Qatar ranks among ‘global top 15’ across all measures of 5G speed: Report

Qatar has ranked among the ‘global top 15’ across all measures of 5G speed, placing 7th for average 5G Download Speed (275.9Mbps), 8th for 5G Peak Download Speed (735Mbps) and 13th for 5G Upload Speed (30.8Mbps), according to a report by Opensignal, an independent analytics company.In this latest definitive analysis of 5G worldwide leaders, there are many new entrants in the top 15 markets across different measures of 5G mobile network experience compared with the last 5G benchmark in March. South Korea continues to top the global leaderboard with the highest average 5G Download Speed (432.7Mbps) again and also holding on to the top 5G Games Experience slot (89.6). Nordic markets continue to do well in multiple categories, as do Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) markets Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Impressively for such a large geography, the USA continues to rank very highly on both 5G Availability (25.2%) — the time users spend connected to 5G — and on 5G Reach (6.0), which quantifies the proportion of locations where users saw 5G service. Plus, the Philippines continues to see a tremendous uplift with the shift from 4G to 5G, topping the 5G Video Experience uplift category with a 79% increase in its score.Bulgaria enters the table in six categories, ranking especially highly on 5G Download Speed (316.8Mbps), although South Korea tops the table. Puerto Rico is strong on 5G Availability, 5G Reach and Video Experience uplift but misses out from a top 15 market spot elsewhere. And, despite new spectrum scarcity, Singapore has become a global top 15 market for 5G Download Speed.Malaysia jumps in with high rankings in all three 5G speed categories as well as 5G Games Experience. However, it’s important to understand the different state of 5G roll outs across markets, 5G is still very new in Malaysia with relatively few 5G users. To date, only two operators have signed up to deploy 5G on the controversial single wholesale network. South Korea holds onto the global 5G speed crown ranking top for 5G Download Speed. Where in our last 5G benchmark in March only three markets surpassed the 300Mbps mark for average 5G download speeds, now there are six. South Korea, Sweden and the UAE have been joined by Bulgaria, Norway and Malaysia — although Malaysia is something of an anomaly because of the limited 5G uptake to date (see above) and the 5G experience there will likely drop dramatically as more users and more operators embrace 5G. Singapore also enters the top 15 for global 5G Download Speed with average speeds of 246.1Mbps. This is impressive given the spectrum challenges that Singapore has faced. Local rivalries continue in the 5G Download Speed rankings. New Zealand maintains its top 15 rank but Australia drops off the table. While Saudi Arabia continues to feature, the UAE and Qatar both still rank higher, and all three beat Israel, which is no longer among the top 15 worldwide.Opensignal noted that while users have been embracing the 5G experience in increasingly large numbers and operators have been deploying the initial versions of 5G, the industry has been looking to what’s next. “5G release 16 and 17 are now final and will be deployed over the next couple of years, while work on Release 18 is already advancing fast. As with 4G/LTE, there will be new marketing terms used to describe these upcoming 5G standards.“Again, as we saw with the terms “LTE Advanced” and “LTE Advanced Pro” in the second phase of the 4G era we will likely see vendors and operators market these enhanced versions of 5G using the phrase “5G Advanced”. However, the most important test will continue to be the extent to which these new flavours of 5G improve — or actually advance — the real-world experience of users. Opensignal will continue to analyse 5G using a single independent global methodology that enables straightforward comparisons of 5G’s benefits.”