global 5g benchmark report q1–q2 2021

Global 5G Benchmark Report Q1–Q2 2021

An analysis of 5G performance and availability in major cities worldwide

© 2006-2021 Ookla, All Rights Reserved

Introduction 1

5G speeds in major cities

2

5G Availability in major cities

5

5G network performance and 5G Availability analysis of major cities

7

5G network performance and 5G Availability by operator in select cities

9

Conclusion

14

About Ookla® 15

1

2

3

4

© 2006-2021 Ookla, All Rights Reserved Global 5G Benchmark Report Q1–Q2 2021 | 1

IntroductionWith promises of lightning-fast network speeds and ultra-low latency, 5G will usher in not only a new era of improved network performance, but also a new connected experience for users. 5G will become a foundation for innovation as it transforms the way we connect. Around the world, mobile network operators are making huge investments in 5G infrastructure to expand their 5G deployments — especially in major cities.

Now that we are halfway through 2021, we can take a look back at the last six months and see how 5G performance and availability have looked across major cities around the world. In this report we benchmark 5G performance and 5G Availability in 30 major cities where 5G is commercially available during Q1 and Q2 2021. We also drill down into the 5G performance of top mobile network operators within 10 cities. This evaluation of global 5G performance highlights three key metrics:

5G download speed How quickly a user can pull data from a server on the internet to a 5G-capable device while connected to a 5G network. 5G download speed is measured in megabits per second (Mbps).

5G upload speed How quickly a user can send data from a 5G-capable device to the internet while connected to a 5G network. 5G upload speed is measured in megabits per second (Mbps).

5G Availability 5G Availability describes the percent of users on 5G-capable devices that spend the majority of their time on 5G, both roaming and on-network. 5G Availability is measured as a percentage (%).

Availability is based on coverage scans taken on Android devices. Daily per-device durations on each cellular technology (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G) are calculated for the city and time period of interest. Each device is assigned to the cellular technology on which it spent the greatest amount of time. The proportion of devices that spent the greatest amount of time on 5G comprises the final 5G Availability metric.

Please note: This analysis is not based on an exhaustive list of all cities with 5G, but a representative sampling from around the globe.

Introduction



This section will analyze the 5G download and 5G upload speeds in 30 major cities:

• Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

• Amsterdam, Netherlands

• Bangkok, Thailand

• Barcelona, Spain

• Beijing, China

• Berlin, Germany

• Dammam, Saudi Arabia

• Doha, Qatar

• Dubai, United Arab Emirates

• Dublin, Ireland

• Helsinki, Finland

• Hong Kong

• Johannesburg, South Africa

• Kuwait City, Kuwait

• London, United Kingdom

• Madrid, Spain

• Manila, Philippines

• Munich, Germany

• New York, United States

• Paris, France

• Prague, Czech Republic

• Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

• Rome, Italy

• Seoul, South Korea

• Singapore

• Tokyo, Japan

• Toronto, Canada

• Vienna, Austria

• Warsaw, Poland

• Zürich, Switzerland

Almost every city had download speeds above 100 Mbps

Cities worldwide are racing to have the fastest 5G performance, and the past six months did not disappoint with almost every city in our analysis showing median download speeds above 100 Mbps (which would be considered “high-speed internet access” by all standards). During Q1–Q2 2021, Seoul had the fastest 5G among these cities with a median download speed of 467.87 Mbps. Abu Dhabi followed with the second fastest median download speed of 421.26 Mbps. Dubai was third (417.07 Mbps), Doha was fourth (413.40 Mbps) and Riyadh was fifth (384.66 Mbps).


1



0 200 300100 400 500

Bars indicate 95% confidence intervals

49.92

38.75

37.59

31.39

31.39

30.95

32.57

44.15

30.46

36.53

38.04

27.21

17.04

24.19

37.16

21.42

16.68

17.59

20.54

22.16

25.22

24.43

22.02

25.85

32.56

27.76

34.92

8.85

19.03

19.98

467.87

421.26

417.07

413.40

384.66

344.44

338.97

291.19

279.59

253.73

238.45

223.01

208.48

183.37

182.25

177.37

171.79

167.50

167.02

166.36

153.78

148.16

144.93

144.81

139.75

119.86

116.30

112.23

111.20

80.18

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

MedianDownload

(Mbps)

Seoul

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Doha

Riyadh

Dammam

Kuwait City

Beijing

Helsinki

Bangkok

Johannesburg

Dublin

Paris

Madrid

Zürich

Toronto

Rome

London

Tokyo

Barcelona

Hong Kong

Berlin

Vienna

Munich

Amsterdam

New York

Prague

Manila

Singapore

Warsaw

5G Speeds in Major Cities Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021


Warsaw had the slowest 5G on this list with a median download speed of 80.18 Mbps. Also at the bottom of the pack included Singapore (111.20 Mbps), Manila (112.23 Mbps) Prague (116.30 Mbps) and New York (119.86 Mbps).

Almost every city on our list achieved median upload speeds between 15 Mbps and 40 Mbps. Seoul and Beijing were outliers on the upper end with upload speeds of 49.92 Mbps and 44.15 Mbps, respectively. Manila was an outlier on the low end with a median upload speed of 8.85 Mbps.




5G Availability indicates whether or not users are able to consistently connect to a 5G network. Analyzing 5G Availability in the same 30 cities examined above, we found that 5G Availability was still below 50% in most of the cities on our list.

A percentage over 50% indicates that a majority of users in that city were able to spend a majority of their time on 5G networks. Only New York and Amsterdam met this specification with 5G Availability of 73.5% and 51.2%, respectively. Seoul had the third highest at 48.0%.


2

0 30 5010 7020 40 60 80


73.5%

51.2%

48.0%

38.1%

36.2%

35.5%

34.1%

33.9%

33.5%

32.4%

32.0%

31.3%

31.2%

30.2%

27.4%

25.9%

24.3%

22.7%

20.5%

16.4%

15.7%

13.6%

13.2%

11.7%

8.5%

7.8%

7.2%

6.9%

6.8%

1.4%

5GAvailability

New York

Amsterdam

Seoul

Doha

Toronto

Riyadh

Beijing

Zürich

London

Kuwait City

Dammam

Hong Kong

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Barcelona

Madrid

Manila

Bangkok

Helsinki

Warsaw

Dublin

Vienna

Prague

Munich

Tokyo

Berlin

Paris

Rome

Singapore

Johannesburg

5G Availability in Major Cities Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021

0 30 5010 7020 40 60 80


73.5%

51.2%

48.0%

38.1%

36.2%

35.5%

34.1%

33.9%

33.5%

32.4%

32.0%

31.3%

31.2%

30.2%

27.4%

25.9%

24.3%

22.7%

20.5%

16.4%

15.7%

13.6%

13.2%

11.7%

8.5%

7.8%

7.2%

6.9%

6.8%

1.4%

5GAvailability

New York

Amsterdam

Seoul

Doha

Toronto

Riyadh

Beijing

Zürich

London

Kuwait City

Dammam

Hong Kong

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Barcelona

Madrid

Manila

Bangkok

Helsinki

Warsaw

Dublin

Vienna

Prague

Munich

Tokyo

Berlin

Paris

Rome

Singapore

Johannesburg


Chart continues on next page



0 30 5010 7020 40 60 80


73.5%

51.2%

48.0%

38.1%

36.2%

35.5%

34.1%

33.9%

33.5%

32.4%

32.0%

31.3%

31.2%

30.2%

27.4%

25.9%

24.3%

22.7%

20.5%

16.4%

15.7%

13.6%

13.2%

11.7%

8.5%

7.8%

7.2%

6.9%

6.8%

1.4%

5GAvailability

New York

Amsterdam

Seoul

Doha

Toronto

Riyadh

Beijing

Zürich

London

Kuwait City

Dammam

Hong Kong

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Barcelona

Madrid

Manila

Bangkok

Helsinki

Warsaw

Dublin

Vienna

Prague

Munich

Tokyo

Berlin

Paris

Rome

Singapore

Johannesburg


In the other cities, 5G Availability was less than 48% — indicating that most 5G users spent the majority of their time on older network technology. In Johannesburg, 5G users were only on 5G networks 1.4% of the time. 5G Availability was also relatively low in Singapore (6.8%), Rome (6.9%), Paris (7.2%) and Berlin (7.8%).



