Tag: Spectrum

Ookla Research™ Articles
| September 3, 2024

Asia-Pacific Subscribers Will Benefit from More 5G Mid-band Spectrum

Spectrum

In the dynamic landscape of 5G deployment across the Asia-Pacific region, the strategic selection of spectrum frequency bands plays a pivotal role. The mid-band range, notably C-band (3.3-4.2 GHz), stands out as a key enabler, offering the ideal balance of broad coverage and high capacity. In this article, we use Ookla Speedtest Intelligence® data to highlight the relationship between spectrum bands and network performance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Mid-band is important for unlocking the full potential of 5G. The mid-band spectrum offers a balance of speed and range and is the preferred choice for most 5G deployments globally. Speedtest Intelligence® showed that C-band was present in 62.1% of global Speedtest consumer-initiated 5G samples in the first half of 2024.
  • Markets with a higher proportion of included C-band samples experienced faster 5G speeds. Global Speedtest Intelligence samples that included C-band were 1.7 times faster than lower mid-band spectrum and 4.27 times faster than sub-1-GHz low-band based on 1H 2024 data. Data also indicates that for markets with a higher reported proportion of included C-band samples typically experienced faster 5G speeds and improved overall network performance.
  • Operators face the challenge of balancing the need for broad 5G coverage with the desire for better performance. Some APAC markets experienced a decline in speed as 5G services and availability have increased. Malaysia, with its unique single-wholesale 5G network, showed declining 5G median download speeds, falling from 506.96 Mbps in Q2 2023 to 387.39 Mbps in Q2 2024, as 5G Service increased from 9.4% in Q2 2023 to 26.5% in Q2 2024. Thailand, on the other hand, achieved a 5G Service of 65.4% in Q2 2024, but reported a lower 5G median download speed of 135.30 Mbps due to the lack of C-band allocations.

Mid-band spectrum dominates 5G deployments

In our previous report on spectrum and performance, we discussed how the effectiveness of 5G networks depends on the strategic use of spectrum bands. Regulators allocate spectrum for 5G networks across three ranges: low-band (sub-1GHz), mid-band spectrum (frequencies between 1 GHz and 6 GHz), and high-band or mmWave spectrum (24 GHz and above), each with unique characteristics and capabilities. An operator’s spectrum holdings play a crucial role in determining its 5G deployment strategy and the range of services and experiences it can offer.

Mid-band spectrum occupies a strategic position in the 5G landscape, offering a blend of range and speed that is critical for realizing the full potential of 5G networks. It occupies a middle ground between the extensive reach of low-band spectrum and the high-speed but limited-range capabilities of high-band or mmWave spectrum, making it a crucial enabler of high-speed connectivity and low latency. , offering a blend of range and speed that is critical for realizing the full potential of 5G networks. It occupies a middle ground between the extensive reach of low-band spectrum and the high-speed but limited-range capabilities of high-band or mmWave spectrum, making it a crucial enabler of high-speed connectivity and low latency. 

Global Breakdown of Spectrum Bands Used in 5G Deployments (%)
GSMA | Q1 2024

Due to mid-band’s ability to balance coverage and performance, it is the preferred choice in 5G deployment. According to GSMA Intelligence’s Spectrum Navigator, out of the 295 operators that have launched commercial 5G networks globally, as of the end of Q1 2024, 72% utilized mid-band spectrum. 

Within the mid-band spectrum, the C-band spectrum, which includes n77 (3,300–4,200MHz), n78 (3,300–3,800MHz), and n79 (4,500MHz), has emerged as the de facto standard for 5G deployment. GSMA Intelligence reported that 186 out of 295 operators worldwide (63%) use bands n77 or n78 for their 5G network, showing a clear preference for the C-band spectrum. Additionally, Speedtest Intelligence® data from the first half of 2024 revealed that C-band was present in 62.1% of global Speedtest consumer-initiated 5G samples where spectrum information is available.

Proportion of Included Spectrum Band (%)
Speedtest Intelligence® | 1H 2024

APAC region mirrors the global trend of prioritizing mid-band spectrum for 5G deployment

We analyzed 5G networks in selected Asia Pacific (APAC) and top-performing markets from the Gulf region using Speedtest data from the first half of 2024 to gain insights into the spectrum bands utilized by operators. It’s important to note that operators will employ differing strategies in order to optimize spectrum utilization and the user experience. Consumer-initiated Speedtest samples will attempt to saturate a network connection, and operators will tend to serve this capacity demand through the spectrum bands with the highest capacity, and where required supplement this capacity through carrier aggregation. This active testing gives a better indication of the maximum throughput and state of the network, in contrast with background idle-state testing, which will often camp on lower frequency bands and more specifically on 4G-LTE. For many of these selected markets, it is evident that the mid-band spectrum is the cornerstone of 5G deployments, reported in 81.5% of user samples with spectrum information. Within the mid-band, 73.1% of total test samples included C-band.

Chart of Spectrum Band Distribution Based on Primary Reported Band

Speedtest Intelligence reveals a strong preference for C-band in certain APAC markets. For instance, in South Korea, New Zealand, and Malaysia, the recorded 5G test samples were exclusively reported on the C-band spectrum.

South Korean and New Zealand operators have successfully deployed nationwide 5G access in both markets using the allocated C-band spectrum. In South Korea, all three major operators acquired spectrum in the 3.5 MHz (mid-band) and 28 MHz (high-band) through the auction process in 2018. While all operators prioritized and successfully deployed 5G on the 3.5GHz spectrum, their 28 GHz mmWave band licenses were revoked after failing to meet the deployment conditions set by the country’s regulator, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). This underscores that deploying 5G on the C-band for the operators has been sufficient to meet the operators requirements so far.

In Malaysia, 5G deployment is facilitated through its single wholesale network provider, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), utilizing the 3.5 GHz band for traffic, with 700 MHz serving as the Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G anchor band.

The allocation of C-band for 5G deployment varies across the APAC region. In some markets, 5G deployment relies more on low-band and lower mid-band spectrum range to enable broader outdoor 5G coverage and improved penetration inside buildings in urban and suburban areas. Thailand, one of the first markets to launch 5G in the Asia-Pacific region, has successfully launched 5G services using both 700 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands. The full allocation of C-band is still pending, which may challenge the country’s ability to fully leverage the capabilities of 5G technology. 

Similarly, Indonesia has yet to allocate the C-band spectrum for 5G, which could be challenging due to broadcast and fixed satellite operators’ traditional use of this spectrum. Extensive refarming work may be needed to ensure that mobile operators have access to the spectrum without interference.

5G performance hinges on the spectrum bands used

Data from Speedtest Intelligence from 1H 2024 shows a large variation in 5G download speeds depending on the included frequency in the 5G test samples globally, from a high 1.3 Gbps for samples that included high-band (mmWave) to a more moderate 75.17 Mbps for low band.

Median 5G Download (Mbps) by Included Spectrum Bands
Speedtest Intelligence® | 1H 2024

Samples that included lower-range mid-band spectrum provided 2.48 times better performance compared to the sub-1GHz low-band, with a median download speed of 187.80 Mbps. While samples that included the upper mid-band, i.e., C-band, the preferred spectrum band used for 5G deployment globally, had significantly higher download speeds at 322.38 Mbps, or 1.7 times faster than lower mid-band spectrum, and more than 4 times faster than sub 1-GHz low-band.

C-Band driving improved performance

Chart of Median 5G Download Speed Against Proportion of Included C-band Samples (%)

Drilling further into the selected markets, our data indicates that markets with a higher proportion of C-band samples in the tests, generally had faster median 5G download speeds.

Operators in the UAE, Qatar, and South Korea have ample spectrum allocation, with each operator being provided at least 100 MHz of contiguous C-band spectrum, partially explaining the strong 5G performance in those markets.

United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Kuwait have consistently secured top positions in Ookla’s Speedtest Global IndexTM for median download speed over all technologies. This is driven by strong 5G performance, with Speedtest Intelligence data reporting median 5G download speeds in 1H 2024 of 667.99 Mbps in the UAE and 610.67 Mbps in Qatar, while Kuwait maintained a reasonably fast 366.79 Mbps during the same period.

The strong 5G performance can be partly attributable to the combination of ample spectrum access and extensive 5G coverage underpinned by fierce competition among operators. The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) in the UAE has reported that as of Q1 2024, the 5G network covers more than 98% of the populated areas. Additionally, Qatar has made massive investments in building robust 5G networks for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In APAC, South Korea continues to solidify its position as a regional leader in 5G deployment, showcasing median 5G download speeds of 524.99 Mbps in 1H 2024. South Korean regulator, MSIT, has set strict milestones and requirements after allocating 100 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz band to all three major operators. This move has prompted the operators to accelerate their 5G rollouts with extensive network densification, as evidenced by deploying more than 115,000 5G sites across 85 cities, covering most metropolitan areas and ensuring the country was among the first to reach nationwide population coverage.

