Tefficient’s 33rd public analysis of the development and drivers of mobile data compares 46 countries from all regions of the world.
In our previous reports for 2020 and 1H 2021 we could see that the pandemic drove mobile data usage – contrary to the belief that all that time we spent at home would offload mobile data traffic to Wi-Fi and fixed broadband.
But the usage backlash is here: During the second half of 2021 the demand for more mobile data slowed. If comparing countries where usage is available for both the first and the second half of the year, most experienced decelerating growth. There were even five countries with a decline in absolute usage: Australia, Iceland, Qatar, Austria and Bahrain.
Both analyses are quite comprehensive and compare Norway to the three fellow Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden and Finland. It means that they are highly interesting not just for the industry and policy makers in Norway, but in all four countries.
Sample graph from the mobile reportSample graph from the fixed broadband report
Since the Ministry has made both analyses available for public download, you can access them directly and for free from here:
Opensignal’s Global Mobile Network Experience Awards 2022 showed that the mobile networks of Sweden, Finland – and especially Norway and Denmark – provide some of the best experiences in the world.
But there are many companies – some with global, some with local ambitions – that offer their take on who has the best mobile network. To differentiate, providers define different metrics and use different methodologies. Rather than boring you with those, we have compiled a cross-case table naming the winner per each metric across four global network experience specialists: Opensignal, Tutela, Ookla Speedtest and umlaut.
We have included the latest overall or 5G-specific tests made public in 2021 or 2022.
Tefficient’s 32nd public analysis of the development and drivers of mobile data compares 46 countries – now with Brazil added – from all regions of the world.
In our previous, full year 2020, report we could see that the pandemic drove mobile data usage – contrary to the belief that all that time we spent at home would offload mobile data traffic to Wi-Fi and fixed broadband.
Although the pandemic was still very much present in our daily life, the relaxation of restrictions in the first half of 2021 led to a more normal growth in mobile data usage.
Tefficient has written two comprehensive analyses to support chapter 7 in the white paper addressing mobile and fixed broadband networks:
“Assessment of Norwegian mobile revenues in a Nordic context”
“Assessment of Norwegian fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context”
The first analysis investigates whether Norwegian mobile prices should be considered high or moderate given certain specific Norwegian conditions. A multitude of metrics are used – always compared between the same four markets: Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
The second analysis investigates Norwegian broadband prices, comparing them against three other Nordic markets: Denmark, Sweden and Finland.
The white paper (in Norwegian) summarises the two analyses in sections 7.2.1.4 and 7.2.2.3 using selected graphs and conclusions. The ministry has integrated the key findings with own and independent research, data and viewpoints to form a basis for future policy.
Don’t get us wrong, cost management is important. Our point is that you should not base your improvement targets on your present actuals.
With targets such as “All functions cut 10% off the costs”, you risk cutting down on the activities that are key to your success. Too. Because you don’t know for sure that they are actually key to your success. Since you haven’t measured it against relevant peers. This year. It risks your business: The negative impact of 10% cost reduction in an activity that is key to your success could easily outweigh the positive impact of a equally large cost reduction in an activity which actually needed to be trimmed.
COVID-19 has raised the bar. In the midst of a global health crisis, telcos are delivering. For many operators, Q3 2020 represents their best EBITDA margin quarter ever. But we need to be honest about why. Many cost reductions have – so far – come almost automatically:
For the eighth consecutive year: Comprehensive business benchmark with 890 KPIs covering revenue, OPEX, CAPEX, headcount productivity, subscriptions & channels, performance, load, quality and innovation & growth – for 54 functions of mobile, fixed/cable and integrated operators.
Peer group data exclusively from Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Danish operators. Due to pre-agreed confidentiality requirements, participating operators are anonymous (and of course their data).
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 (one–two–three) 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.
For the seventh consecutive year: Comprehensive business benchmark with 890 KPIs covering revenue, OPEX, CAPEX, headcount productivity, subscriptions & channels, performance, load, quality and innovation & growth – for 54 functions of mobile, fixed/cable and integrated operators.
Peer group data exclusively from Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Danish operators. Due to pre-agreed confidentiality requirements, participating operators are anonymous (and of course their data).
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.
