Ookla analyzed in cel his most recent report the state of Europe’s networks and showed that in the Nordics and some Eastern European markets (Bulgaria and Cyprus), 5G outperformed the big five European economies (UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy). Also, the download speed of 5G networks in Romania decreased in the last year by 18.9%, to an average of 2161.19 Mbps. However, one operator managed to rank in the Top 10 best performing networks in Europe.
Last year’s report on 5G progress, concluded that Europe was lagging behind other continents. In the latest study, the association assessed the progress made by Europe in the field of 5G in the last year. Here are the main ideas from the report:
Europe lags behind the performance of other continents. Although more frequencies have been awarded over the past year, Europe’s 5G performance has lagged behind countries such as the United Arab Emirates and South Korea.
The availability of 5G is increasing. Although still lagging behind other states, 5G adoption increased during 2022. This, combined with the greater availability of 5G smartphones and the deployment of 5G networks using low-band spectrum, has resulted in more 5G availability high in most European countries.
A tale of two Europes. In the Nordics and some Eastern European markets (Bulgaria and Cyprus), 5G outperformed the Big 5 European economies (UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy). Operators are calling for more regulatory consolidation and intervention to facilitate 5G investment.
An explosion in the number of private networks. European governments and regulators are enthusiastically supporting companies’ digitization efforts, and 5G is being heralded as a key enabler to contribute to this. More than 40% of all private networks in the world are located in Europe, of which an increasing proportion uses 5G.
The midband is the largest part of the spectrum allocated in Europe. According to the European Commission’s 2016 5G Action Plan, EU countries must make available low-band spectrum (700 MHz) by 30 June 2020, and mid-band (3.6 GHz) and high/mmWave (26 GHz) until 31 December 2020. At EU level, there are so-called 5G pioneer bands.
What has changed in Europe since the last Ookla report:
Last year, four countries had to assign spectrum (including Romania). Now, Poland is the only one that does not have dedicated 5G spectrum.
Over the past year, three more countries have assigned spectrum in all 5G pioneering bands, bringing the overall total to eight countries. Four other countries have also assigned spectrum in both the low and medium frequency bands, bringing the total to 17.
Midband spectrum is the most popular spectrum band, with 28 countries already granting midband spectrum – five more than at last count. The remaining countries, Poland and the Netherlands, will finally auction the 3.5 GHz spectrum in the summer of 2023.
The report also highlighted that 26 countries have auctioned spectrum in the 700 MHz bands, up from 21 a year ago. At the same time, eight countries have so far assigned the mmWave frequency spectrum. Last year, Spain alone auctioned this tape, obtaining 36 million euros.
5G adoption is lagging, but 5G performance isn’t impressive either
Most European countries have commercial 5G networks. However, 5G adoption in Europe lags behind globally. According to GSMA Intelligence, in Q4 2022, 5G adoption in Europe accounted for 7.4% of all mobile connections, a substantial increase from the level of 2.5% in Q4 2021. Across European countries, 5G adoption is at most 21 % (Switzerland), compared to 43.1% in the United States, 42.4% in South Korea, China (36.3%), Australia (30.1%) and Japan (28.5%).
Most European countries achieved average 5G download speeds below 200 Mbps, placing them in the 5G Improvers category. Bulgaria was the only country to enter the 5G Leaders category, which includes countries such as the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore and Qatar, with an average 5G download speed of 342.71 Mbps, down slightly from last year ( 374.90 Mbps in Q4 2021). Five countries entered the High Performers group, achieving an average 5G download speed of over 200 Mbps: Sweden, Cyprus, Finland, Denmark and Norway. “Interestingly, the big five European economies (UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy) were overtaken by the Nordic countries and two South-Eastern European markets (Bulgaria and Cyprus). The Nordic countries have always played a leading role in European telecommunications, but the gap in 5G performance between them and the big five economies points to challenges in these markets,” notes Ookla.
