Cup-qualifying countries have the fastest mobile and fixed broadband speeds. We also took a peek at the fastest carriers and internet service providers (ISPs) in each capital using Speed Score, a comprehensive metric that combines measures of internet performance at all levels.

Mobile winners

Iceland’s sixth place ranking for mobile download speed in the Speedtest Global IndexTM virtually assured that Reykjavík would come out at the top of the list of fastest World Cup contenders. Canberra represents Australia well with a second place finish for mobile download speeds among World Cup capitals. And Brussels, Belgium barely surpasses Bern, Switzerland for a third place finish.

Mobile Internet Speeds
Capitals of World Cup Qualifying Countries | Q3 – Q4 2017
Country Capital City Average Download (Mbps) Average Upload (Mbps)
Iceland Reykjavík 55.49 21.53
Australia Canberra 44.24 12.60
Belgium Brussels 42.52 16.74
Switzerland Bern 42.02 17.52
South Korea Seoul 41.85 14.15
Denmark Copenhagen 41.78 18.29
Croatia Zagreb 41.16 16.40
Sweden Stockholm 40.12 12.63
Spain Madrid 38.30 14.02
Portugal Lisbon 30.60 11.39
Serbia Belgrade 30.33 12.49
France Paris 29.03 9.26
Poland Warsaw 26.94 9.84
Germany Berlin 25.83 9.51
England London 25.09 11.49
Russia Moscow 21.89 8.49
Japan Tokyo 19.89 7.10
Uruguay Montevideo 19.82 11.49
Mexico Mexico City 19.11 11.51
Peru Lima 18.33 12.90
Tunisia Tunis 18.27 8.07
Brazil Brasília 18.00 8.64
Morocco Rabat 17.32 9.76
Colombia Bogotá 16.87 9.50
Nigeria Abuja 16.17 6.76
Iran Tehran 15.05 7.04
Argentina Buenos Aires 13.77 7.70
Egypt Cairo 13.15 6.33
Panama Panama City 12.89 8.45
Saudi Arabia Riyadh 12.28 8.88
Senegal Dakar 8.85 3.81
Costa Rica San José 5.97 3.33

Looking at the group draw, Group A fares the worst with 16th place Moscow, Russia being the capital city with the fastest mobile downloads in the group. In Group B, Spain comes out on top. Australia wins Group C, Iceland takes Group D, Switzerland leads Group E and South Korea has the fastest mobile download speed in Group F. Belgium finishes first in Group G and Poland prevails in Group H, despite a 13th place finish overall.

From a regional perspective, European capitals top the rankings with all 14 European World Cup capitals sitting in the top half of the list. Latin American, Middle Eastern and African cities fare worst. Asia’s two contenders are split with Seoul boasting the fifth fastest mobile download speed among World Cup capitals and Tokyo, Japan coming in 17th.

The fastest World Cup capital in Latin America (Montevideo, Uruguay) shows a 64.3% slower mobile download speed than Reykjavík. First place among African World Cup capitals, Rabat, Morocco is 68.8% slower than Reykjavík for mobile downloads. And Tehran, Iran, the fastest World Cup capital in the Middle East, is 72.9% slower than Reykjavík.

Fastest carriers

We also looked into which carriers were fastest in each of the 32 World Cup capital cities.

With Speed Scores ranging from 8.89 in Dakar, Senegal to 46.57 in Brussels, mobile carrier Orange was fastest in four cities and tied for fastest in one. Vodafone was fastest in both Lisbon, Portugal and Madrid, Spain with comparable Speed Scores in the two locations. The rest of the cities show the diversity of fastest carriers that you might expect from a worldwide competition.

Fastest Carriers Speeds
Capitals of World Cup Qualifying Countries | Q3 – Q4 2017
Country Capital City Fastest Carrier Speed Score
Argentina Buenos Aires Personal 16.15
Australia Canberra Telstra 50.21
Belgium Brussels Orange 46.57
Brazil Brasília Claro 24.72
Colombia Bogotá Avantel 20.93
Costa Rica San José ICE 8.30
Croatia Zagreb Hrvatski Telekom 49.35
Denmark Copenhagen TDC / Telia 45.34 / 45.09
Egypt Cairo Orange 16.50
England London EE 36.83
France Paris Orange 33.15
Germany Berlin Telekom 53.54
Iceland Reykjavík Nova 64.61
Iran Tehran MTN IranCell 15.89
Japan Tokyo SoftBank 27.26
Mexico Mexico City AT&T 20.26
Morocco Rabat inwi 20.51
Nigeria Abuja MTN 29.23
Panama Panama City Cable & Wireless Panama / Movistar 14.85 / 14.80
Peru Lima Entel Peru 20.73
Poland Warsaw T-Mobile 36.07
Portugal Lisbon Vodafone 42.44
Russia Moscow MegaFon 37.06
Saudi Arabia Riyadh Zain 13.20
Senegal Dakar Orange 8.89
Serbia Belgrade Vip mobile 45.56
South Korea Seoul LG U+ 50.03
Spain Madrid Vodafone 40.17
Sweden Stockholm Telia 54.49
Switzerland Bern Sunrise / Swisscom 42.14 / 41.91
Tunisia Tunis Ooredoo / Orange 19.90 / 19.89
Uruguay Montevideo Antel 20.35

Fixed broadband winners

Given that Iceland ranks second in the world for fixed broadband download speed on the Speedtest Global Index and has the world’s highest gigabit user penetration (GUP), we’re not surprised to see Reykjavík shut out the competition by coming out on top of World Cup contenders for fixed broadband speed, too. Seoul, South Korea comes in second for fixed broadband download speed among World Cup capitals and Paris, France takes third.

Fixed Broadband Internet Speeds
Capitals of World Cup Qualifying Countries | Q3 – Q4 2017
Country Capital City Average Download (Mbps) Average Upload (Mbps)
Iceland Reykjavík 142.89 154.28
South Korea Seoul 130.75 131.96
France Paris 112.58 55.86
Sweden Stockholm 98.77 66.68
Spain Madrid 86.59 73.43
Japan Tokyo 75.88 70.46
Denmark Copenhagen 72.74 52.13
Switzerland Bern 68.82 54.44
Poland Warsaw 62.57 16.19
Portugal Lisbon 55.80 30.97
England London 52.53 16.12
Germany Berlin 46.84 9.52
Russia Moscow 45.25 42.96
Belgium Brussels 43.25 9.63
Panama Panama City 29.11 5.93
Australia Canberra 28.85 12.46
Serbia Belgrade 26.45 5.59
Croatia Zagreb 26.20 11.40
Mexico Mexico City 24.11 10.14
Uruguay Montevideo 23.02 5.82
Argentina Buenos Aires 22.03 4.26
Brazil Brasília 21.57 5.29
Saudi Arabia Riyadh 20.93 9.05
Peru Lima 18.15 3.51
Colombia Bogotá 13.43 6.48
Morocco Rabat 11.83 2.51
Iran Tehran 9.33 4.18
Costa Rica San José 8.79 4.29
Nigeria Abuja 8.07 5.27
Tunisia Tunis 7.82 4.49
Senegal Dakar 7.42 3.11
Egypt Cairo 5.61 1.92

Group A again suffers on the fixed side with leader Russia coming in 13th based on Moscow’s fixed broadband download speed. Spain’s still the front-runner of Group B. France takes Group C, Iceland wins Group D, Switzerland tops Group E, South Korea reigns over Group F, England heads up Group G and Japan starts Group H based on average download speeds over fixed broadband in their respective capitals.

European capitals again fare well, with 12 of the 14 placing in the top half of fastest World Cup capitals for fixed broadband download speed. Belgrade, Serbia and Zagreb, Croatia rank 17th and 18th, respectively. Tokyo ranks much better for fixed broadband download speed than for mobile, which puts both Asian World Cup capitals in the top six.

With the exception of Panama City, Panama, which ranks 15th, all Latin American World Cup capitals are in the bottom half of the list for download speed over fixed broadband. As are all Middle Eastern and African capital cities.

Panama City’s fixed broadband download speed is 79.6% slower than Reykjavík’s. Riyadh, Saudia Arabia boasts the title of fastest World Cup capital in the Middle East, but is still 85.4% slower for fixed broadband downloads than Reykjavík. The fastest World Cup capital in Africa — Rabat, Morocco — is 91.7% slower than Reykjavík.

