Across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), 5G is rapidly becoming the most important wireless connectivity technology, according to the UK-based mobile analytics company Opensignal.
"In the first GCC 5G Experience Benchmark, Opensignal quantifies users' 5G experience for mobile video streaming, multiplayer mobile gaming, voice app communication, availability, speed as well as the uplift in experience compared with older 4G services."
OpenSignal has studied the GCC smartphone users' 5G experience when using the 5th generation (5G) mobile network for mobile video streaming, multiplayer mobile gaming, and voice app communications. It looked at 5G availability and speed, as well as the uplift in experience compared with older 4G services.
The 5G peak download speed is 743 Mbps in UAE, 713.4 Mbps in Qatar, and 663.7 Mbps in Kuwait. The UAE tops the GCC rankings with a 5G download speed of 316.8 Mbps, Qatar 278.5 Mbps, and 263.4 Mbps in Kuwait.
The 5G peak download speed was over twice as fast as the average download speed in all six GCC markets. In Saudi Arabia and Oman, the difference was closer to three times as fast — the ratio between 5G peak and average speeds was 2.7 times.
Kuwait is top for 5G Video Experience and is the only market where users experienced an Excellent experience (75 or above). While UAE is top for 5G Download Speed its score slips behind Kuwait on 5G Video Experience with a score of 72.4 on a 100-point scale.
However, while placing second for 5G Download Speed, on mobile video streaming Qatar drops further down with a score of 68.6. Other than Kuwait, all five other markets had a very Good 5G Video Experience (65-75) meaning that users saw generally fast loading times and only occasional stalling.
For 5G Games Experience, UAE scores 74 on a 100-point scale, compared to Qatar (69.6), Bahrain (69.6), and Kuwait (67.4).
There was only a modest difference in the 5G Voice App Experience. This measures the experience of over-the-top voice services using popular mobile voice apps examples of which include WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, and Facetime. Qatar tops the rankings with a score of 80.6 on a 100-point scale. But only 3.2 points separated the six GCC markets.
It may be noted that 5G subscriptions in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region are expected to reach 263 million by 2026, according to research by Nokia.
In GCC countries, 5G technology will dominate with the subscriber base reaching 64% of the total and with data traffic likely to surpass 70% by 2026, according to the study.
At the end of March 2022, all countries in the GCC region had launched 5G services commercially, while Bahrain and Kuwait already have nationwide 5G coverage, according to the Nokia report.
The Nokia study also reveals that 5G and 4G together are expected to drive more than 90% of data traffic in the MEA region, while total data traffic is expected to increase significantly in the next four years with a compound annual growth rate of 35%.
“Globally, the pace of 5G network rollouts has surpassed 4G/LTE networks. Two years after the first LTE launch there were only 25 million subscriptions across 60 networks, while two years after the first 5G launch, 340 million subscriptions were registered across 155 networks. Similarly, in MEA, our MEA Broadband Index Report finds 40% year-on-year growth in 4G data traffic but a huge 350% year-on-year growth in 5G data traffic in 2021 alone.
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