Balancing 5G Service and network performance with increasing user demands

Chart of Median 5G Download Speed Against 5G Service (%)

As the adoption of 5G technology continues to expand, operators face the challenge of balancing the need for extensive 5G coverage and high performance to meet the growing demands for advanced use cases. Ookla’s 5G Service metric measures the percentage of known geospatial locations where a 5G-enabled device has access to 5G Service. When comparing 5G service and performance in selected Asia-Pacific markets, apart from some outliers, we noticed that there is typically a trade-off between performance and coverage when operators deploy 5G using a range of spectrum bands.

Median 5G Download (Mbps) and 5G Service (%) Quarterly Trend in Selected APAC Markets
Source: Speedtest Intelligence® | Q2 2023 – Q2 2024
Median 5G Download (Mbps) and 5G Service (%) Quarterly Trend in Selected APAC Markets

In Hong Kong, 5G Service is widespread at 95.7% as of Q2 2024, thanks to a combination of low-band, mid-band, and C-band spectrum. However, with an average of 75 MHz in C-band allocated to operators, download speeds are constrained at 135.50 Mbps.

Singapore, where all three operators have commercialized 5G SA, reported well-balanced 5G Service and download performance. In Q2 2024, Singapore 5G Service was at 80.3%, and the median download speed was 341.49 Mbps. This is due to the operators’ optimal combined use of the 2.1GHz mid-band spectrum and 3.5 GHz C-band spectrum nationwide.

Despite initially achieving some of the fastest 5G speeds in the region, Malaysia, with its unique 5G deployment strategy through a nationwide single wholesale network, has experienced a decline in speed as 5G services and availability have increased. Overall, the country’s 5G download speed has fallen from 506.96 Mbps in Q2 2023 to 387.39 Mbps in Q2 2024, as 5G Service increased significantly from 9.4% in Q2 2023 to 26.5% in Q2 2024. The 100 MHz C-band spectrum allocated to the SWN provider, shared among five 5G providers, appears constrained as 5G Service and availability increase, leading to declining median speeds. GSMA Intelligence data estimates that the adoption of 5G technology in Malaysia was 10.1% in Q2 2023 and increased to 37.0% in Q2 2024. The rapid adoption of 5G technology is impacting performance and will continue to do so as adoption rates increase and traffic demand per connection rises. This underscores the importance of ongoing spectrum management to maintain high-performance 5G networks and effectively address the increasing demands and new 5G use cases.

It was observed that in markets leveraging lower-band spectrum for wider 5G coverage, there was a trade-off between extensive coverage and performance. Thailand, for example, underscores the critical role of C-band spectrum in unlocking 5G’s full potential. Despite achieving 65.4% 5G Service in Q2 2024, the lack of C-band allocations has limited 5G performance to a median download speed of 135.30 Mbps. This highlights the importance of incorporating C-band spectrum alongside low-band and lower mid-band frequencies to deliver optimal 5G speeds and capabilities.

Wider contiguous spectrum is needed for future 5G networks

5G has been the fastest mobile generation rollout to date, surpassing one billion connections by the end of 2022, rising to 1.6 billion connections at the end of 2023 and 5.5 billion by 2030. As the number of 5G connections continues to grow, sustaining a good user experience becomes more important, underscoring the need to maintain and enhance network capacity.

The increasing data traffic and the proliferation of data-intensive applications and services drive the demand for greater contiguous mid-band spectrum, particularly in the 3.3-4.2 GHz C-band range. Allocating additional spectrum would also help mobile operators meet the ITU’s minimum technical performance requirements for download speeds of 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 50 Mbps in densely populated urban areas. 

We will continue to monitor spectrum demands and monitor their impact on network global performance. For more information about Speedtest Intelligence data and insights, please get in touch.

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

Spectrum
Hong Kong

About the Author

Affandy Johan

Ookla Research™ Articles
| August 6, 2019

T-Mobile’s Spectrum and Coverage in a Post-Sprint World

Spectrum

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officially cleared the merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, joining the FCC in support of the deal, and bringing the merger one step closer to closing. The DOJ’s settlement comes with stipulations, however, including divesting Sprint’s prepaid business and some spectrum holdings to DISH so that a viable fourth nationwide competitor can enter the market. Additionally, the settlement declares that both operators must deploy high-quality 5G networks for the benefit of American consumers. We’re taking a fresh look at what coverage and spectrum would look like in response to the DOJ’s proposed deal.

Capitalizing on spectrum synergies

According to the consent decree with the DOJ, T-Mobile will keep Sprint’s entire 2.5 GHz and PCS spectrum portfolio, which will be integrated when the deal is finalized. The new T-Mobile will build an LTE layer on a denser cell site grid using Sprint and T-Mobile PCS spectrum synergies in combination with T-Mobile’s 600 MHz, 700 MHz and AWS holdings. This will address the existing capacity demand and expedite the process of allocating most of the 2.5 GHz spectrum assets to 5G NR.

Ookla_Sprint-TMob_Spectrum_20190802

To boost capacity, 2.5 GHz 5G-capable radios will be overlaid on existing T-Mobile sites, and over time, the existing PCS radio equipment will be reconfigured to support additional PCS spectrum coming from Sprint. In many major markets, that spectrum is contiguous to existing T-Mobile assets and will allow for wider allocations and higher spectral efficiency.

Top-Largest-Markets_TMobile-Sprint-03

Looking closely at the PCS spectrum in top markets, the contiguity between Sprint and T-Mobile is staggering. In markets like Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Detroit, adding the Sprint G Block will allow the new T-Mobile to expand the existing PCS spectrum assets and deploy 20 MHz channels. In Miami and Atlanta, the contiguous PCS block is a whopping 30 MHz wide. In markets like Detroit and Dallas, T-Mobile will have two 20 MHz PCS channels. This will enable the new T-Mobile to offer significantly improved capacity while leveraging more spectrally efficient 20 MHz channels. All this additional capacity makes the PCS spectrum a strong candidate for the 5G network.

T-Mobile’s good-faith agreement with DISH will potentially allow T-Mobile to leverage additional unused 600 MHz spectrum licenses, and a similar reconfiguration could be applied to the existing 600 MHz radios — widening the existing 5 MHz and 10 MHz channels — should the leasing agreement with DISH come to fruition.

Ookla_TMob-Dish_600_Spectrum_20190731

Since DISH currently doesn’t have an existing network — and it will take them several years to build it — their 600 MHz spectrum licenses are sitting idle, and American consumers aren’t benefiting from that spectrum. T-Mobile and DISH have agreed to an arrangement through which T-Mobile will be able to lease that spectrum and put it to use on its network. The arrangement is mutually beneficial, providing DISH with a revenue stream that could help with their network buildout, and the new T-Mobile with additional spectrum to enhance and accelerate the network transition process.

Top-Largest-Markets_TMobile-Dish-01

In some of the top markets like New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami, DISH’s 600 MHz spectrum licenses are directly adjacent to T-Mobile’s licenses, creating larger, contiguous spectrum blocks and allowing for wider LTE or 5G channels. In markets like New York, T-Mobile currently runs LTE in the 600 MHz band using only a 5 MHz wide channel, while the other 5 MHz license is idle and likely to be used for 5G, once 5G-capable user devices in the 600 MHz band become commercially available. Adding DISH’s 20 MHz contiguous spectrum block will allow the new T-Mobile to leverage the widest defined LTE channels (20 MHz) and still have 10 MHz available for 5G deployment. This would offer the highest possible spectral efficiency on a frequency band with superior propagation characteristics to the mid- and high-band. In addition, new smartphone designs allowing four separate data streams on the low band have already hit the market, allowing carrier aggregation of two low-band frequencies, or 4×4 MIMO. But more on that later.

What the merger means for coverage

Ookla_Sprint-TMob_Coverage_20190731

An estimated 11,000 Sprint sites will be retained to improve capacity and/or coverage on the new network. These sites add additional capacity to metro areas and expand coverage to areas T-Mobile hasn’t previously served. The sites will receive support for T-Mobile’s frequency bands, which could include replacement of Sprint’s existing 2.5 GHz equipment. Because Sprint’s existing 2.5 GHz infrastructure has equipment from a variety of vendors, these may be replaced to ensure compatibility with T-Mobile’s single-vendor-per-market strategy.

Integrating tens of thousands of existing Sprint sites will also mean reducing the lengthy regulatory process and will be done on a market-to-market basis.

Merging the networks and migrating customers

The details of how T-Mobile and Sprint will merge their networks are much clearer now than when we last wrote about this potential merger. In order to expedite the migration of Sprint subscribers onto T-Mobile’s network, T-Mobile will bridge the two network cores together by routing the traffic to the T-Mobile anchor network. This will be accomplished through the use of Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN).

T-Mobile used a similar approach several years ago when migrating MetroPCS CDMA subscribers to the T-Mobile network. The number of Sprint customers migrating to T-Mobile in major metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles would be very similar to the number of MetroPCS customers that migrated, according to T-Mobile.