Comparing download speed with 5G Availability for the 30 cities shows where users were likely (or unlikely) to access high speeds the majority of the time in Q1–Q2 2021.

Seoul led the way in combined 5G speed and 5G Availability

Seoul, located in the upper right corner of the chart above, had a relatively high download speed and a high availability percentage — making Seoul the leader on this list of cities. New York and Amsterdam in the upper left corner had relatively high 5G Availability, but lower 5G speeds than many of the cities on the list. Conversely, Helsinki, Bangkok and Johannesburg had above-average speeds, but below-average 5G Availability during the time period.


3

0 100 200 300 400 500

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

5G A

vaila

bili

ty

Median 5G Download Speed (Mbps)

Average

Ave

rag

e

New York

Seoul

Abu DhabiDubai

DohaRiyadh

DammamKuwaitCity

Beijing

HelsinkiBangkok

Johannesburg

Dublin

Paris

Madrid

ZürichToronto

Rome

London

Amsterdam

Barcelona

Hong Kong

TokyoBerlin

ViennaPrague

Manila

Singapore

Warsaw

Munich

AfricaAsiaEurope

North AmericaMiddle East

Region

Comparison of 5G Download Speed and 5G AvailabilitySpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021


5G performance was strongest in Middle East, weakest in Europe

Middle Eastern countries dominated the upper right quadrant, where most cities showed both high speeds and high 5G Availability. Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait City and Riyadh all showed above-average 5G download speeds and 5G Availability in the first half of 2021. In contrast, many European cities — Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid, Paris, Vienna and Warsaw — fell in the lower left quadrant with below-average 5G download speeds and 5G Availability. While Seoul was the clear leader of the entire pack, other cities around Asia had widely variable 5G performance and availability.




5G network performance and availability vary widely by operator, from city to city. In this section we drill down into the performance and 5G Availability of operators in 10 major cities around the world: Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Dammam, Helsinki, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Madrid, Prague and Seoul.

Abu Dhabi

Etisalat was the fastest 5G provider in Abu Dhabi with a median download speed of 461.07 Mbps download and median upload speed of 43.33 Mbps. du was second with median download speed of 270.95 Mbps and median upload speed of 26.21 Mbps. There was no statistically significant winner for availability in Abu Dhabi. Etisalat showed 32.8% 5G Availability and du showed 26.7% 5G Availability.

Amsterdam

KPN Mobile was the leader for 5G speed in Amsterdam with median download and upload speeds clocking in at 174.40 Mbps and 46.70 Mbps, respectively. T-Mobile was second fastest (139.23 Mbps download) and Vodafone was third (102.45 Mbps download). While there was no statistically significant leader in Amsterdam for 5G availability, Vodafone achieved a 5G Availability of 61.4%. KPN Mobile was not too far behind with a 5G Availability of 56.9% and T-Mobile showed 42.0%.


4

0 200100 300 400 500


43.33

26.21

461.07

270.95

Etisalat

du

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

32.8%

26.7%

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)

5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in Abu DhabiSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021

0 50 100 150 200


46.70

34.94

19.91

174.40

139.23

102.45

KPN Mobile

T-Mobile

Vodafone

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

56.9%

42.0%

61.4%

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)

5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in AmsterdamSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021


Bangkok

AIS had Bangkok’s fastest median 5G download speed (353.62 Mbps) and upload speed (54.45 Mbps).TrueMove H had the second fastest speeds at 200.99 Mbps download and 29.74 Mbps upload. dtac was in third place by a wide margin, with a median download speed of 32.52 Mbps and 17.06 Mbps upload. There was no statistically significant leader for 5G Availability. TrueMove H had 5G Availability of 39.7% and AIS had 11.9%. 5G sample count was too low to confidently describe 5G Availability for dtac during the time period. Note: Some providers in Thailand require a separate rate plan in order for a 5G-capable device to connect to 5G.

Dammam

With a median 5G download speed of 426.08 Mbps and an upload speed of 36.08 Mbps, stc was the fastest operator in Dammam. Zain was second (319.88 Mbps download) and Mobily was third (253.02 Mbps download). Zain had the best 5G Availability in Dammam at 40.3%. stc’s 5G Availability was 30.7%, closely followed by Mobily’s 28.9%.

