evaluation of quality of service - anacom

Evaluation of Quality of Service

Evaluation of the quality of GSM, UMTS and LTE voice services,

data services and radio network coverage in the major urban centres and along the main roads of mainland Portugal.

December 2014

Evaluation of Voice Services, Data Services and Radio Network Coverage | Mainland Portugal | 30 Sept. - 3 Dec. 2014 3

PRIOR NOTE

ANACOM HOLDS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ANALYSIS, STUDY OR COMMENTARY

BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS REPORT.


Contents

I Executive Summary ..........................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

I.I General Framework ............................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

I.II Key Findings and Conclusions ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.


I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

I.I GENERAL FRAMEWORK

From 30 September to 3 December 2014, Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM)

undertook an evaluation of the quality of the voice and data services and GSM, UMTS and LTE radio

network coverage provided by the following operators in the major urban centres and along the main

roads of mainland Portugal: MEO - Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia, S.A. (MEO), NOS

Comunicações, S.A. (NOS) and VODAFONE PORTUGAL - Comunicações Pessoais, S.A. (Vodafone).

This study is based on field tests conducted with moving vehicles and outdoor antennas, using an

automatic measurement system, reflecting the various aspects that affect quality of services (end-to-end

measurements). Measurements were carried out simultaneously in the same locations and with the

same parameterization for the three operators.

Studies which seek to gauge the user´s perception of quality, such as the present study, are known as

Quality of Experience Studies (QoE), setting out to determine the user experience in terms, for example,

of service accessibility, retention and integrity. In contrast, analyses of Network Performance or Quality

of Service seek to assess the capacity of a network (or a part of a network) to provide a service with a

determined level of quality. This covers functions, mechanisms and procedures implemented by the

cellular network and by terminal equipment, which ensure the provision of the quality of service

negotiated between the terminal equipment and the core network infrastructure.

However, this does not mean that the results of a Quality of Experience Study represents quality as

perceived by an average user or by the majority of users, because such studies are always subject to

the conditions under which they were performed; so, for example, in the case of this study, it is

recognized that, in the most part, data services are not usually accessed outdoors using a laptop

computer connected to the network via a data card and an external antenna (as in the tests conducted).

Therefore, although the present study is a Quality of Experience Study, its analysis may not reflect, in

particular with regard to data services and respective coverage, the actual perception of the majority of

users.

Quality of Experience is usually expressed in terms of human feelings, such as "Excellent", "Good",

"Acceptable", "Poor" and "Bad", while Network Performance is a purely technical concept measured,

8 QoS-Mobile Networks and Services | GSM-UMTS-LTE

expressed and understood in the context of a network or network components, with little meaning as far

as the user is concerned.

To evaluate the voice service, capacity for call establishment and termination was measured, together

with the perceptibility of the communication.

In assessing the data service, an analysis was made of file transfer capacity (FTP upload / download),

Internet navigation (HTTP web browsing) and also transmission latency (ping).

To evaluate radio network coverage, measurements were made of the radio signal levels received by

the mobile terminal equipment (downlink) for each of the technologies used by the operators.

The main quality indicators analyzed for the services covered by the study were as follows:

1. Radio Network coverage - GSM, UMTS and LTE network availability;

2. Accessibility of the Voice Service - probability of success when establishing calls;

3. Voice Call Establishment Time - Length of time taken by the network to establish a

communication after correct submission of the request (destination telephone number);

4. Voice Call Termination Rate - Probability, after a call is successfully established, that it will

remain active for a period of time and terminate normally, i.e. as intended by the user;

5. Voice Call Audio Quality - Perceptibility of the conversation during a call;

6. Termination Rate of Sessions Using the Data Service - Probability that a session using the

data service - file transfer or Internet browsing - is established and is maintained successfully,

i.e., it remains active during the entire period required for the file transfer or to allow the transfer of

the entire web page;

7. Data Transfer Speed - Quantifies the average speed of data transfer during a file transfer

session;

8. Web Page Transfer Time - Quantifies the average time taken to download a reference web

page;

9. Data Transmission Latency - quantifies the time needed for an information packet to travel from

the user´s device to the Content Server or visa versa.


