Italy
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Italy
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
Vodafone users had the best Video Experience
Our users on Vodafone’s network had the best video streaming experience in Italy. In fact, Vodafone wins the Video Experience award outright with a score of 58.7 points on a 100 point scale, and a lead of 2.1 points on second-placed WindTre. TIM and Iliad follow behind in third and fourth place, with 54.6 and 51.7 points, respectively.
Vodafone wins both Games Experience and Voice App Experience
Besides having the best mobile video streaming experience, our users on Vodafone’s network also enjoyed the best multiplayer mobile gaming experience, as well as the best experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services. In both Games Experience and Voice App Experience we see a similar placing with Vodafone coming up as the sole winner, followed by TIM, WindTre and Iliad in second, third and fourth place, respectively.
WindTre comes top in Availability but shares 4G Coverage Experience with TIM and Vodafone
In the Coverage section, WindTre wins Availability with a narrow margin as it scored 98.7%, ahead of Iliad with 98.4%. However, we have three joint winners in 4G Coverage Experience as TIM, Vodafone and WindTre all scored 9.8 points on a 10 point scale, ahead of Iliad’s 9.2. While Availability represents the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection, 4G Coverage Experience analyzes the locations where customers of a network operator received a 4G signal relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators.
Vodafone wins Download Speed Experience but WindTre leads in Upload Speed Experience
Our users observed the fastest average download speeds of 34.5 Mbps on Vodafone’s network, followed by WindTre, Iliad and TIM with 30.2 Mbps, 28.4 Mbps and 25.4 Mbps, respectively. However, we observed a completely different operator placing when looking at our users’ average upload speeds. WindTre wins Upload Speed Experience with a score of 11.3 Mbps, ahead of Vodafone (10.5 Mbps), TIM (8.9 Mbps) and Iliad (6.9 Mbps).
Vodafone wins both Excellent and Core Consistent Quality awards outright
Vodafone wins the Excellent Consistent Quality award with a 6.6 percentage points margin over second-placed WindTre. In Core Consistent Quality, Vodafone beat TIM by 2.4 percentage points. Our measures of consistent quality quantify how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. Excellent Consistent Quality analyzes the percentage of users' tests that met the minimum recommended thresholds for watching HD video, completing group video conference calls and playing games. Core Consistent Quality uses thresholds for less demanding applications.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest Italy Mobile Network Experience report we analyze the overall experience of our users across all network technologies. Also, we add two new awards that quantify the consistency of the experience on the country’s four national operators.
Vodafone leads across most mobile experience categories in Italy based on Opensignal’s awards table as it wins six awards outright — four awards in the Overall Experience section, as well as both Consistent Quality awards. WindTre triumphs in the remaining category of the Overall Experience section — Upload Speed Experience — while also winning outright the Availability award. Finally, Vodafone and WindTre share the 4G Coverage Experience award with TIM.
Despite Iliad not featuring in the national awards table in this report, the operator continues to challenge the status quo of Italy’s telecommunications industry, following its mobile launch in May 2018.
Iliad made an offer to acquire 100% of Vodafone Italy in February 2022 which was subsequently rejected. According to Reuters, Iliad was then interested in acquiring the Italian consumer services operations of Telecom Italia (TIM), given that TIM’s board is considering a reorganization of the company, including a plan to split the company into wholesale (NetCo) and retail (ServCo) units.
Notably, at the end of January Iliad announced it entered the fixed market in Italy with a Full Fiber plan and a dedicated box called the ‘iliadbox’. These and other market developments could lead to operators changing their strategies in the future, and consequently users seeing their mobile experience transform in Italy.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the four main mobile network operators in Italy — Iliad, TIM, Vodafone and WindTre — over a period of 90 days starting on January 1, 2022 and ending on March 31, 2022, to see how they fared. We have used 5G measurements in addition to those from previous generations of mobile network technology when determining the overall scores for each award.
Also, we have published a companion report, which analyzes the experience of our 5G users when they were connected to 5G.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
Vodafone is the outright winner of the Video Experience award with a score of 58.7 points on a 100 point scale. WindTre places second with a score of 56.6 points, followed by TIM and Iliad at 54.6 and 51.7 points, respectively.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
Our users had their best experience when playing multiplayer mobile games over cellular connections on Vodafone’s network. The operator scored 70.3 points on a 100 point scale, with a 2.9 point lead over second-placed TIM’s score of 67.4 points. WindTre and Iliad follow with their scores of 64.5 and 61.9 points, respectively. This means that, while Vodafone and TIM placed in the Fair category (65-75), WindTre and Iliad obtained Poor ratings (40-65).