0 100 200 300 400


54.45

29.74

17.06

353.62

200.99

32.52

AIS

TrueMove H

dtac

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

11.9%

39.7%

*

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)

* Only includes 5G Availability for providerswith su�cient samples

5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in BangkokSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021

0 100 200 300 400 500


36.08

19.33

33.40

426.08

319.88

253.02

stc

Zain

Mobily

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

30.7%

40.3%

28.9%

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)

5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in DammamSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021



Helsinki

In Helsinki, DNA was the fastest operator during Q1–Q2 2021 with a median 5G download speed of 312.95 Mbps. Telia was second at 303.84 Mbps and Elisa came in third at 247.93 Mbps. Elisa showed the highest 5G Availability (32.8%) and DNA was second with 5G Availability of 18.2%. 5G sample count was too low to confidently describe 5G Availability for Telia during the time period.

Hong Kong

China Mobile Hong Kong led the market in Hong Kong with the fastest median download speed over 5G (212.64 Mbps) and upload speed (32.62 Mbps). 3 was the second fastest 5G provider in Hong Kong with a download speed of 151.45 Mbps and upload speed of 21.53 Mbps. csl was third (133.52 Mbps) and SmarTone was fourth (111.61 Mbps). csl had the best 5G Availability at 41.6% — significantly higher than the availability of competitors China Mobile (25.2%), 3 (26.9%) and SmarTone (27.3%).

0 150 200 25010050 300 350



33.70

32.94

27.15

312.95

303.84

247.93

DNA

Telia

Elisa

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

18.2%

*

32.8%

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)

5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in HelsinkiSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021

0 15010050 200 250


32.62

21.53

24.45

20.25

212.64

151.45

133.52

111.61

China Mobile HK

3

csl

SmarTone

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

25.2%

26.9%

41.6%

27.3%

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)

5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in Hong KongSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021



Johannesburg (a preliminary look at early 5G data)

Because South Africa is still in the very early stages of 5G rollout, Ookla has not approved any 5G claims in that country during Q1 2021. While it’s too early to declare a fastest 5G provider in Johannesburg for Q2, we can still take a preliminary look at speeds in the city during Q1–Q2 2021. MTN clocked in at a median 5G download speed of 288.33 Mbps during the time period and Vodacom had a median 5G download speed of 202.00 Mbps. We will report on 5G Availability in Johannesburg once 5G has been more fully rolled out.

Madrid

Vodafone was the clear leader for 5G speed in Madrid during the first half of 2021 with a median download speed of 304.62 Mbps and 35.28 Mbps upload. Orange was second (209.08 Mbps download), Yoigo was third (187.05 Mbps download), and Movistar was fourth (125.24 Mbps download). There wasn’t a statistical winner for 5G Availability in Madrid. Orange had 5G Availability of 34.0%, Vodafone showed 30.5% and Movistar showed 24.5%.

0 250200100 15050 300 350


35.28

28.54

22.50

18.46

304.62

209.08

187.05

125.24

Vodafone

Orange

Yoigo

Movistar

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

30.5%

34.0%

*

24.5%

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)


5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in MadridSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021


0 200100 15050 250 300 350


43.49

28.29

288.33

202.00

MTN

Vodacom

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

*

*

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)


5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in JohannesburgSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021


Prague

In Prague, O2 was the leading operator in 5G speed with a 144.66 Mbps median download speed and 36.55 Mbps upload. T-Mobile was second (125.70 Mbps download) and Vodafone was third (102.10 Mbps download). There were insufficient samples to report on 5G Availability at the operator level.

Seoul

There was no statistical winner in Seoul for fastest median 5G download speed during Q1-Q2 2021. LG U+ achieved a median 5G download speed of 522.28 Mbps and 53.81 Mbps median upload speed. SK Telecom showed a download speed of 521.44 Mbps and an upload speed of 52.96 Mbps. While there was also no statistically significant leader for 5G Availability in Seoul, SK Telecom achieved a 5G Availability of 50.0%, LG U+ showed 48.3% and KT had 5G Availability of 45.3%.

