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Understanding & measuring 5G

The promise of 5G to revolutionize the mobile industry started years before the first commercial networks even launched.

Download speeds measured in Gbps. Latencies reduced to single digit milliseconds. Bandwidths capable of serving an ever-growing mobile-first population. How much of the promise of 5G is reality now that the first commercial networks have begun rolling out?

Opensignal seeks to answer that question, using real-world 5G measurements from actual users to reality-check the hype.

We are tracking the 5G rollouts around the world and aim to be the single source of truth on the true 5G experience users receive as adoption grows in markets around the world.

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Blog Entry | No | Brazil | Robert Wyrzykowski

Users in Brazil’s state capitals enjoy 5G Download Speed exceeding 250Mbps

By Robert Wyrzykowski, May 2023

In this new analysis, Opensignal has compared the 5G experience of our smartphone users in Brazil’s 27 capitals — federal capital Brasília and 26 state capitals. While our users across different capitals enjoy average 5G download speeds of over 250Mbps, there are substantial differences between the cities, up to around 150Mbps. We also see large differences in 5G Upload Speed and 5G Games Experience across these 27 capitals.

Blog Entry | No | Brazil | Robert Wyrzykowski

Swiss mobile roaming experience significantly differs from the domestic one

By Robert Wyrzykowski, May 2023

Opensignal data shows that our Salt users enjoy the fastest 4G and 5G download speeds and the best Excellent Consistent Quality when roaming outside Switzerland in nearby countries. Our users from Austria, France, Germany, and Italy generally see a worse experience on Swiss networks compared to Swiss users’ domestic experience. Users who roam on Sunrise’s network see the biggest discrepancy for 5G Download Speed and Excellent Consistent Quality.

Blog Entry | No | Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland | Robert Wyrzykowski

Lack of 5G spectrum hurts Poland’s 5G experience

By Robert Wyrzykowski, April 2023

Poland compares poorly with other Central and Eastern markets for 5G experience. For 5G Video Experience, 5G Download Speed, and 5G Upload Speed Poland has the lowest average score out of the eight markets. Remarkably, the 5G download and upload speeds experienced by our Polish users are much slower — average 5G download speeds are just 77.8Mbps — than in other nearby international markets. Poland’s challenge is the small amount of new spectrum suitable for 5G services that is available for Polish operators. However, Polish 5G users spend more time connected to 5G services than some of their CEE counterparts.

Blog Entry | No | Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechrepublic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia | Robert Wyrzykowski

Analyzing the Mobile Experience in MLB Stadiums

By Robert Wyrzykowski, Rupert Bapty, April 2023

Ahead of the new MLB season, we have analyzed the mobile experience over all 29 U.S. stadiums. Opensignal data shows that our T-Mobile users enjoy the fastest download speeds in MLB stadiums. However, Verizon dominates in 5G Video Experience and is unbeaten in overall Video Experience.

Blog Entry | No | USA | Robert Wyrzykowski, Rupert Bapty

Quantifying Norway’s urban-rural mobile experience divide

By Rupert Bapty, April 2023

In this Opensignal analysis, we have looked at how Norway’s mobile network experience varies across rural and urban areas. In addition to this we have also looked at similar surrounding markets for comparison — Denmark, Finland and Sweden. We have found that our urban users in all four countries see faster average download speeds than their rural counterparts. However, the rural-urban divide for Download Speed Experience is smaller in Norway than in neighboring countries.

Blog Entry | No | Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden | Rupert Bapty