The field work took place on working days and during normal working hours, from 30 September to 3

December 2014. 12,887 test calls were performed, 53,183 sessions using data services and 7,091,279

measurements taken of the radio network signal, which corresponds to about 219 hours of

measurements over approximately 10,350 kilometres.

Given the penetration rate of these services, the diversity of terminal equipment used and the very

subjectivity inherent to each user, it is impossible to accurately reproduce the conditions of each

consumer's interaction with the networks. A study of this type cannot be completed without adopting

certain compromises and estimates, within limits which ensure that the results obtained can be viewed

as a reliable indicator of the overall performance of mobile communication systems. The transposition or

extrapolation of the results to specific situations must be done with prudence, at the risk of drawing

conclusions that distort the reality of the situation.

The adopted technical and methodological options directly influence the results and should be taken into

account in their analysis. The following options are particularly relevant:

The testing was conducted exclusively using a technical solution (hardware and software) and

was processed completely automatically, allowing the homogeneous setting of measurement

conditions for the three operators and eliminating any subjectivity inherent to a human user;

The following terminal equipment was used: Nokia C7 and Huawei E392;

The tests were conducted with moving vehicles and outdoor antennas;

The duration of the conversation phase of voice calls was 120 seconds;

Voice and data tests were performed with automatic selection of GSM, UMTS and LTE

infrastructure;

The Servers, used in the data service tests, were hosted in Portugal, in a data centre at FCT -

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (Foundation for Science and Technology);

In data tests, stable content was used, i.e. web pages and files that had no quantitative or

qualitative changes over time;

File Transfer Tests (FTP upload / download) were performed according to the concept of fixed

data transfer time, i.e., data transfer is performed over a predefined period of time instead of the

full transfer of files of a fixed size;


Radio network coverage indicators, in particular, UMTS and LTE network coverage, did not take

network load into account (number of simultaneous users and type of services used);

The GSM, UMTS and LTE network coverage indicators presented in this study result from the

analysis of the radio channel provided by operators prior to the study´s performance. Due to an

omission by Vodafone, some of the LTE channels of this operator were not analyzed. According

to the operator, these channels were used on a local basis - Zambujeira do Mar, Guarda,

Bragança, Évora and Coimbra -, and this omission had a direct impact on the LTE network

coverage indicator reported for Vodafone in the urban centres of mainland Portugal and on the

statistical significance of this indicator;

In some parts of the Portuguese territory, especially near the Spanish border, performance of the

LTE networks of Portuguese operators was affected by Spanish DTT during the period of testing.

With the shutdown of Spanish transmitters, which occurred in early 2015, the performance of

Portuguese LTE networks in these locations is expected to improve;

The generic test scenario used by ANACOM in this study corresponds to a use of

communications services which is the most favourable given the strength of signal reception on

the mobile terminal device, due to the non-consideration of signal loss because of indoor

environments and due to use of mobile terminal equipment with outdoor antennas. This situation,

is not very significant as far as the Voice Service is concerned, but has significant impact on

Radio Network Coverage and on Data Services, resulting in higher levels of performances than

could be obtained indoors;

The servers used were dedicated exclusively to the performance of these tests, so that, in the context

of the study conducted, there are no limitations on processing power and information storage,

whereby availability and access bandwidth can have a positive influence on the results of the data

transmission speed (as opposed to the results that may be obtained by a general user accessing

conventional servers). Furthermore, the servers used, which function along the same lines as servers

available on the Internet, are identified by the respective IP addresses and not through their FQDN

(Fully Qualified Domain Name), ensuring that the measurements were not negatively affected by DNS

(Domain Name System) resolution problems or caching strategies;

The results of the study only reflect the behaviour of networks in the locations and at the times of

actual measurement;

Operators are continually improving their networks. The technical interventions necessary for


these improvements can cause momentary degradations of the service in the geographical areas

were work is performed.


I.II KEY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Mobile communications systems provide good GSM and UMTS radio network coverage levels and good

voice service performance in the major urban centres and along the main roads of mainland Portugal

Data services and LTE network coverage give different results depending on the type of site tested. In

urban areas, good levels of performance were observed for data services and good LTE network

coverage. Along main roads, mobile communication systems provide poor LTE coverage and

acceptable levels of performance when it comes to data services, albeit significantly lower than those

seen in urban centres.

GSM, UMTS and LTE Radio Network Coverage

The mobile communications systems tested in the study provide high levels of GSM Radio Network

Coverage and UMTS Radio Network Coverage, both in urban centres and along main roads, without

significant differences reported between operators (

100,

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Boa Aceitável Má Inexistente

Radio Network CoverageGSM

MEO NOS Vodafone


Figure 1 and

Figure 2).

LTE networks provide good Radio Network Coverage in urban areas, particularly in the case of MEO

and NOS, with 97.9% Good Radio Network Coverage (

99,7

%

0,2%

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0,0%

99,7

%

0,3%

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Radio Network CoverageUMTS

MEO NOS Vodafone

97,9

%

1,7%

0,3%

0,1%

97,9

%

1,7%

0,3%

0,1%

94,0

%

2,1%

1,4%

2,4%

0%

10%

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Radio Network CoverageLTE

MEO NOS Vodafone

99,8

%

0,1%

0,0%

0,0%

99,9

%

0,1%

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0,0%

99,8

%

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0%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

98,6

%

1,2%

0,2%

0,0%

96,5

%

2,7%

0,7%

0,1%

99,2

%

0,4%

0,2%

0,2%

0%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

70,9

%

15,5

%

9,5%

4,1%

74,3

%

10,7

%

5,9% 9,1%

74,1

%

9,6%

7,7%

8,6%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

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90%

100%



MEO NOS Vodafone


Figure 1). Along main roads, LTE Radio Network Coverage is reported at significantly lower levels, and

extensive geographic areas were found to have poor or non-existent coverage (

100,

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MEO NOS Vodafone

99,7

%

0,2%

0,0%

0,0%

99,7

%

0,3%

0,0%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

97,9

%

1,7%

0,3%

0,1%

97,9

%

1,7%

0,3%

0,1%

94,0

%

2,1%

1,4%

2,4%

0%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

99,8

%

0,1%

0,0%

0,0%

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%

0,1%

0,0%

0,0%

99,8

%

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0%

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MEO NOS Vodafone


Figure 2 and Section Error! Reference source not found.). Along these main roads, the best

levels of Good network coverage were recorded for NOS and Vodafone with 74.3% and 74.1%

respectively for the measurements taken at that level. However, adding areas with good levels of

coverage and acceptable levels of coverage, the best performance is reported for MEO and NOS, with

86.4% and 85.0%, respectively, while Vodafone is reported at 83.7%.

Figure 1 – Indicator: Radio Network Coverage in the Urban Centres of Mainland Portugal.

98,6

%

1,2%

0,2%

0,0%

96,5

%

2,7%

0,7%

0,1%

99,2

%

0,4%

0,2%

0,2%

0%

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100%



MEO NOS Vodafone

70,9

%

15,5

%

9,5%

4,1%

74,3

%

10,7

%

5,9% 9,1%

74,1

%

9,6%

7,7%

8,6%

0%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

100,

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MEO NOS Vodafone

99,7

%

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%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

97,9

%

1,7%

0,3%

0,1%

97,9

%

1,7%

0,3%

0,1%

94,0

%

2,1%

1,4%

2,4%

0%

10%

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30%

40%

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100%



MEO NOS Vodafone


Figure 2 - Indicator: Radio Network Coverage along the Main Roads of Mainland Portugal.

Voice Service

Good results are reported for the voice service for all analyzed indicators, without significant differences

in performance between operators. The performance of the service is generally better (although the

difference is not significant) in urban centre than along main roads (

99,8

%

0,1%

0,0%

0,0%

99,9

%

0,1%

0,0%

0,0%

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%

0,2%

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0%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

98,6

%

1,2%

0,2%

0,0%

96,5

%

2,7%

0,7%

0,1%

99,2

%

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0%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

70,9

%

15,5

%

9,5%

4,1%

74,3

%

10,7

%

5,9% 9,1%

74,1

%

9,6%

7,7%

8,6%

0%

10%

20%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

99,7% 98,9%99,0% 99,1%99,2% 99,7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Acessibilidade do Serviço Taxa de Terminação de Chamadas

Voice ServiceMobilegFixed

MEO NOS Vodafone

98,9% 99,3%99,0% 98,7%98,6% 99,2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