Many customers will not require new devices. A large number of Sprint’s postpaid subscribers carry devices that support T-Mobile LTE frequency bands, including the common PCS band, and will only require an over-the-air software update to enable new features and services like Voice over LTE (VoLTE). This approach will offer immediate improvements in coverage and speed to Sprint subscribers, while freeing up Sprint’s PCS spectrum assets currently used for CDMA voice services.

What to expect from the new T-Mobile 5G network

5G is central to T-Mobile’s commitments to the FCC, including:

  • Covering 97% of the U.S. population with 5G in three years
  • Covering 99% of the U.S. population with 5G in six years
  • Offering in-home broadband nationwide, including in rural America

The spectrum portfolio and combined cell site grid will only improve the existing coverage and capacity, and the addition of Sprint’s 2.5 GHz and DISH’s 600 MHz spectrum assets will ease the transition of Sprint and DISH customers onto T-Mobile’s network. The new T-Mobile will hold around 160 MHz on average of 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum in the top 100 markets, and potentially as much as 194 MHz. This will allow the new T-Mobile to deploy mobile 5G by layering low-band (600 MHz) and mid-band (2.5 GHz), which has the potential to provide the right balance of coverage and capacity. The excess capacity will be made available for in-home broadband, providing more options in underserved and rural areas. T-Mobile’s existing mmWave licenses will add additional capacity in dense urban areas.

To take advantage of the new T-Mobile’s spectrum and 5G network, smartphones must have the capability to aggregate both Sub-6 FDD and TDD (FR1) with mmWave (FR2), in addition to LTE. We expect to see 5G smartphones with chipsets capable of leveraging FDD low-band spectrum (FR1) become commercially available later this year, which will allow for 5G deployments in the 600 MHz band. This low frequency band can travel farther and penetrate through the walls better, which will allow T-Mobile to offer a nationwide 5G network. Existing 600 MHz LTE radios on T-Mobile’s cell sites are “5G Ready,” which means the network is only a software upgrade away from transmitting 5G throughout the existing 600 MHz footprint.

Also, the world’s first smartphone design supporting 4×4 MIMO and inter-band carrier aggregation on low bands has already entered the market, Sony Xperia 1 although the support for 600 MHz is lacking. We should expect similar designs supporting T-Mobile’s 600 MHz and 700 MHz bands in the future, which could potentially double user throughput, improving signal robustness and elevating the overall network efficiency and user experience.

Selecting Sprint “keep” sites

In conjunction with Speedtest IntelligenceTM data from Ookla®, T-Mobile developed an engineering model for forecasting both congestion and required capacity at the sector level. This model involves collecting KPIs within the radio network infrastructure and has been, according to T-Mobile, highly accurate.

This effort has led to 71% reduction in congestion, while traffic and customer growth have increased over the past several years. The model is also being used to analyze which T-Mobile and Sprint cell sites to keep to enhance the New T-Mobile cell site portfolio based on network coverage, traffic and spectrum available.

DISH, the new fourth competitor

Ookla_Dish_Spectrum_20190801

The DOJ’s response to the T-Mobile-Sprint merger also includes structural remedies to enable a viable fourth facilities-based nationwide operator, DISH, to enter the market. Over the past decade or so, DISH has acquired large amounts of mostly mid- and low-band spectrum that hasn’t been put to use. That includes the 600 MHz, 700 MHz, AWS and recently some millimeter Wave spectrum licenses.

The DOJ’s proposed structural remedies are meant to spur DISH to deploy unused spectrum assets, then enter the wireless business as a viable nationwide operator. Allowing DISH to acquire 800 MHz divested spectrum assets after three years — coupled with 20,000 (likely more) of Sprint’s redundant sites that already have the 800 MHz radio equipment and backhaul access available — should help DISH meet the agreed-upon buildout targets to have a facilities-based network by June 2023. Granted, these sites will stay running to support Sprint’s postpaid and divested prepaid legacy customers for at least three years, at which point DISH will have to make some investments for additional adjustments to the sites, such as gNodeB and radio equipment upgrades. After three years, if DISH elects not to purchase the divested 800 MHz nationwide spectrum licenses (penalties apply), T-Mobile will have the option to auction the 800 MHz spectrum at the same or higher cost, or keep it. In addition, DISH will be given access to several hundred retail locations the New T-Mobile plans to decommission.

Considering Sprint’s existing coverage, there is a high probability that these divested cell sites will be mainly concentrated in the metro areas. That said, DISH subscribers will be able to access the new T-Mobile’s nationwide network in areas not covered by DISH’s facilities-based network for a period of seven years, which should also provide plenty of time for DISH to expand its native network footprint.

Despite the upcoming legal challenges from 14 states, the consent decree from the DOJ is a key milestone in the potential merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. We’ll be watching its progress, using Mosaik research and solutions to monitor coverage and spectrum changes and Speedtest Intelligence to analyze performance.

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.

Spectrum

About the Author

Milan Milanović

Ookla Research™ Articles
| August 28, 2018

The Network Efficiencies that make Telenor the World’s Fastest Carrier

Spectrum

Speedtest data recently revealed that Norwegian carrier Telenor was the world’s fastest carrier during Q2 2018 with a mean download speed of 72.05 Mbps on modern (LTE-capable) devices. Because Telenor is an enterprise client of ours, we had the unique opportunity to sit down with their network team to learn what goes into building a world-class LTE network.

Layering frequencies to improve capacity and coverage

Telenor always builds cell sites with multiple frequencies in order to provide the right mix of coverage and capacity that delivers the best possible user experience. To that end, Telenor’s LTE has been deployed across three frequency bands: 800 MHz provides the foundation for coverage, 1800 MHz acts as the mid-band layer and 2600 MHz is used as a capacity layer. In addition to layering the disparate frequency bands by the way of Carrier Aggregation, Telenor has implemented the complete Gigabit LTE feature set on selected sites, including the 256QAM and 4×4 MIMO which ensures the highest possible network efficiencies.

Telenor Norway takes pride in being one of the operators with the largest share of voice traffic over LTE in the world, and is aggressively working towards allocating all available frequency bands to LTE. This includes plans to sunset the 3G layer in 2019-2020 to allow Telenor to repurpose the 900 MHz and 2100 MHz spectrum bands for LTE, which will deliver even faster speeds to users. The company will continue offering 2G until 2025, mainly for machine-to-machine and legacy voice services.

Incentivizing customers to use modern devices

Perhaps Telenor’s secret sauce is their very close relationship with smartphone manufacturers. This allows them to make the most out of pre-launch field tests to ensure that their customers are getting equipment that meets Telenor’s standards.

Telenor is also assertive with marketing incentives designed to upgrade customers to modern devices. This is because the newest flagship phones are faster and more efficient in their use of network resources as a result of being equipped with the most advanced LTE modems, RF front-end and four LTE antennas. This completes Telenor’s network ecosystem filled with efficiencies, ensuring the best possible user experience, and the highest return of investment.

Covering a complex geography

Telenor currently has 99.4% of Norwegians covered with LTE, encompassing 81% of land mass, including remote rural areas. They extend service to Norway’s famous fjords by leveraging the existing cell sites built during the 2G days and continuing to add new ones.

What’s next for Telenor

Telenor is currently conducting 5G trials in preparation for commercial launch in 2020. Potential use cases for their 5G include: fixed wireless, enhanced mobile broadband and prioritization for mission critical services like healthcare, emergency services and supporting Norway’s large fish farming industry. While 5G is expected to make a big splash when it’s launched, Telenor believes that the LTE technology will continue as the main network pillar for several years to come.

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.

Spectrum

About the Author

Ookla

Ookla Research™ Articles
| August 7, 2022

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

Spectrum

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

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

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

5G has been a long time coming

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

So what do Indian consumers expect from 5G?

Consumers have an appetite for video streaming and gaming

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

Consumers want faster speeds

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

Which of the following do yuou believe would most improve the service provided to you by your mobile provider? - consumer survey 2022 results

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Spectrum

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

Ookla Research™ Articles
| February 13, 2023

mmWave Clocks Gigabit Speeds in the U.S. but Lacks Maturity Elsewhere

Global Speeds

In this article, we will look at the real-life performance of mmWave in the United States, reflect on its progress so far across the globe, and discuss what the future holds.