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Vodafone is the outright winner of the Voice App Experience award, with a score of 77.8 points on a 100 point scale. However, its margin of victory is relatively narrow, given second-placed TIM’s score of 77 points. WindTre and Iliad’s scores were also very close, as the two operators scored 76.5 and 76.2 points, respectively — 1.3-1.6 points behind the sole winner. All four mobile operators placed in the Acceptable category (74-80) for Voice App Experience.
Definitions
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
- 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Our users observed the fastest average overall download speeds on Vodafone’s network — 34.5 Mbps, which was 4.3 Mbps (14.3%) faster than second-placed WindTre’s score of 30.2 Mbps. As a result, Vodafone is the outright winner of the Download Speed Experience award. Iliad comes in third place with 28.4 Mbps, followed by TIM in fourth place with 25.4 Mbps.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
WindTre is the outright winner of the Upload Speed Experience award with a score of 11.3 Mbps. It wins by a margin of 0.7 Mbps (7%) over second-placed Vodafone given the latter’s score of 10.5 Mbps. TIM and Iliad scored below the 10 Mbps threshold as our users on their networks experienced average upload speeds of 8.9 Mbps and 6.9 Mbps, respectively.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
Regional Analysis
As is the case with the national award table, Vodafone is the leading operator across different regions — winning all the regional Games Experience and Download Speed Experience awards outright, and most of the regional awards across the other three categories. In fact, Vodafone is the sole winner for Video Experience in five regions, while sharing the award with WindTre in North East; Vodafone wins all Voice App Experience awards except for that in North West which is claimed by TIM, while Vodafone and WindTre each win three regional awards outright for Upload Speed Experience.
Regional Analysis Summary: Italy, Mobile Network Experience Report, May 2022
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Coverage
Iliad
TIM
Vodafone
WindTre
National Analysis
WindTre is the outright winner of the Availability award, with a score of 98.7%. This means that our WindTre users spent the largest proportion of time connected to either 3G, 4G, or 5G. Iliad comes behind WindTre with a score of 98.4% while Vodafone and TIM are in third and fourth place with scores of 96.4% and 95.7%.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
National Analysis
TIM, Vodafone and WindTre are joint winners in 4G Coverage Experience as they all achieved identical scores of 9.8 points on a 10 point scale. Iliad’s score was 0.6 points lower than those of its rivals, as it earned 9.2 points.
Definitions
4G Coverage Experience measures how mobile subscribers experience 4G coverage on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-10, it analyzes the locations where customers of a network operator received a 4G signal relative to the locations visited by users of all network operators.
In simple terms, 4G Coverage Experience measures the mobile coverage experience in all the locations that matter most to everyday users — i.e. all the places where they live, work and travel. It considers all the areas that Opensignal users visit, the portion of locations that 4G is available to them, and locations that more users visit have higher importance to them.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
Regional Analysis
WindTre upholds its national victory in Availability by winning all six regional awards for this category. WindTre’s regional Availability scores were in the 98.3-98.9 range and WindTre is followed by Iliad, Vodafone and TIM, in that order, in all six regions. Our users in all six regions spent 95% or more of their time connected to 3G, 4G or 5G networks, regardless of their choice of mobile operator.
Regional Analysis Summary: Italy, Mobile Network Experience Report, May 2022
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- Central
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Consistency
National Analysis
Vodafone is the sole winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality award as its score of 80.6% is 6.6 percentage points higher than that of second-placed WindTre’s 74%. TIM is in a close third place with 73.3%, while Iliad follows in fourth place at some distance having scored 63.1%.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Excellent Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games.
National Analysis
As is the case with Excellent Consistent Quality, Vodafone is the outright winner of the Core Consistent Quality award. The operator wins with a score of 91.6%, 2.4 percentage points ahead of second-placed TIM’s score of 89.1%. WindTre is in third place with 87.6%, while Iliad comes fourth with 78.3%.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience