Important points
- It is the top performing 5G market and network operator in the world. UAE was the world’s fastest 5G market in Q2 2023, according to OoklaⓇ speed test intelligenceⓇ Increased competition between the country’s two network operators improved overall market performance, with median download speeds reaching 557.63 Mbps. e&etisalat was the world’s fastest 5G operator with a median download speed of 680.73 Mbps.
- 5G networks offer a better mobile gaming and video streaming experience than 4G-LTE. Users who accessed etisalat on e& and du’s 5G networks experienced median gaming latencies of 43ms and 57ms, respectively, lower than those recorded on 4G LTE. 5G users also experienced faster video start times and reduced buffering when streaming videos compared to 4G LTE or Wi-Fi.
- Improved network experience delivers industry-leading Net Promoter Score (NPS) improvements. With 5G improving experiences across use cases such as mobile gaming and video streaming, it is surprising that the market leads the industry in NPS, with the UAE ranking first in median 5G performance. That’s not the point. In fact, 5G users in the market are more likely to recommend domestic networks compared to 4G, with e&’s etisalat leading the market with a score of 64.7 in Q2 2023, followed by du with a score of 46.7.
- The bottom 10% of Speedtest samples indicates room for improvement. du led the market in 5G consistency (percentage of Speedtest samples meeting minimum performance thresholds of 25 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload during Q2 2023). Reviewing the 5G performance of the bottom 10% of the sample at the city level, etisalat revealed that e& has been aiming to improve, while du’s has been underperforming quarter after quarter.
A return to economic growth that fosters competition in the mobile market
e& and du etisalat will launch commercial 5G services across the UAE in the second quarter of 2019 following the allocation of spectrum for 5G use by UAE regulator TDRA (Telecommunications Digital Government Regulatory Authority). did. Since then, both carriers have aggressively rolled out their 5G networks and achieved nearly global 5G population coverage as of 2022. Both carriers have had to deal with the difficult macroeconomic environment brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a decline in mobile revenue and has been constrained. Upfront spending increases and roaming and device revenue decreases.
However, growth returned to the market in 2022, with etisalat by e&’s UAE mobile revenue increasing by 6.0% to AED 11,406 million, while du’s mobile revenue increased by 8.4% to AED 5,748 million. Reached. The IMF has predicted his GDP growth rate and the prospects for his UAE economy in the future are very bright. 3.5% in 2023, After COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and the country rebounded strongly by 7.4% in 2022, international tourists returned and rising oil prices boosted economic growth. For the country’s mobile network operators, this return to growth has led to increased competition, with both operators seeking to demonstrate network leadership and convert prepaid users to postpaid, while enhancing customer experience and introducing new digital services. We are also focusing on providing.
Both mobile network operators are prioritizing growing their postpaid customer base. For example, subscribers to either carrier can choose a plan with a selection of additional services focused on entertainment options such as video streaming services, live sports, and mobile gaming.
UAE leads the world in 5G performance
According to Ookla Speedtest Intelligence data, the UAE became the world’s fastest 5G market in Q2 2023, with a median download speed of 557.63 Mbps, followed by South Korea in second place at 501.56 Mbps.
etisalat by e& ranks #1 in global 5G performance betting
e& etisalat was the fastest operator for 5G in the UAE and globally, recording the median download speed. 680.73 Mbps in Q2 2023, higher than du’s 453.93 Mbps. The same goes for 4G LTE, the median e&recording etisalat download speed is 83.35 Mbps, higher than du’s 64.96 Mbps. His 5G performance between the two mobile operators remained similar throughout 2022 and peaked in 2022. Supporting Dubai EXPO2020. Both operators increased speeds over Q4 2022 and Q1 2023, contributing to overall 5G performance in the UAE reaching 557.63 Mbps, while du’s performance e&’s etisalat extended its lead in 5G performance to 226.80 Mbps.
Among the world’s top-performing 5G networks in terms of median download speed, e&’s etisalat ranked first in Q2 2023. Du’s 5G performance also ranked first in the world as the fastest, reflecting the strong position of the GCC countries and key markets. Asia Pacific from a 5G performance perspective.
Recent news suggests that both carriers continue to invest in further performance improvements, while also looking to offer new use cases on their 5G networks. At MWC Barcelona 2023, etisalat by e& announced the commercial launch of his 5G Standalone (SA) network in the UAE. The network will initially be exclusive to Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) customers. At the same time, du announced an agreement with Huawei to collaborate on his 5G-Advanced technology and use cases.
e& etisalat leads in 5G download performance across UAE cities
e& etisalat was the top operator in all major cities in the UAE for both median 5G download performance and multi-server latency in Q2 2023, according to Speedtest Intelligence data. It also topped his median 5G upload speed in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah. However, there was no statistically significant difference between it and Do in Al Ain and Ajman.
Bottom 10% of Speedtest samples indicate need for further improvement
Median 5G performance measures the midpoint of the user experience on a 5G network, but it doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story, as 5G performance varies widely depending on factors such as spectrum used, network congestion, and distance. Not. No obstructions between the user device and the cell site. Ookla tracks network consistency. This records the percentage of samples that meet a download speed of 25 Mbps (recommended speed for 4K streaming) and an upload speed of 3 Mbps for 5G networks.
e&’s du and etisalat both performed well in terms of 5G consistency, scoring 92.1% and 90.9%, respectively. Drilling down to the city-level data and examining the performance of the bottom 10% of the sample reveals some potential improvements for both operators. In Ajman city, e&etisalat recorded a significant improvement in the bottom 10th percentile of his 5G samples, increasing from 9.76 Mbps in January to 93.67 Mbps in June. However, despite the increase, performance in Ajman remains below that recorded in other cities in the UAE. Meanwhile, du has returned his 5G performance more stable among the city’s bottom 10% sample over the past six months, with performance going from his 138.33 Mbps in January to 50.85 Mbps in June. It is decreasing.
Improve your mobile gaming and video streaming experience with 5G
With both carriers keen to grow their customer bases and prioritizing migration to higher-value postpaid subscribers, it’s important to translate improved 5G performance into measurable improvements in the end-user experience. .
According to data.ai, UAE consumers spent an average of 4.7 hours per day playing mobile games in 2021, the most of all MENA markets. Current status of MENA in 2022. Usage continues to grow, driven by younger, more tech-savvy people with higher disposable incomes. 5G has the potential for lower latency than previous generations of mobile technology, which, along with increased throughput, can improve the experience for both consumer and enterprise use cases that rely on high levels of network responsiveness. This is especially true for online games and cloud streaming of games. For example, network response time is very important for Call of Duty Mobile (e& etisalat is bundled with some postpaid plans).
According to Okura Consumer QoE™ Data, etisalat by e& recorded lower median latency on both mobile and fixed networks when compared to du in Q2 2023. His 5G latency for both carriers is lower than 4G LTE, with etisalat by e& achieving 5G latency of 43ms. du 57 ms. Wi-Fi performance varies by carrier, and while etisalat by e&’s Wi-Fi recorded the lowest latency across all access types, du’s Wi-Fi latency lagged behind mobile network latency performance. I was there.
Video content is a key focus for both UAE network operators and a common route for operators around the world to add value to consumers’ mobile subscriptions. We examined Ookla’s consumer QoE data and looked at two key video streaming metrics as a measure of the consumer experience provided: video start time and video rebuffering rate.
Video start time measures the time from the time the user clicks play or the video auto-starts until the first frame of the video is rendered. According to Ookla’s results based on his Q2 2023 consumer QoE data, 5G networks offer almost half a second faster video start times for both network operators compared to 4G LTE or Wi-Fi networks. became.
Video rebuffering rate compares the amount of time a user experiences buffering during a video to the total playback time of the video, excluding the initial start time of the video. Rebuffering occurs when a video stops playing and the user has to wait until the video resumes. This is a major cause of poor experience quality, and if rebuffering is severe, it can lead to viewer abandonment and can also indicate a decline in overall network performance. The good news is that Ookla’s Q2 2023 consumer QoE data shows that the median video rebuffer rate for both network operators has decreased significantly, with rebuffering on 5G for both networks almost It was shown that it decreased to 0%.
5G improves industry-leading NPS scores for both carriers
With the world’s fastest median 5G download performance, it’s no wonder NPS for 5G users in the UAE leads the industry. NPS is a key performance metric for customer experience that categorizes users into detractors (scores of 0-6), passives (scores of 7-8), and promoters (scores of 9-10). NPS is the percentage of recommenders minus the percentage of customers. Critic. Displayed in the range -100 to 100.
According to Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence data, DU’s 5G service recorded the largest difference in NPS when comparing users on 4G LTE networks to users on 5G in Q2 2023, increasing by 61.0 basis points. It reached 46.7. e&’s etisalat had a higher NPS score of 64.7 for its 5G network, but its 4G LTE NPS score of 40.4 was equally impressive.
Both operators in the UAE are well placed to make the most of their previous investments in 5G networks, which are already contributing to an improved consumer experience on their networks. It also provides an opportunity to leverage the introduction of 5G standalone networks in the market to not only provide further performance improvements, but also target services for key enterprise verticals that require high reliability and low-latency communications, among other things. We will also develop .