Key takeaways

  • mmWave received additional spectrum as part of Release 17, in addition to the spectrum already allocated by Rel-15 and WRC-19. 5G connectivity using mmWave substantially improves 5G performance (increasing theoretical speeds to up to 5 Gbps). At the same time, it comes with a challenge because of its limited range, which can be easily blocked or obscured, necessitating a high degree of network densification, which comes with additional Capex. 
  • After initial enthusiasm, operators’ appetite for the mmWave band spectrum has been lackluster, with only two auctions taking place in 2022. However, we see a renewed interest, which could lead to more spectrum allocations and network launches. 
  • Due to the limited rollout of mmWave 5G networks, the device ecosystem has lagged behind other 5G spectrum bands. While support for mmWave spectrum bands across smartphones is skewed heavily towards the  U.S., an increase in spectrum launches and networks combined with a declining ASP should lead to a growing adoption worldwide. 
  • Ookla® Q4 2022 data from the U.S. shows mmWave is achieving mind blowing speeds — almost 1.6 Gbps median 5G download speed — 26 times faster than the median 5G speed on low-band, almost seven times faster than the C-band, and four times than mid-band. 
  • RootMetrics® tested mmWave performance simulating congested network environments and concluded that even in such conditions, mmWave spectrum could achieve four times faster throughput than mid- and low-band spectrum.

mmWave spectrum allocation and commercialization 

Oftentimes, consumers complain about 5G speeds, sold on the promise of ultra-fast mobile networks. Such speeds can only be delivered utilizing the mmWave spectrum band. Up until and including 4G LTE, operators have been deploying networks in the sub-6 GHz spectrum. It was only with Release 15 that the telecom standards body 3GPP extended the spectrum ranges available for mobile networks. Frequency bands for 5G New Radio (NR) are separated into two frequency ranges: 

  • Frequency Range 1 (FR1) refers to sub-6 GHz frequency bands, traditionally used by previous network generations, which have been further extended to cover potential new spectrum offerings from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz.
  • Frequency Range 2 (FR2) refers to frequencies above 24 GHz.

Chart of mmWave 5G frequency bands

Furthermore, in November 2019, delegates of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) identified additional radio frequency bands for IMT-2020 (the name ITU uses for 5G standards). These frequency bands are 24.25-27.5 GHz, 37-43.5 GHz, 45.5-47 GHz, 47.2-48.2, and 66-71 GHz. 3GPP’s recently completed Release 17 has further expanded the mmWave spectrum frequency range from 24.25-52.6 GHz up to 71 GHz, including support for the global 60 GHz unlicensed band.

So far, mmWave spectrum allocation has been lackluster across Europe, following initial enthusiasm in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. According to Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), 26 countries have licensed mmWave worldwide. In 2022, only two auctions took place in India and Spain in the 26 GHz frequency band. The Indian auction itself was a subject of intense debate and lobbying against its allocation in the 28 GHz band by the satellite providers. The regulator auctioned the 26 GHz band to minimize overlaps and interference issues.

Map of mmWave spectrum auctions worldwide

However, the momentum for mmWave spectrum allocations is growing, especially in Europe. While 14 countries in Europe have licensed mmWave so far, more are planning to do so e.g., Hungary, Austria, and the United Kingdom, which should lead to more deployments and create economies of scale that the mmWave device ecosystem currently lacks. 

Beyond consumers, mmWave can address the needs of enterprise applications that require higher bandwidth and lower latency, such as factory robots or AGVs. For example, Italian manufacturer Exor International partnered with Intel, TIM, and JMA Wireless to build an end-to-end smart factory in Verona to showcase the benefits that Industry 4.0 brings to manufacturing utilizing sub-6 GHz and 26 GHz spectrum. It is worth noting that several regulators have created an encouraging environment for enterprises to deploy their own dedicated networks by allocating spectrum for vertical use across mid- and high-frequency bands. So far, ten countries have set aside mmWave spectrum for enterprises, including Australia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Japan, Hong Kong, Finland, Sweden, South Korea, and the U.K. Japanese Fujitsu deployed a private 5G network combining 4.7 GHz SA and 28 GHz. 

The growing pains of the mmWave device ecosystem 

The South Korean example offers a cautionary tale regarding 5G mmWave readiness.

In 2018, three operators — SK, KT, and LG U+ — spent 620 billion Won ($435 million) on a five-year license for the 28 GHz spectrum. As part of the license conditions, operators had to deploy 15,000 base stations by the end of 2021. Following an audit by the Ministry of Science and IT (MSIT), KT and LGU+ had their licenses revoked, and SK Telecom was reduced by six months. One key challenge operators pointed to was the need for a mature mmWave devices ecosystem in the market.

Looking at the latest GSA data, this is indeed the case. Across the commercially available 5G devices that GSA has identified spectrum support information, most devices (85.7%) support the sub-6GHz band and only 8.9% mmWave spectrum.

Chart of number of announced 5G devices by spectrum band

However, mmWave device availability differs depending on the geography with smartphone availability heavily skewed to the U.S. For instance, all ‌iPhone 12‌-14 models in the U.S. support both mmWave and sub–6 GHz 5G connectivity; this was not the case in South Korea. Across Android-based smartphones, the story is similar. The Pixel 6 Pro includes mmWave 5G support only in the U.S., Australia, and Japan. There is also a price difference across devices that offer support for mmWave. For example, Google Pixel 6 is available in two versions in the U.S. — an unlocked version with sub-6 GHz 5G for $599 and another with mmWave 5G for $699. The latter is offered via operators such as Verizon and AT&T. The price difference is likely due to the mmWave requirement for specialized radio hardware and antennas. Yet, on average, the price delta between sub-6 GHz and mmWave smartphones is narrowing down to $10- $20, Counterpoint Research shows. 

Furthermore, Counterpoint sees consumer awareness and adoption growing in the U.S. According to its U.S. smartphone users survey, 60% of users checked before purchasing whether a 5G Smartphone has 5G mmWave capability, while 43% of users in the future plan to subscribe to 5G mmWave services and smartphones. Beyond the U.S., Counterpoint sees one billion cumulative 5G mmWave smartphone shipments between 2019 and 2026, with mmWave smartphone penetration reaching 26% by 2026, compared to 13% in 2022.

mmWave supports FWA 

Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is often considered one of the most successful 5G use cases as we recently pointed out. Some operators leverage mmWave to offer FWA services, for example, in April 2022, US Cellular launched 5G Home Internet using mmWave spectrum (28 GHz and 39 GHz) in partnership with Qualcomm and Inseego across ten cities. In Italy, Fastweb collaborated with Qualcomm to commercialize 5G SA mmWave services in March 2022, following a partnership to deliver 5G FWA to 400 cities. Vendors are vying to address this opportunity too. Recently, Mavenir launched an FWA solution that supports massive MIMO and 5G mmWave for 4G, 5G NSA, and 5G SA deployments. This FWA platform has been deployed by several customers, such as 360 Communications, RINA Wireless, Triangle Communications in the U.S., and Quickline in the U.K. 

mmWave delivers on the promise of gigabit speeds 

The U.S. is a global leader in using mmWave spectrum, with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon using mmWave to offer mobile service, while US Cellular deploys it for FWA. Speedtest Intelligence® data shows that 5G connectivity using mmWave can reach staggering speeds of up to 1.6 Gbps. Comparing 5G performance across spectrum bands across mobile operators in the U.S. used for 5G services — low-, mid-, C-band, and high-band (mmWave) — it is clear that mmWave delivers superior performance. Our data shows that users on 5G mmWave achieved speeds that are 4.29 times faster than mid-band, 6.86 times faster than C-band, and a staggering 26.1 times faster than a low band.

Chart of median 5G download speed by spectrum band in the US

Due to its high throughput, mmWave is particularly useful for streaming and gaming. For example, at CES 2023, Razer unveiled its new Razer Edge, the first Android handheld gaming tablet on the market. The device can play games locally on the device or stream them remotely via 5G. The Razer Edge 5G became available from Verizon on January 26. 

Mmwave also offers the advantage of lower latency — anything over 20 ms will give gamers a headache, according to Qualcomm. 

mmWave helps with network congestion too 

Speaking at the Citi 2023 Communications, Media & Entertainment conference, Kyle Malady — Verizon’s Executive VP, President of Global Networks & Technology, noted that the operator has deployed over 40,000 mmWave nodes, which support its 5G services in dense, urban environments. He also stated, “And now that millimeter wave technology turns into a tool for RF engineers to use in hotspots that they have and C-Band.” 

A RootMetrics study supports this, based on several tests conducted in December 2021 to simulate the performance of the 5G spectrum in a congested environment. While, unsurprisingly, the results showed speeds in congested environments were slower on all bands than when congestion wasn’t present, there was a difference when it came to bands in use: mmWave 5G delivered a median download speed of 231.40 Mbps, which was over four times faster than the speeds recorded on either mid-band or low-band 5G, both of which were below 50 Mbps (44.80 Mbps on mid-band and 49.50 Mbps on low-band). To put mmWave’s capacity boost in a different perspective, its speed of 231.40 Mbps with congestion was nearly as fast as the 256.80 Mbps recorded on mid-band 5G without congestion. RootMetrics’ study showed that mmWave provides speeds 4-5 times faster than those of mid- and low-band in congested circumstances, delivering on its promise of providing greater capacity and faster speeds under heavy network load. 

Chart of comparison of throughput by band

Millimeter wave also lends additional capacity in dense areas such as stadiums. Poor performance during events such as concerts stems from the networks needing to deal with extra demand and becoming congested. Constraints on the spectrum allocated to 5G today can impact performance more in places like stadiums than in other areas because many users are concentrated in a small space and share the same limited spectrum. To illustrate how mmWave enables better network performance, we can look to Ookla Wind® walk testing data, which can show the benefits of mmWave in terms of 5G bandwidth. Since each carrier is 100 MHz wide, a test showed that a stadium used four carriers aggregated 80% of the time, which resulted in 400 MHz of 5G bandwidth. In turn, this helped to achieve higher 5G capacity and lower latency. 

Illustration of 80% samples, four Carrier Aggregation is being used on mmWave

Another benefit of mmWave that the Wind test showed is that with the mmWave 5G NSA network, most of the user data traffic is carried by mmWave spectrum only (contrary to other 5G bands in NSA). This reduces the load on the LTE network. This, in turn, allows legacy users with non-5G capable devices to use an LTE network that is less congested because it doesn’t have to support 5G devices as well. 

We will examine the relationship between spectrum and 5G performance in future articles. Subscribe to Ookla Research™ to stay up to date on our analyses. 

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
Spectrum

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

Ookla Research™ Articles
| February 16, 2023

Spectrum: An Essential Ingredient to Ensure Good 5G Performance

Global Speeds

We have recently written about 5G performance at length, ranked the countries, looked at operators’ 5G strategies, and even commented on consumers’ perception of 5G performance. Most recently, we commented on the state of the worldwide 5G in 2022 and the fastest 5G mobile devices. This article will examine the relationship between spectrum and 5G performance.

Key takeaways:

  • Based on Speedtest Intelligence® data, we can see a significant variance between countries in median 5G speed, with four broad clusters of 5G performance emerging: 5G Leaders, High Performers, Improvers, and 5G Outliers. 
  • 5G performance depends heavily on the operator’s 5G spectrum holding.
  • The larger the allocation of the C-band spectrum, the faster the 5G download speed, with the contiguous spectrum enhancing performance further. 
  • Operators with access to 100 MHz of contiguous spectrum, e.g., in the U.A.E. and South Korea, led the 5G global ranking in Q4 2022 with a median download speed of 516.15 Mbps and 511.70 Mbps, respectively.
  • Access to low-band spectrum is just one factor that impacts 5G Availability. 

Four tiers of 5G performance 

Looking at market-level Speedtest Intelligence data, we can see significant variance in median 5G download speeds between the 52 countries we analyzed. We identified four broad clusters of 5G performance as measured by median 5G download speed.

chart of 5g performance clusers basd on median 5g download speed across a sample of countries5G Leaders: > 300 Mbps

These markets are the 5G pioneers, being among the first to launch 5G services, and are continually pushing the boundaries of 5G performance with median download speeds typically greater than 300 Mbps. High-performant 5G markets have allocated substantial amounts of spectrum for 5G use, particularly with wide allocations in the coveted C-band, and have assigned and, in some cases, begun limited use of mmWave spectrum. In some cases, we see a trade-off between 5G performance and 5G Availability (the proportion of time users with 5G capable devices spend connected to 5G networks).

5G High Performers: 200 – 300 Mbps

These markets share many of the characteristics of 5G leaders, having made an adequate spectrum allocation for 5G use and fostered competition between operators, which has helped spur network investment. However, they lag behind 5G Leaders based on their level of network densification. They typically use Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), which allows operators to share spectrum between network generations, but it can weigh on performance. Median 5G download performance in these markets typically ranges from 200 Mbps to 300 Mbps. We don’t generally see as much of a trade-off between performance and 5G Availability in these markets. 

5G Improvers: < 200 Mbps

These markets typically have limited C-band availability or a regulatory environment promoting strong price competition, with operator investment constrained. As a result,  median 5G download speeds are between 100- 200 Mbps in these markets. In some cases — for example, in the U.S. and U.K., we see 5G spectrum allocations (based on spectrum currently in use) giving a significant advantage to one player in the market, which has then sought to capitalize on this through aggressive 5G network deployment. Furthermore, with the exception of the U.S., which had a 5G Availability of 56.0% in Q4 2022, 5G Improvers all have 5G Availability in the low double digits, ranging from 13.5% in Japan to 19.2% in Germany. 

5G Outliers

Only in a few markets did 5G performance drop below 100 Mbps. Polish performance can be explained by the lack of a dedicated 5G spectrum; Polkomtel trading under the Plus brand, utilizing 50 MHz of spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band, and all other operators deploying 5G using DSS in the 2.1 GHz spectrum band. Spain, on the other hand, has assigned spectrum across all three bands, with C-band blocks ranging from 80MHz (MasMovil) to 110 MHz (Orange), and most recently, awarded mmWave too. However, operators focus on meeting coverage obligations that rely heavily on the 700 MHz band. For example, Movistar’s 5G network reached a total of 1,719 municipalities at the end of 2022, equivalent to 83% of the population. 

Fast 5G and good 5G Availability don’t always go hand in hand  

chart of medan 5g and availability in select markets

Using Speedtest Intelligence data, we examined a relationship between the country’s 5G median download speed and 5G Availability. And for the most part, there isn’t one. Fast networks don’t immediately come with high 5G Availability. For example, the U.A.E. and South Korea have topped our ranking in terms of the fastest median download speed over 5G at 549.70 Mbps and 496.63 Mbps, respectively, during Q4 2022. Yet, when it comes to 5G Availability, the U.S. came first in the ranking at 56.0% in Q4 2022, South Korea’s 5G Availability stood at 35.1%, while the U.A.E recorded a 5G Availability of 7.7% in Q4 2022. 

All eyes on spectrum

The key to understanding 5G is understanding operators’ 5G spectrum holding. There are two key considerations to keep in mind when discussing the spectrum for 5G: speed performance and geographical coverage. Regulators assign 5G spectrum across three spectrum ranges: low, mid (lower mid-band and upper/C-band), and high (mmWave).

Low-band (sub-1GHz) spectrum can travel farther, cover a greater geographical region, and provide deeper penetration within buildings, given its good propagation characteristics. But, the low band spectrum cannot deliver “true” 5G speeds, peaking at 100 Mbps median download speed. Another challenge is that these frequency bands are in high demand and in low supply, and in some countries, still used for analog television. 

Mid-band spectrum (1-6 GHz spectrum) is the so-called “sweet spot” for 5G, especially the upper mid-band (C-band), which offers the best of both worlds in terms of coverage and capacity.

Existing networks such as 2G, 3G, and 4G already use the lower mid-band. This spectrum band has been the 4G data traffic capacity layer, often used in Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode. FDD is a technique that uses separate frequency bands at the transmitter and receiver sides. For example, the U.S. and China used the 2.6 GHz spectrum band in Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode to drive their 5G deployment. Most counties will use TDD for 5G network rollout. This means that the 5G base station and end-user device use the same channel to transmit simultaneously, potentially creating interference issues while allowing more flexibility. Furthermore, this spectrum band will grow in importance as legacy networks are retired and spectrum refarmed.

The upper mid-band, especially 3.3 GHz to 3.8 GHz (otherwise known as C-band), offers a good combination of propagation and capacity. 3GPP standards currently support a 100 MHz wide channel and a maximum bandwidth of 400 MHz in carrier aggregation mode.

The high band, also called the millimeter wave (mmWave), spectrum can deliver super-fast speeds (thinking gigabits) but has limited range. Recently we published an article looking at the mmWave performance and recent developments.

Using Speedtest Intelligence background data, we can gain insights into which spectrum bands operators use for 5G. 

chart of spectrum band distribution

  • High band (mmWave) accounted for less than 1% of the scans in four countries: Japan, U.S., Qatar, and Australia.
  • Most countries used the mid-band spectrum.
    • C-band spectrum is used by all countries that have allocated it (21 out of 23 countries), with a notable exception of the Netherlands and Poland, which will finally auction the 3.5 GHz spectrum, set to take place in the summer of 2023. 
    • All countries we have analyzed, bar South Korea, use lower mid-band partially due to operators switching off their legacy networks (2G/3G) and refarming their existing spectrum holdings to support 5G networks rollout.
  • Low band was used by 78% of analyzed countries (18 out of 23) across our sample. 

Addressing spectral challenges via DSS and CA comes at a cost

The ITU minimum technical requirements to meet 5G performance requirements identify at least 100 MHz channel per operator and up to 1 GHz per operator in mmWave bands. This, however, is only sometimes the case. We can see imbalances in terms of operators’ performance within a country, which can be partially explained by having larger spectral resources. For example, Three UK benefited from having the largest, dedicated 5G spectrum — 140 MHz of frequency across several 5G spectrum bands, including a 100 MHz block of continuous spectrum in the 3.3-3.8 GHz band, which positions it well in terms of median download speeds compared to other U.K. operators.

In the absence of a dedicated 5G spectrum or to supplement the existing spectrum, operators can use two technologies to aid their 5G deployment: Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) and Carrier Aggregation (CA). DSS enables operators to allocate spectrum flexibly across low-, mid-, and high-bands and switch between LTE and 5G New Radio depending on network demand. However, there is a downside to that in terms of 5G performance. For example, in Poland, apart from Plus, all other operators deployed 5G using DSS in the 2.1 GHz spectrum band, which can partially explain why they have lower speeds.

Conversely, CA enables operators to use two or more bands together, integrating them as one big block to deploy 5G. This allows for the aggregation of non-contiguous spectrum blocks, but it impacts performance by introducing latency and signaling overhead. 

Access to low-band spectrum has a positive impact on 5G Availability, but it is not the only factor at play

chart of 5g availability and the use of low-band spectrum

Ookla® data indicates that 5G coverage, which is often enabled by having access to a dedicated low-band spectrum (600 – 900 MHz), is just one part of the puzzle when it comes to 5G Availability. Low-band (700 MHz) spectrum, initially used for LTE, is now allocated to 5G because it allows extended coverage. According to the GSA, the 700 MHz spectrum band is particularly precious. GSA’s data shows that spectrum at 700 MHz has generated an average of $0.309/MHz/pop in assignments and auctions since 2015, significantly above the average price for C-band. For example, India’s highly anticipated 5G spectrum auction garnered $0.380MH/pop for 700 MHz compared to $0.031/MHz/pop for C-band. 

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and the U.A.E. don’t have any 5G devices using low-band spectrum simply because there has been no spectrum assigned in this band to 5G services. During the initial 5G auction in 2016, South Korea’s 700 MHz spectrum remained unsold. 

Other essential aspects driving 5G Availability are the affordability and availability of 5G-capable smartphones, 5G tariffs, and end-user demand. Case in point, despite the lack of low-band spectrum, South Korea reached a 5G Availability of 35.1% in Q4 2022, driven by customer adoption and 5G network densification. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, in November 2022, there were 27.5 million 5G subscriptions in South Korea, equivalent to 36% of all mobile subscriptions. According to its Communication Agency, there are 215,000 5G base stations, which translates into 319 people per 5G base station, nearly seven times more than the EU and 13 times more than the U.S.

A country’s geography impacts 5G coverage too. For example, in addition to having access to low band spectrum, the Netherlands benefits from being flatter and more densely populated, resulting in a greater ability to expand 5G coverage. 

Another factor at play is the spectrum license conditions that stipulate coverage requirements, for instance, as part of the 700MHz licenses in the Netherlands, there is a minimum speed of 8 Mbps in 98% of the cases in each municipality of the country in 2022.

While the relationship between low-band spectrum and 5G Availability is not a direct one, we wanted to investigate whether there is a link between the median 5G download speed and the C-band spectrum. 

Larger the share of the C-Band spectrum, the faster the 5G download speed

chart of 5g download speed and the use of c-band spectrum

Our analysis found that access to C-band spectrum typically translates into a faster median 5G download speed. Unsurprisingly, operators are keen to deploy 5G services using C-band spectrum. According to GSA, since the end of 2015, 54 countries have auctioned, assigned, or renewed licenses for C-band spectrum. 

All eyes on 5G Leaders

Countries where operators solely rely on the mid-band spectrum for 5G, and where 5G services have been available for more than 13 quarters have achieved over 300 Mbps median download speed in Q4 2022. Bulgaria is an exception, having launched services just over two years ago. We can also conclude that operators’ overall spectrum holding and whether they have access to a contiguous spectrum matters, too. Contiguous spectrum helps achieve faster speeds, lower latency, and improved spectral efficiency. 

U.A.E.: Emirati operators – Etisalat and Du –  use two carrier spectrum in the 3.5 GHz and 2.5 GHz frequency range, each carrier at 100 MHz, to establish a 5G network. This results in speeds exceeding 500 Mbps. The U.A.E. had a median 5G download speed of 511.70 Mbps in Q4 2022. 

South Korea: KT and SKT bought a 100 MHz channel each in 2018. In July 2022, LG+ secured an additional 20 MHz C-band spectrum, bringing its total spectrum holding to 100 MHz. Alongside the 5G spectrum auction, the government outlined the rollout milestones for the operators’ 3.5 GHz rollout: 22,500 base stations by the end of 2021, 45,000 by the end of 2023, and 150,000 at completion. Thanks to that, South Korea has the most base stations per population. South Korea is one of the early adopters of 5G, having commercialized 5G in 2019 and over a third of all mobile subscriptions on 5G. One of the reasons behind South Korea’s fast-paced 5G adoption is the support from the government, which adopted the 2021 action plan for the “Digital New Deal” to support 5G development and a wider digital transformation. 

Qatar: Qatar, clocking a median 5G download speed of 462.15 Mbps and 5G Availability of 50.7% in Q4 2022, delivers the best of the worlds — good speeds and 5G Availability. In November 2022, Qatar’s Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) amended the mobile licenses held by Vodafone Qatar and Ooredoo Qatar in early 2019, authorizing each operator to utilize 100 MHz of C-band spectrum and committing them to roll out commercial 5G networks before the end of 2020 in all densely populated areas. Operators’ heavy investment into their network to achieve near-universal service coverage and incentives to migrate users to 5G networks has paid off. We have closely monitored 5G performance during the recent World Cup. Not only did Qatari 5G networks manage to withstand the additional network load that World Cap brought, but it has also improved in performance, with the median 5G download performance hitting 472.13 Mbps in November 2022. 

Saudi Arabia: Operators in the KSA have access to more than 1000 MHz of licensed spectrum for IMT use in the low- and mid-band ranges. Saudi regulator – CST (Communication, Space and Technology Commission) – championed data-driven, evidence-based policy decisions to enable a 5G rollout by conducting analysis of spectrum usage, the performance of various bands, and existing network infrastructure to see where investments had been made within certain bands (e.g., extra capacity in specific bands in urban areas and coverage of rural areas using adequate bands). If you would like to find out more, read this case study. 

Bulgaria: In April 2021, Vivacom Bulgaria won 100 MHz in the 3.7-3.8 GHz band for BGN4.6 million (€2.35 million). Vivacom utilizes DSS, combining frequencies in 1.8, 2.1, and 3.6 GHz bands for 5G. A1 Bulgaria, on the other hand, uses a dedicated 100 MHz band.

We will continue to monitor 5G performance across the world and investigate the factors that impact 5G performance. If you want to learn more about 5G performance, head to Ookla ResearchTM and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with our latest analyses. 

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
Spectrum

About the Author

Sylwia Kechiche

Ookla Research™ Articles
| June 1, 2022

Capitalizing on C-band — United States Q1 2022 Results Show Room for Improvement

Spectrum

Key messages

  • T-Mobile maintains a sizable lead on 5G performance. Median 5G performance for Verizon reached 107.25 Mbps in Q1 2022, fuelled by its C-band deployment, but T-Mobile maintains the upper hand in the performance stakes, recording 191.12 Mbps.
  • Verizon looking to capitalize on C-band advantage. While still early days for C-band in the US, Verizon will hope that its improved 5G performance will feed through into growth in postpaid net phone additions, following a decline in Q1 2022.
  • AT&T continues to surpass expectations. AT&T’s postpaid net phone additions have exceeded expectations, driven by stronger 4G/LTE performance relative to Verizon, coupled with wider 5G coverage and aggressive postpaid pricing.
  • Rising costs could well shift the competitive dynamic in Verizon’s favor. While the release of further C-band spectrum will shift this dynamic, that won’t happen until the end of 2023. In the meantime rising inflation will play a larger role, forcing operators to either consider raising prices or absorb additional costs. AT&T has already signaled that it favors the former. Verizon could well be a beneficiary.

AT&T & T-Mobile outperform Verizon

Postpaid net phone additions, a key barometer of the health of the wireless industry in the United States, has shown strong growth since Q3 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19. The latest Q1 2022 reporting from the big three US operators, showed a return to negative growth for Verizon (a decline it has now replicated annually over the last three years), but also showed continued strong gains for both T-Mobile and AT&T. 

While we’d expect T-Mobile to perform strongly given its leading position in the market based on 5G performance, AT&T and Verizon’s relative performance is surprising. On the one hand, AT&T has outperformed even T-Mobile since Q2 2021, despite lagging both T-Mobile and Verizon on 5G performance according to Speedtest Intelligence®. More concerning is Verizon’s decline in postpaid net phone additions, despite it deploying C-band spectrum in Q1 2022 and seeing an uplift in speeds as a result. Since its deployment in the C-band, Verizon’s 5G speeds have set it apart from AT&T, but it continues to lag behind market leader T-Mobile.

The factors driving AT&T’s strong postpaid customer acquisition

Network performance isn’t the only factor driving postpaid net phone additions. A March 2021 YouGov survey listed cost as the main driver of churn for U.S. consumers, followed by network quality and services. AT&T’s strong performance, particularly relative to Verizon, reflects a number of factors:

  • Strong 4G/LTE performance. During Q1 2022, AT&T recorded a median speed of 34.57 Mbps over 4G/LTE, versus 26.33 Mbps for Verizon. 
  • Greater 5G Availability. 50.6% of AT&T customers with a 5G capable device spent a majority of their time on 5G networks during Q1 2022, versus only 28.9% of Verizon customers. And when they’re not on its faster 5G network, Verizon customers fall back on its slower 4G/LTE network. 
  • Aggressive pricing. In a bid to drive customer acquisition, AT&T has been aggressive on pricing, looking to attract new and existing customers to 5G phones and its unlimited plans. This has had a knock-on impact on its financial results, with postpaid ARPU down marginally over the last two years, from $50.63 in Q1 2020, to $48.88 in Q1 2022. In addition, the EBITDA margin for its mobility division fell from 45.6% to 39.4% over the same 2-year period.
  • C-band delay and controversy. With Verizon targeting a big competitive push alongside its deployment in the C-band, the concerns raised by the FAA relating to interference at U.S. airports and the subsequent delay in launch, will have had a knock-on impact on its ability to attract new customers in Q1.

Economic pressure could play into Verizon’s hands

As economic headwinds build in the US, with inflation surging to a 40-year high, we expect the dynamics of the U.S. wireless market to shift. AT&T CEO John Stankey pointed to rising wages adding approximately $1 billion to the company’s costs in 2022 during its Q1 2022 earnings call. Set against a backdrop of an already declining wireless EBITDA margin, rather than absorb the cost, Stankey raised the prospect of increasing prices. Shortly afterwards, AT&T announced that it would raise prices for older mobile service plans (the first such rise in three years) and at the same time attempt to transition these users onto newer plans. Verizon has since followed suit, raising the administrative fee it charges on postpaid voice accounts.

At the same time, competition is increasing. Having just launched 5G service in Las Vegas, Dish, which has been beset by problems with its network rollout, is set to ramp up 5G coverage. More targeted competition currently comes from some of the US regional carriers, for example US Cellular, which has built up its mid-band spectrum holdings (including C-band), and is currently targeting a balance between customer acquisition and ARPU growth. These changes could well begin to shift the dynamic in terms of postpaid net phone additions between AT&T and Verizon and other regional carriers, if they can continue to broaden the coverage of their 5G networks and build on their C-band fuelled speed advantage.

If you want to learn more about how Speedtest Intelligence can help you benchmark your 5G performance against competitors, please inquire here.

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

Spectrum

About the Author

Mark Giles

Ookla Research™ Articles
| September 20, 2021

How CST Makes Evidence-Based, Data-Driven Spectrum Policy Decisions Supported by Ookla Analysis [Case Study]

Spectrum

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Vision 2030 program has laid out national goals to create a thriving digital economy in the coming decade. High-speed, widely accessible mobile networks are central to that digital transformation. KSA’s telecommunications regulator, the Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST), enables the nation’s communications infrastructure while assuring that services meet specific standards of accessibility, performance, fairness, and value. CST has developed a three-year spectrum roadmap to establish the country as a world leader in radio communication — while supporting soaring consumer data consumption and future wireless technologies that will fuel economic growth.

While developing its ambitious spectrum outlook, CST conducted extensive trials and technical analysis, leveraging data from Ookla® and other sources. As a result of this spectrum outlook, its collaborative regulation with other national stakeholders and other key policies and initiatives, CST was recently designated as a fifth-generation (G5) regulator by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) — the highest level of regulatory maturity.

Situation

CST has a strategic vision to embrace digitalization as a central anchor for the country, connecting its constituents to economic opportunities and reshaping the national approach to connectivity. In previous years, Saudi Arabia’s spectrum was split evenly between three operators. However, to enable technologies like 5G, satellite broadband, and Wi-Fi 6e, a progressive spectrum policy was needed to meet the growing demand for wireless proliferation.

In advance of its upcoming spectrum auction, CST needed data to inform the development of its spectrum strategy, including intelligence on similar spectrum policies in other global markets. CST committed to a new, evidence-based approach to spectrum assignment drawing from technology trials and consultations with network operators, device and chipset manufacturers, infrastructure providers, end users, and network data providers, including Ookla. Most notably, CST needed data to expand its analysis of spectrum usage, performance of various bands and existing network infrastructure to see where investments had been made within certain bands (e.g., extra capacity in specific bands in urban areas and coverage of rural areas using adequate bands).

Read the full case study

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.

Spectrum

About the Author

Ookla

Ookla Research™ Articles
| August 11, 2021

Recent Spectrum Gains Point to Improved 5G Outlook for Indian Consumers

Spectrum


Key takeaways

  • Network congestion has dragged down performance. Existing spectrum holdings, network infrastructure and network congestion have served to depress Indian consumer download speeds, which have stagnated at or below 10 Mbps over the past two years.
  • Recently acquired spectrum provides some relief. Ookla® Speedtest Intelligence® data demonstrates the positive impact of additional spectrum on Jio’s 4G LTE network performance and on consumer sentiment.
  • 5G to bring a potential 10x bump in network speeds. Recent 5G launches in Asia Pacific point to a potential 10x increase in median download speeds (5G vs 4G-LTE).
  • Pivotal year ahead for the Indian telecoms market. Over the next 12 months, TRAI and the new Telecoms Minister will have to help build confidence in the market in the face of Vi India’s liquidity issues, as well as tackle the complexities of India’s upcoming spectrum auction and 5G launch.
  • Silver lining — the benefits to India’s 5G auction delay. Launching later in the 5G tech cycle than planned will convey some benefits, for example the lower cost of 5G network equipment as the technology and vendor ecosystem matures, lower 5G smartphone prices and a larger pre-installed base of 5G-enabled smartphone users.

Network congestion constrains India’s 4G speeds

India has witnessed a rapid migration to mobile broadband services over the past five years, growing from 22.4%, of the more than 1 billion mobile connections in the country, on either 3G or 4G networks at the end of 2016, to over 70% by Q2 2021 according to GSMA Intelligence. Rapidly falling data prices, spurred by the arrival of Jio in the market, have contributed to strong increases in mobile data consumption. This trend has only accelerated as more video streaming services have targeted the market and as a result of recent COVID-19-related lockdowns. In its June 2021 Mobility Report, Ericsson called the market out as one of the regions with the highest mobile data use per smartphone globally, at 14.6 GB per month, well above the global average of 9 GB and second only to the GCC states. While 4G still has a way to go to support this growth, it’s clear that this combination of connections and data growth has put a strain on India’s 4G networks. Speeds have stagnated as a result, with median download speeds struggling to breach 10 Mbps during 2019 and 2020 according to Speedtest Intelligence data.

COVID and the implementation of lockdowns in the market have only served to complicate matters, leading to a delay in India’s much anticipated 5G auction and also to changes in consumer and enterprise demand. During the first wave of the pandemic, operators had to respond to a massive shift in traffic – from urban commercial centres to outskirts and residential areas in cities, and from urban to rural areas – and also growth in traffic due to lockdowns. They also had to contend with disrupted supply chains and an inability at times to physically deploy network components.

ookla_mobile_network_performance_india_8721

New spectrum boosts Jio’s performance and customer sentiment

Operators were better prepared during the second wave of COVID (Q1-Q2 2021) – being able to manage more of their network estates remotely but also having increased their spectrum holdings across a variety of bands. Median download speeds increased from 8.52 Mbps in calendar Q1 2021, to 10.44 Mbps in Q2 2021, while 4G Service (the percentage of operator known locations where a device has access to 4G LTE service) hit 96.0% in Q2 2021, up from 93.5% in Q4 2020.

Spectrum is the lifeblood of the industry. It’s an oft-used phrase, but our Indian data demonstrates its importance in helping Indian operators build more positive customer experiences. The starkest improvement in network performance over the past year has come from Jio. In March 2021 the operator acquired spectrum in the 800, 1800 and 2300 MHz bands, across 22 circles — a good mix of coverage and capacity spectrum to support its 4G LTE service. Importantly for Jio, this increased its overall spectrum footprint by 55% and included a number of contiguous blocks of spectrum.

Our data maps the increase in Jio’s performance since March, showing median download speeds increased from 5.96 Mbps in March 2021 to 13.08 Mbps in June. Its upload speeds and Consistency Score™ (% of samples which exceed 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload) also saw considerable improvements. Most tellingly, at the same time its NPS score (the relative weight of a brand’s promoters and detractors) rose from -46.37 in March, to -25.93 in June.

ookla_mobile_network_performance_jio_india_8721-1

What India can expect from 5G

While the additional spectrum Jio acquired in March helped ease congestion on its 4G-LTE network, new spectrum, particularly for 5G use, is critical to the continued growth of the sector and to further improve the consumer experience across all operators. India clearly lags behind markets that have already begun 5G deployment, such as the U.K. and U.S. However, that doesn’t mean Indian operators are just playing a waiting game — it’s clear there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes to help drive 5G commercialization once the spectrum becomes available. All three major network operators are busy conducting 5G trials and have achieved very impressive 5G speeds. On top of that, Airtel has already started to roll out 5G-ready network equipment and Jio is testing its own 5G open RAN solutions in several cities.

One of the key benefits of 5G is that it can operate over a wider range of spectrum frequencies than LTE. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) plans to allocate a wide band of 275 MHz of spectrum in the 3.3-3.6 GHz range (C-Band), which will offer much greater capacity than existing spectrum used for LTE services. Speedtest® data from other markets in Asia that have recently launched 5G (Thailand and the Philippines both launched 5G in Q1 2020) shows that the differential between 4G-LTE and 5G speeds was on average approximately 9-10x in Q2 2021.

Median 5G Performance Uplift in Countries with Recent 5G Launches
Q2 2021 | Speedtest® Intelligence
Country Launch Date 4G Download Speed (Mbps) 5G Download Speed (Mbps)
* All operators in Brazil had launched 5G by Q1 2021
Philippines Q2 2020 15.12 151.08
Thailand Q1 2020 25.99 231.45
South Africa Q2 2020 27.59 166.31
Brazil* Q3 2020 24.27 64.91

India’s 4G Consistency score has been improving. As of June 2021, 64.5% of 4G users in India could expect to achieve download speeds in excess of 5 Mbps, the speed required to stream HD video content, up from 52.9% in March. It’s impossible to say exactly how fast 5G will be for the average Indian user, given uncertainty over exact spectrum allocations and rollout plans (including the radio access network and improvements to backhaul and transport networks), but it’s safe to say 5G will bring a considerable bump to overall speeds in the country.

Market outlook: Turning a negative into a positive

It’s a big year ahead for TRAI and the new Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in overseeing a 5G auction to deliver an optimal outcome for the State while ensuring operators are able to invest adequately in 5G networks. However, it’s worth noting that there are two key benefits to the delay in India’s 5G launch, as the country witnessed from launching 4G-LTE relatively late in the tech cycle:

  • Network equipment costs will decrease. Over time the cost of 5G hardware will fall as the technology and vendor ecosystem matures, and Indian operators’ moves to embrace Open RAN will drive network costs yet lower.
  • 5G devices will be cheaper and more widely available. 5G smartphone prices have already fallen since the technology launched, and this trend will continue, spurred in India by partnerships such as Jio Platform’s with Google. Interestingly, we’re already seeing a growing number of Speedtest results running on 5G capable devices in India. This indicates there will be a pre-installed user base that operators can target from day one of launch.

5G should represent a step up in experience over current 4G LTE networks for Indian consumers, providing the bandwidth and latency to enjoy uninterrupted access to services such as high-definition video streaming, mobile gaming and video calling on the go. The advent of 5G should propel the market up the ranks on the Speedtest Global Index™, where it sat in 122nd place for median download speed as of June 2021. For Indian mobile operators and the regulator, the 5G era should be one of growing stability. With three large-scale operators, we’re unlikely to return to the price wars that occurred during the early 4G tech cycle, which is important in ensuring adequate re-investment in networks. Beyond that, I see a clear desire to be at the forefront of next generation network technologies. This is shown by the moves to embrace Open RAN and network virtualisation by all three mobile operators, the government’s Make in India initiative and the Indian Telecom Standard Body’s recent submission of its 6G vision to the ITU.

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.

Spectrum

About the Author

Mark Giles

Ookla Research™ Articles
| April 19, 2021

Saudi 5G Is Fast, and New Spectrum Allocations Should Make it Faster

Spectrum

pdf_download_button_ar-1

Saudi Arabia has a new plan to allocate or improve 23 GHz of spectrum to boost 5G speeds and coverage and potentially best other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), This region has been ahead of the 5G curve since early days with Qatar launching commercially available 5G in 2018 and Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates following soon after in 2019.

It’s good company to be in, but having such technologically advanced neighbors can obscure the progress Saudi Arabia has made and how well the country is doing compared with the world. This article looks at mobile speeds and 5G adoption in GCC countries and then closely examines Saudi mobile performance, including information on fastest providers, time spent on 5G and how the new spectrum could improve performance.

UAE has fastest mobile speeds in GCC, Saudi Arabia third

ookla_median-mobile-speeds_gcc_0421_en
There was a wide range of median mobile speeds across the GCC over the past year, despite 5G presence in nearly all of the countries. United Arab Emirates (UAE) consistently had the fastest median download speed over mobile, with 100.99 Mbps during Q1 2021. Qatar was second with 90.92 Mbps during Q1 2021 and Saudi Arabia was third (67.61 Mbps). Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain formed a tight group at the bottom of the rankings with median download speeds of 42.52 Mbps, 37.52 Mbps and 36.76 Mbps, respectively, during Q1 2021. Of these countries, only Oman did not have commercially-available 5G until 2021.

Kuwait showed the largest increase in median download speed among GCC countries when comparing Q1 2020 to Q1 2021 at 84.0%. UAE saw the second largest increase (61.6%), Saudi Arabia third (48.2%), Qatar fourth (53.2%), Bahrain fifth (43.8%) and Oman sixth (21.6%).

Median upload speeds over mobile were much slower than download speeds in all GCC countries during 2020, as is often the case. UAE had the fastest upload speed during Q1 2021 at 23.62 Mbps. Qatar was second (21.96 Mbps), Saudi Arabia third (17.06 Mbps), Kuwait fourth (16.22 Mbps), Oman fifth (12.75 Mbps) and Bahrain sixth (10.17 Mbps).

5G adoption is highest in Saudi Arabia

The ratio of samples from devices that are connected to 5G to the number of samples from all 5G-capable devices speaks to the maturity of the 5G market in each country. Saudi Arabia had the highest ratio among GCC countries during Q1 2021. Qatar was second and UAE third, Kuwait fourth and Bahrain fifth. Oman, which only launched commercially-available 5G during Q1 2021, was a distant sixth.
ookla_5g-device-ratio_gcc_0421_en

Qatar had the highest 5G Availability

ookla_gcc_5g_availability_map_0421_en

One way to understand the state of a 5G network is by looking at 5G Availability — the proportion of users spending the majority of their time on 5G. Mobile users with 5G-capable devices in Qatar had the highest 5G Availability among GCC countries with 38.1% during Q1 2021. Saudi Arabia was second (31.9%), Kuwait third (31.8%), UAE fourth (30.5%) and Bahrain fifth (17.3%). 5G Availability in Oman, where 5G was not commercially available until Q1 2021, was 3.0%.

5G in Saudi Arabia is much faster than global average

ookla_5g-download-speed_saudi-arabia_world_0421_en

We compared Saudi Arabia’s median download speed over 5G with an average of 5G download speeds around the world during Q1 2021 and found that Saudi Arabia’s 5G is 127% faster at 322.42 Mbps.

stc was the fastest operator in Saudi Arabia, Mobily had highest rating and NPS

Speedtest Consumer Sentiment™ data provides rich insights into customer satisfaction over time, as well as competitive benchmarking, by providing data on both customers’ overall satisfaction with their network providers (based on a five-star scale) and Net Promoter Score (NPS). This data set is gathered from single-question surveys presented to users at the end of a Speedtest. Operators and government regulators across the globe use this data to monitor improvements over time. A comparison of Q1 2021 ratings data from Saudi Arabia’s top providers to their speeds during the same period, we can explore the relationship between customer satisfaction and network performance.

ookla_median-mobile-speeds_saudi-arabia_0421_en

There was a wide spread among download speeds for Saudi Arabian mobile operators during Q1 2021 with stc showing the fastest median download and upload speeds at 76.81 Mbps and 19.71 Mbps, respectively. Mobily was second for download and upload speeds (62.36 Mbps and 13.29 Mbps, respectively) and Zain third (39.62 Mbps and 11.29 Mbps, respectively).

Mobily had the highest rating and the highest NPS among top providers in Saudi Arabia in Q1 2021. Substantively, there was not enough difference between the ratings of stc and Zain to determine a second and third ranking. stc was second for NPS and Zain third. It’s worth noting that the NPS was negative for all three operators, indicating that users were not likely on average to recommend the service to friends or family.

How Saudi Arabia will use additional spectrum to maximize performance

On March 30, Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) released the 3-year “Outlook for Commercial and Innovative Use of the Spectrum in Saudi Arabia.” The program includes a plan to make more than 23 GHz of spectrum available for innovative and commercial use: 4 GHz licensed, 6.2 GHz unlicensed and more than 13 GHz of lightly licensed spectrum. This balanced approach should maintain protection of key uses in their primary bands while supporting a range of technologies, including: mobile, satellite — including non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO), high altitude platform station (HAPS), air to ground and Wi-Fi/WiGig.

CITC will allocate the 600 MHz and 3800 – 4000 MHz bands for mobile use in 2021. The sub-1 GHz should help Saudi operators maximize the distance their 5G signals can travel as T-Mobile has done in the U.S.. This is important in a country with vast areas to span between major cities.

Meanwhile, the addition of the 3800 – 4000 MHz band to the already provided 3400-3800 MHz in the C-band should enable operators to add massive capacity to their networks and leverage the fully market-tested network infrastructure as well as a plethora of 5G capable devices. Specifically, with the recent mobile chipsets capable of FDD+TDD NR Carrier Aggregation, these provide a stepping stone and a smooth transition to standalone 5G, and allow operators to deploy an ideal mix of 5G coverage and capacity.

Saudi Arabia and the GCC as a whole are interesting markets to watch and we’ll continue using data from Speedtest Intelligence® to see if Saudi performance continues to improve and how the rankings shift as Oman ramps up their 5G program. For sneak peeks at how countries around the world are performing on a monthly basis, 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.

Spectrum

About the Author

Isla McKetta