0 200 300 400100 500 600


53.81

52.96

42.85

522.28

521.44

355.47

LG U+

SK Telecom

KT

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

48.3%

50.0%

45.3%

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)

5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in SeoulSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021


0 10050 150 200



36.55

47.65

25.07

144.66

125.70

102.10

O2

T-Mobile

Vodafone

MedianUpload

(Mbps)

*

*

*

5GAvailability

MedianDownload

(Mbps)

5G Performance and Availability of Top Operators in PragueSpeedtest Intelligence® | Q1–Q2 2021


Conclusion

5G is one of the fastest, most robust technologies the world has ever seen. With the power to support millions of devices at ultrafast speeds, 5G has the potential to change lives. 5G will be extraordinary — for every industry, every business and every user’s connected experience. But not all countries are benefitting equally.

Capturing the full benefits of this new 5G era depends on having a network capable of supporting next-generation capabilities and features. Mobile network operators around the world are working hard to ensure their networks are ready with the fastest 5G speeds and the best 5G Availability.

Conclusion


About Ookla®

Ookla is the global leader in mobile and broadband network intelligence, testing applications and related technologies. Speedtest®, Ookla’s flagship network testing platform, collects hundreds of millions of measurements about the performance and quality of networks around the world each day.

Operators, businesses and government agencies alike rely on Ookla for unparalleled and immediate information on the state of networks and online services. Ookla’s portfolio of enterprise solutions also includes Downdetector®, which provides real-time analysis of status conditions and outages across industries such as network services, finance and gaming.

Ookla is part of Ziff Davis, a subsidiary of J2 Global, Inc. (NASDAQ: JCOM) and leading global digital-media company operating in three core verticals: Technology, Gaming and Shopping. Ookla’s headquarters are located in Seattle, WA with additional offices around the world. More information is available at www.ookla.com.

How Ookla ensures accurate 5G testing When it comes to measuring 5G networks, a testing solution must be able to accurately determine the connection type and assess the full throughput capacity of that connection. Ookla has developed a consumer-initiated methodology, powerful testing engine and global network of high-throughput servers to measure the full capability and gigabit speeds of a 5G connection.

• Accurate 5G connection detection and identification: Not all 5G-capable devices natively identify the 5G connection type when reporting to applications. To that end, Ookla has directly partnered with device manufacturers worldwide to implement accurate in-app 5G detection in Speedtest.

• Industry-standard testing methodology: Other testing providers often report much slower speeds than Speedtest. That’s because their tests either run in the background of other apps without consumers’ knowledge or simply download a very small file from a content delivery network (CDN) or server. These quick tests cannot assess the full capacity of a connection or accurately determine upload speed — and the results do not indicate how a connection might actually perform while using large amounts of data over a 5G connection.

• Global network of 14,000+ high-speed testing servers: To measure the full capacity of a 5G network connection, the testing servers must be configured to handle network speeds in excess of 1 Gbps. Since the early stages of 5G, Ookla has worked directly with leading operators and manufacturers to understand the network requirements of delivering 5G speeds and refine the optimization guidelines for the Speedtest Server Network™.

Ookla continues to expand, update and improve this server network to ensure that Speedtest is prepared to provide accurate performance information as 5G rolls out around the world.

About Ookla


About Speedtest Intelligence®

Speedtest Intelligence provides insights into global fixed broadband and mobile network performance, quality, coverage and consumer sentiment. Leveraging billions of results from the Ookla Speedtest platform, Speedtest Intelligence is an essential tool for organizations that seek to make business and technical decisions with a full understanding of the networks in their markets.

Speedtest Intelligence includes over 200 data elements that give you information to confidently:

• Assess and rank operator performance

• Determine where to invest and expand your network

• Understand which devices perform best on your network

• Make external claims validating the benefits of your network and compare it to competitors

• Track changes in your network performance

• Analyze network footprint

• Pinpoint geographic hotspots of network issues

• View how metrics vary by location

• Gain insights into customer perceptions of your network and competitor networks

www.ookla.com/speedtest-intelligence

Want to explore the data?Inquire today for a demo of Ookla’s comprehensive broadband and mobile performance data.

About Ookla

http://www.ookla.com/speedtest-intelligence

global 5g benchmark report q1–q2 2021

Documents