Fastest providers

Comparing Speed Scores for fixed broadband across World Cup capitals, Vodafone had wins in Berlin, Germany and Lisbon and Orange took Paris and tied for first in Madrid. The rest of the fastest ISPs vary by location as listed below:

Fastest ISPs Speeds
Capitals of World Cup Qualifying Countries | Q3 – Q4 2017
Country Capital City Fastest ISP Speed Score
Argentina Buenos Aires Cablevisión Fibertel 21.72
Australia Canberra iiNet 33.23
Belgium Brussels Telenet 66.95
Brazil Brasília NET Virtua 27.30
Colombia Bogotá ETB 19.17
Costa Rica San José Cabletica 8.28
Croatia Zagreb vip 30.23
Denmark Copenhagen Fiberby 103.26
Egypt Cairo TE Data 4.84
England London Hyperoptic 117.40
France Paris Orange 107.20
Germany Berlin Vodafone 55.46
Iceland Reykjavík Nova 278.06
Iran Tehran Mobin Net 11.74
Japan Tokyo So-net 118.05
Mexico Mexico City Axtel 45.83
Morocco Rabat Maroc Telecom 9.25
Nigeria Abuja MTN 10.73
Panama Panama City Cable Onda 25.08
Peru Lima Movistar 16.64
Poland Warsaw UPC 82.72
Portugal Lisbon Vodafone 61.80
Russia Moscow MGTS 62.00
Saudi Arabia Riyadh STC 16.46
Senegal Dakar Tigo 6.42
Serbia Belgrade SBB 34.60
South Korea Seoul KT 162.45
Spain Madrid Masmovil / Orange 101.52 / 101.34
Sweden Stockholm Ownit 158.78
Switzerland Bern Fiber7 241.93
Tunisia Tunis TOPNET 7.61
Uruguay Montevideo Antel 22.01

Did your team not come out as expected? Or are you defending a tight match? Take a Speedtest on Android, iOS or on the web and we’ll check back in on scores closer to the main event.

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

Global Speeds

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| September 4, 2019

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

Global Speeds

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 IndexTM. 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

Mobile-and-Fixed-Broadband-Improvement-by-Continent-02

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.

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

Global Speeds

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| March 13, 2020

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

Global Speeds

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 IndexTM 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®.

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

Global Speeds
Ookla for Good
coronavirus

About the Author

Ookla

Ookla Research™ Articles
| September 19, 2022

MTN Performed Best Among Operator Groups in Sub-Saharan Africa

Global Speeds

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

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

Key messages:

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

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

Chart of mobile performance among operators across African markets

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

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

Vodafone in Johannesburg stole the show

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

Chart of median download speeds of African cities by operator

MTN got ahead of Orange, Airtel, and Vodacom 

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

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

Map of mobile performance among Airtel, MTN, Orange, and Vodacom across Africa

We have included a more detailed analysis below.

Airtel versus MTN

Chart of Airtel and MTN mobile performance and 4G availability in Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda

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

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

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

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

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

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

MTN versus Orange

Chart comparing 4G availability in Botswana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Guinea

Botswana: Mascom and Orange performed similarly. 

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

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

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

Guinea: Orange commands the Guinean market. 

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

Vodacom versus Airtel

Chart of Vodacom and Airtel mobile performance and 4G availability in Kenya and Tanzania

Kenya: Safaricom won across all metrics. 

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

Tanzania: Vodacom did better on download speeds. 

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

Orange versus Vodacom versus Airtel

Chart of Vodacom, Orange, and Airtel mobile performance and 4G availability in Democratic Republic of Congo

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

  • The Democratic Republic of Congo is the third largest country by population across the SSA and largest by area. It hosts seven mobile operators, including three of the four groups we analyze — Vodacom, MTN, Orange, and Airtel. 
  • In Q2 2022, Vodacom was the largest operator by number of connections with market share of 35.3% and 16.0 million connections, followed by Airtel (12.8 million) and Orange (12.2 million). 
  • Comparing operators’ mobile performance, Orange led in terms of median download speed (29.18  Mbps), ahead of Airtel (11.15 Mbps) and Vodacom (8.00 Mbps). Operators came head to head with regards to 4G Availability. 

MTN versus Vodacom

Chart of MTN and Vodacom performance and 4G availability in South Africa

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

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

Mobile networks don’t exist in a vacuum 

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

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

Chart of top indicators percent distribution for Vodacom and MTN in South Africa

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

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

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

Global Speeds
Network Performance

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche