Category Archives: 4G LTE

ARPU doesn’t follow usage upwards. If we can’t monetise gigabytes, then what?

Tefficient’s 27th public analysis of the development and drivers of mobile data compares 44 countries from all regions of the world. We say hello to the new additions Chile, New Zealand and Qatar.

Usage is growing in every single country, but few are able to turn this into ARPU growth. Too few.

Continue reading ARPU doesn’t follow usage upwards. If we can’t monetise gigabytes, then what?

The gig economy: 58% more gigabytes generated 0.4% more revenue

5G monetisation lessons from China and Korea

Tefficient’s 26th public analysis on the development and drivers of mobile data ranks 105 operators based on average data usage per SIM, total data traffic and revenue per gigabyte in 2019.

Continue reading The gig economy: 58% more gigabytes generated 0.4% more revenue

Nine months with 5G: 4.7 million subs – each using 27 GB per month

Lobbyists coined the term “the race to 5G”. If there ever was such a race, South Korea won it as unlike other markets there are – read on – many reported numbers to support a leadership claim. With 4.7 million 5G subscriptions by the end of 2019, 7% of Korea’s mobile subscribers used 5G just nine months after launch.

LG U+ site with Huawei 5G gear on the Namsan park above Seoul (photo: Fredrik Jungermann)

The subscriber take-up has been fast, but not linear. In August, September and October, when Samsung launched three new 5G smartphones (Note 10, A90 and Fold) and LG updated its V50 smartphone, 5G sales was exceptionally fast. During November and December no new smartphones were introduced and South Korea missed the expectation of 5 million 5G subscribers by year end 2019.

5G subscriber base per month since launch 5th of April (source data: MSIT)
Continue reading Nine months with 5G: 4.7 million subs – each using 27 GB per month

Mobile data consumption continues to grow – a majority of operators now rewarded with ARPU

Taiwan: Unlimited is so last year – Korea: 5G boosts usage

Tefficient’s 24th public analysis on the development and drivers of mobile data ranks 115 operators based on average data usage per SIM, total data traffic and revenue per gigabyte in 1H 2019.

The data usage per SIM grew for all; everybody climbed our Christmas tree. More than half of the operators could turn that data usage growth into ARPU growth for the first time a majority is in green. Read our analysis to see who delivered on “more for more” and who didn’t.

Speaking of which, we take a closer look at the development of one of the unlimited powerhouses Taiwan. Are people getting tired of mobile data?

We also provide insight into South Korea the world’s leading 5G market. Just how much effect did 5G have on the data usage?

Continue reading Mobile data consumption continues to grow – a majority of operators now rewarded with ARPU

Prepping for 5G: Monetisation model and FWA define usage

This is tefficient’s 23rd public analysis of the development and drivers of mobile data.

Mobile data usage is still growing in all of the 39 countries covered by this analysis. Two countries stand out – China and India.

But China and India aren’t yet challenging the usage top – where the two unlimited superpowers, Finland and Taiwan, still reign.

Data-only remains a key driver for overall usage and new figures from Czech Republic, Latvia, Finland and Austria add insight to the extreme usage pattern of fixed wireless access.

Continue reading Prepping for 5G: Monetisation model and FWA define usage

Who has the best 4G network in the Nordics?

This is our fourth comparison of the mobile network experiences in the Nordics based on performance data from Opensignal. There are more details and background is the previous (onetwothree) blogs.

This time the data is gathered from March to May 2019. The data has not been published by OpenSignal but has been shared with us through Opensignal’s analyst program.

4G availability

The graph below ranks the fourteen operators in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland after how large proportion of time 4G capable devices have been connected to 4G. Opensignal calls this 4G availability.

Continue reading Who has the best 4G network in the Nordics?

China and India shift to 4th gear – leave many mature markets in the dust


Final! Mobile data usage and revenue for 39 countries

This is tefficient’s 21st public analysis of the development and drivers of mobile data.

Mobile data usage is still growing in all of the 39 countries covered by this analysis. But there are two countries that stand out – China and India. In the first half of 2018, these two ‘developing’ nations have overtaken several mature markets when it comes to average data consumption per subscription. The growth is incredibly fast and driven by 4G.

But China and India aren’t yet challenging the top – where the two unlimited superpowers, Finland and Taiwan, still reign. Continue reading China and India shift to 4th gear – leave many mature markets in the dust

Who has the best network in the Nordics? Spring 2018 update.

When we once again dive into OpenSignal‘s crowdsourced stats from the Nordics it is to see if something changed with regards to the network experiences of mobile customers in the region.


This is the third time we address this. The first blog – with data from the autumn of 2017 – contains all the background and reasoning. It was followed up by another blog based on data from the winter of 2017/18.


This time the data is gathered from March to May 2018 and covers about 490 million readings from about 15000 unique devices. The data has not been published by OpenSignal but has been shared with us through OpenSignal’s analyst program.

4G availability

The graph below ranks the fourteen operators in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland after how large proportion of time 4G capable devices have been connected to 4G. OpenSignal calls this 4G availability.

Continue reading Who has the best network in the Nordics? Spring 2018 update.

Public Wi-Fi: Lost in transition to 5G?

Two years ago, telcos were still proudly reporting their progress in utilisation of their own public Wi-Fi hotspots for cost efficient offloading of mobile data. Public Wi-Fi was also positioned as an investment in a better customer experience – especially in public indoor environments. Telcos that were late with 4G – such as in Taiwan and Belgium – could utilise their public Wi-Fi to bridge the transition from 3G to 4G.

You can find this in our telco Wi-Fi analysis from September 2016.

But something changed. Continue reading Public Wi-Fi: Lost in transition to 5G?