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100%


Voice ServiceFixedgMobile

MEO NOS Vodafone


Figure 3,

Figure 4,

98,6% 98,9%97,6% 98,5%98,2% 98,2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

97,8% 99,3%98,6% 98,9%98,4% 99,0%

0%

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20%

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100%



MEO NOS Vodafone

4,0

11,7

2,3

4,4

19,5

3,33,8

9,9

2,9

0

2

4

6

8

10

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20

Médio Máximo Mínimo

Call Establishment Time MobilegFixed

MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]


Figure 5,

7,0

18,1

5,5

7,1

19,2

5,5

7,0

17,7

5,6

0

2

4

6

8

10

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20


Call Establishment Time FixedgMobile

MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]

4,0

12,1

2,9

4,4

11,4

3,13,

8

9,0

3,0

0

2

4

6

8

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MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]

7,2

16,2

5,4

7,1

18,7

5,5

7,1

17,2

5,6

0

2

4

6

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MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]


Figure 6,

Figure 7 and

3,82 4,

00

1,00

3,79 3,

98

1,03

3,86 4,

00

1,04

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

4,0

4,5

5,0

Média Máxima Mínima

Voice Call Audio QualityMobilegFixed

MEO NOS Vodafone

[MOS]

3,93 4,

18

1,00

3,94 4,

19

1,04

4,02 4,

18

1,00

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

4,0

4,5

5,0


Voice Call Audio QualityFixedgMobile

MEO NOS Vodafone

[MOS]

3,81 3,

99

2,97

3,74 4,

00

2,06

3,83 4,

01

1,00

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

4,0

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5,0



MEO NOS Vodafone

[MOS]


Figure 8).

Figure 3 – Indicators: Accessibility of Service and Call Termination Rate in the Urban Centres of Mainland Portugal.

3,97 4,

17

2,72

3,89 4,

20

2,09

4,01 4,

18

1,00

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

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MEO NOS Vodafone

[MOS]

99,7% 98,9%99,0% 99,1%99,2% 99,7%

0%

10%

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30%

40%

50%

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MEO NOS Vodafone

98,9% 99,3%99,0% 98,7%98,6% 99,2%

0%

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MEO NOS Vodafone


Figure 4 – Indicators: Accessibility of Service and Call Termination Rate along the Main Roads of Mainland Portugal.

Figure 5 – Indicator: Call Establishment Time in the Urban Centres of Mainland Portugal.

98,6% 98,9%97,6% 98,5%98,2% 98,2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

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60%

70%

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100%



MEO NOS Vodafone

97,8% 99,3%98,6% 98,9%98,4% 99,0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

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100%



MEO NOS Vodafone

4,0

11,7

2,3

4,4

19,5

3,33,8

9,9

2,9

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

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18

20



MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]

7,0

18,1

5,5

7,1

19,2

5,5

7,0

17,7

5,6

0

2

4

6

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18

20



MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]


Figure 6 - Indicator: Call Establishment Time along the Main Roads of Mainland Portugal.

Figure 7 – Indicator. Call Audio Quality in the Urban Centres of Mainland Portugal.

4,0

12,1

2,9

4,4

11,4

3,13,

8

9,0

3,0

0

2

4

6

8

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MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]

7,2

16,2

5,4

7,1

18,7

5,5

7,1

17,2

5,6

0

2

4

6

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MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]

3,82 4,

00

1,00

3,79 3,

98

1,03

3,86 4,

00

1,04

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

4,0

4,5

5,0



MEO NOS Vodafone

[MOS]

3,93 4,

18

1,00

3,94 4,

19

1,04

4,02 4,

18

1,00

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

4,0

4,5

5,0



MEO NOS Vodafone

[MOS]


Figure 8 – Indicator. Call Audio Quality along the Main Roads of Mainland Portugal.

File Transfer Service (FTP)

The performance of the File Transfer Service (FTP) varies according to the type of location analyzed,

and is significantly better in urban centres than along main roads, for all operators.

In urban centres, good levels were reported in terms of File Transfer Session Termination Rate (

3,81 3,

99

2,97

3,74 4,

00

2,06

3,83 4,

01

1,00

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

4,0

4,5

5,0



MEO NOS Vodafone

[MOS]

3,97 4,

17

2,72

3,89 4,

20

2,09

4,01 4,

18

1,00

0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

2,0

2,5

3,0

3,5

4,0

4,5

5,0



MEO NOS Vodafone

[MOS]

99,4% 99,3%97,1% 97,0%97,4% 97,2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

download upload

Data Session Termination RateFile Transfer (FTP)

MEO NOS Vodafone


Figure 9). MEO records the best performance, with 99.4% for downloads and 99.3% for uploads, in terms

of sessions successfully established and allowing the transfer of files during the pre-defined period. The

levels of performance provided by Vodafone and NOS in terms of this indicator are very close:

Vodafone reports rates of 97.4% and 97.2% respectively for downloads and uploads, while NOS reports

rates of 97.1% and 97.0% respectively for downloads and uploads.

Figure 9 – Indicator: Data Session Termination Rate in the Urban Centres of Mainland Portugal.

Figure 10 – Indicator. Data Session Termination Rate along the Main Roads of Mainland Portugal.

93,6% 93,3%90,2% 89,6%91,3% 90,7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

download upload


MEO NOS Vodafone

99,4% 99,3%97,1% 97,0%97,4% 97,2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

download upload


MEO NOS Vodafone

93,6% 93,3%90,2% 89,6%91,3% 90,7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

download upload


MEO NOS Vodafone


In the same locations, good levels of performance are observed in terms of Average Data Transfer

Speeds for both downloads and uploads (

Figure 11). MEO reports the best average speeds, with 27,387 kbps (download) and 6,705 kbps

(upload). For the same indicator, the levels of performance reported for NOS and Vodafone are very

close: NOS provides average data transfer speeds of 22,710 kbps (download) and 5,791 kbps (upload),

while Vodafone reports 22,493 kbps (download) and 5,813 kbps (upload).

Along main roads, the performance of the operators is significantly lower than as observed in urban

centres, although still acceptable. MEO provides the best File Transfer Session Termination Rates

(Figure 10), reporting 93.6% (download) and 93.3% (upload) success in establishing and maintaining

File Transfer Sessions. Vodafone reports success rates of 91.3% (download) and 90.7% (upload) for

this indicator, while NOS reports 90.2% (download) and 89.6% (upload).

Likewise, along main roads, but as regards Average Data Transfer Speed (

27.3

87

58.6

13

104

22.7

10

56.1

68

168

22.4

93

47.8

05

19

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000


Data Transfer Speed File download (FTP)

MEO NOS Vodafone

[kbps]

6.70

5

11.0

50

21

5.79

1

8.88

6

65

5.81

3

8.73

4

55

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000


Data Transfer Speed File upload (FTP)

MEO NOS Vodafone

[kbps]


Figure 12), the best performance for downloads was observed for MEO, with average data transfer

speeds of 13,986 kbps, followed by Vodafone with 13,143 kbps, and finally NOS, with 10,981 kbps. In

terms of file uploads, Vodafone reports the best performance, with an average data transfer rate of

4,314 kbps, followed by MEO with 4,084 kbps and NOS with 3,771 kbps.

Figure 11 – Indicator: Data Transfer Speed in the Urban Centres of Mainland Portugal.

13.9

86

52.5

79

161

10.9

81

52.0

34

5

13.1

43

44.6

59

18

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000



MEO NOS Vodafone

[kbps]

4.08

4 11.0

62

18

3.77

1

16.3

84

18

4.31

4

8.77

0

18

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000



MEO NOS Vodafone

[kbps]

27.3

87

58.6

13

104

22.7

10

56.1

68

168

22.4

93

47.8

05

19

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000



MEO NOS Vodafone

[kbps]

6.70

5

11.0

50

21

5.79

1

8.88

6

65

5.81

3

8.73

4

55

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000



MEO NOS Vodafone

[kbps]


Figure 12 – Indicator: Data Transfer Speed along the Main Roads of Mainland Portugal.