Across most of Europe, the average 5G speed has actually fallen. This is also the case of Romania. According to the cited source, the download speed of 5G networks decreased by 18.9% to an average of 2161.19 Mbps. But the study’s authors note that this is not surprising, as “increased adoption leads to greater network congestion, but there are other factors at play. Operators are feeling the pressure of the economic crisis, higher energy costs and reduced consumer purchasing power. Europe also suffers from fragmentation, low ARPU levels caused by intense competition, and Capex levels that are half that of the US and Canada. A report by the European Court of Auditors estimates the cost of implementing 5G in all EU member states at around 400 billion euros. Operators are yet to see additional revenues from 5G that can support this level of investment. The optimal market structure and the role of governments in supporting 5G deployment remains a hotly debated topic, while operator M&A activity intensifies.”
On the other hand, operator performance tells an interesting story, as there are large differences between countries and even within a country. Nordic operators’ 5G performance tends to be in the lead compared to other European countries, due to access to dedicated 5G spectrum and favorable regulatory environment. Denmark and Sweden have a higher level of network sharing, as two operators share multi-operator core networks and spectrum. The best performing 5G network in Europe is A1 in Bulgaria, followed by Telenor Sweden and 3 Sweden. The top 10 is completed by Orange Romaniawith an average download speed of 275.51 Mbs, more than two and a half times lower than that of the Bulgarian leader, of 563.93 Mbs.
5G availability, increasing
Given the increase in 5G adoption, it’s no surprise that 5G availability (the percentage of users of 5G-capable devices who spend most of their time with access to 5G networks) has also increased. The availability of 5G is a function of the coverage of 5G networks and the adoption of 5G tariffs and 5G-capable devices. At 56%, the US continues to have the highest level of 5G Availability, having begun deploying 5G in the 600 MHz (low-band) range and with a large number of customers owning 5G-capable devices. In Europe, 5G availability exceeds 40% in three countries: Cyprus, Switzerland and Denmark, but the range is wide in these countries. Cyta Cyprus network reached 67.1% 5G availability in Q4 2022, thanks to the expansion of 5G coverage to 100% of Cypriots. Swisscom also ranks high with 61% availability in Q4 2022.
Romania, just like in previous edition of the report, is at the bottom of the European ranking, more precisely in the penultimate place, with an availability of 5G networks of only 8%. Hungary is in last place, with 4.1%.
A critical component determining the availability of 5G is the affordability and availability of 5G-capable smartphones. According to Counterpoint Research, in Q4 2022, 5G smartphone sales in Europe totaled 26.8 million, equivalent to 67% of total smartphone sales, compared to 84% in North America and 87% in China, Japan and South Korea.
“Europe has yet to catch up with other advanced markets in terms of smartphone adoption. Within Europe, there is also wide variation, with Germany at 90%, Sweden at 88%, the UK at 86%, and Eastern European markets at 49%,” notes Ookla.
For example, in Romania, a raport recent al Ericsson intitulat ”5G: The Next Wave” showed that only 31% of smartphone users in Romania intend to subscribe to 5G services in the next year. The report estimated that at the end of last year, there were approximately 400,000 – 500,000 5G customers in our country.
Legacy networks are giving way to 4G LTE and 5G networks
The pioneering 5G bands are not the only frequencies operators are using to deploy 5G. As operators shut down traditional networks, they may reclaim frequencies below 3 GHz for 4G LTE or 5G. According to the quoted source, European operators tend to support 2G in the short term, eliminating 3G networks instead. Mobile operators are also looking to optimize their network operations, and maintaining traditional networks involves additional costs and complexity.
The rate of network closures is increasing. So far in Europe, 21 operators in 11 countries have withdrawn 3G networks, compared to only two 2G network shutdowns. The 2G network is still needed to support some use cases such as long-term contracts entered into by enterprises with utility providers. Instead, operators consider that the traffic carried by 3G networks is lower, hence the desire to withdraw them. For example, Magyar Telekom observed that 2.3% and 0.84% of the total voice and data traffic is carried on the 3G network. Looking ahead, 43 operators in 26 countries have announced plans to shut down 2G networks, and 37 operators in 21 countries will shut down 3G networks. And in Romania, telecommunication providers have announced that they will abandon the 3G network.
Romania assigned in November 2022 the 5G spectrum auction, after three years of delays, for the amount of 693 million euros. The operators that participated in the auction committed to cover with broadband services at least 70% of the country’s population, most urban areas, highways, international airports and modernized railways, as well as a number of 240 identified localities without a signal or with weak signal.