Internet navigation (HTTP web browsing)

The performance of mobile communication systems in terms of the Internet navigation service is clearly

better in urban centres (

13.9

86

52.5

79

161

10.9

81

52.0

34

5

13.1

43

44.6

59

18

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000



MEO NOS Vodafone

[kbps]

4.08

4 11.0

62

18

3.77

1

16.3

84

18

4.31

4

8.77

0

18

0

10.000

20.000

30.000

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000



MEO NOS Vodafone

[kbps]

99,4% 97,1% 97,1%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MEO NOS Vodafone

Data Session Termination RateInternet Navigation (HTTP web browsing)


Figure 13). In these locations, the capacity of networks to establish and maintain Internet browsing

sessions is good and the reference web page downloads quickly. MEO is the operator with the best

performance, with 99.4% of sessions successfully established and allowing the download of the entire

web page in an average of 2.0 seconds. NOS reports a success rate of 97.1% and 2.7 seconds to

download the web page, while Vodafone reports 97.1% and 3.1 seconds respectively in terms of

Session Termination Rate and Average Web Page Transfer Time.

Figure 13 – Indicators: Data Session Termination Rate and Average Web Page Transfer Time in the Urban Centres of Mainland Portugal.

2,0

56,9

1,22,7

49,5

1,53,

1

57,0

1,2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60


Web Page Transfer TimeInternet Navigation (HTTP web browsing)

MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]

99,4% 97,1% 97,1%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MEO NOS Vodafone

Data Session Termination RateInternet Navigation (HTTP web browsing)

2,0

56,9

1,22,7

49,5

1,53,

1

57,0

1,2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60



MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]


Figure 14 – Indicators: Data Session Termination Rate and Average Web Page Transfer Time along the Main Roads of Mainland Portugal.

Along the main roads, the performance of the Internet navigation service is acceptable (

Figure 14). The best results were reported for MEO with a 93.6% success rate in the establishment and

maintenance of sessions using the service and 3.8 seconds average duration to download the entire

reference web page. MEO is followed by Vodafone with 91.1% and 4.3 seconds, and finally NOS with

88.9% and 5.1 seconds respectively for the same indicators.

Data Transmission Latency

93,6%88,9% 91,1%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MEO NOS Vodafone

Data Session Termination RateInternet Navigation (HTTP web browsing

3,8

56,0

1,25,

1

55,2

1,64,

3

56,0

1,9

0

10

20

30

40

50

60



MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]

93,6%88,9% 91,1%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MEO NOS Vodafone

Data Session Termination RateInternet Navigation (HTTP web browsing

3,8

56,0

1,25,

1

55,2

1,64,

3

56,0

1,9

0

10

20

30

40

50

60



MEO NOS Vodafone

[s]


In line with the other data services, the best levels of performance provided by mobile communication

systems in terms of data transmission latency were observed in urban centres (

Figure 15 and

Figure 16).

99,3% 97,1% 97,5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MEO NOS Vodafone

Data Session Termination RateLatency (PingRTT / 2)

18

545

1128

357

1730

362

14

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800


Latency(PingRTT / 2)

MEO NOS Vodafone

[ms]

93,9%90,3% 91,2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MEO NOS Vodafone


37

711

11

42

630

18

42

308

21

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800



MEO NOS Vodafone

[ms]


As regards the Session Termination Rate indicator, MEO provides the best levels of performance, with

success rates of 99.3% and 93.9% respectively for urban centres and main roads. The performance of

Vodafone and NOS is very close in terms of this indicator: Vodafone has rates of 97.5% and 91.2%,

respectively for urban centres and main roads, while NOS recorded rates of 97.1% and 90.3%

respectively for urban centres and main roads.

Figure 15 – Indicators: Data Session Termination Rate and Latency in the Urban Centres of Mainland Portugal.

Figure 16 – Indicators: Data Session Termination Rate and Latency along the Main Roads of Mainland Portugal.

As regards the Latency indicator, MEO reports the best performance with average data transmission

99,3% 97,1% 97,5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MEO NOS Vodafone


18

545

1128

357

1730

362

14

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800



MEO NOS Vodafone

[ms]

93,9%90,3% 91,2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

MEO NOS Vodafone


37

711

11

42

630

18

42

308

21

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800



MEO NOS Vodafone

[ms]


delays of 18 and 37 milliseconds respectively for urban centres and main roads. The performance of

NOS and Vodafone is also very close in terms of this indicator: NOS reported average latency of 28 and

42 milliseconds respectively for urban centres and main roads, while Vodafone reported average

latency of 30 to and 42 milliseconds respectively for urban centres and main roads.

evaluation of quality of service - anacom

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