Kuwait
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Kuwait
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
Ooredoo gains the Best Network award, pulling ahead of Zain in Reliability Experience
Ooredoo earns recognition as the Best Network in Kuwait, as it wins the Reliability Experience and Download Speed Experience awards outright, as well as jointly winning on Availability. Reliability Experience was previously won by Zain in the previous report in November 2024. Ooredoo’s score has leapt by over 10%, while Zain’s has fallen by almost the same amount – causing Zain to drop into third place behind stc. However, Zain keeps hold of the Consistent Quality award with a score of 70.1% – although this has dropped by over seven percentage points since the last report, allowing second-placed Ooredoo to come within one point of the leader.
Zain wins both Coverage Experience and 5G coverage awards
Zain keeps the Coverage Experience award, with a score of 7.9 points on a 10-point scale – significantly ahead of closest rival Ooredoo. However, Ooredoo has made the largest gains in this metric with an increase of over 3% since the last report, while Zain and third-placed stc’s Coverage Experience scores are statistically unchanged. Zain pulls ahead of the pack to win the 5G Coverage Experience award with an impressive increase of over 14%, following a draw with stc in the last report. However, this metric remains tight, with Zain scoring 4.0 points while Ooredoo on 3.9 and stc scoring 3.8.
Ooredoo wins Games Experience award, while stc shows significant improvement
Ooredoo is the outright winner of the Games Experience award, after drawing with Zain in this category in the previous report. Ooredoo’s score has increased by 3% — but it is stc that has made the largest gain, with an increase of over 4%, pushing Zain into third place. Ooredoo also pulls ahead in 5G Games Experience, winning this award after drawing with Zain last time around – but it’s our stc users that have seen the largest improvement in this category.
Ooredoo improves in Video Experience while Zain drops off
Ooredoo also made some gains in Video Experience, sharing this award with stc. The metric was jointly won by Zain and stc last time around, but a fall of nearly 20% in Zain’s score has seen the operator drop into third place. This pattern is reflected in 5G Video Experience, as Ooredoo wins the award from Zain, which was in first place in the last report. A drop of close to 15% has seen Zain also fall to third place in this metric.
Ooredoo keeps both overall download and upload speed awards
The Download Speed Experience award stays with Ooredoo – despite increases of close to 5% from both stc and Zain in this metric. Ooredoo is still also the outright winner of the Upload Speed Experience award, with Zain missing the chance to pull ahead as both operators saw their scores drop over 12% compared to the last report. Zain keeps the 5G Download Speed award despite double-digit percentage drops across all scores in this category, while Ooredoo wins 5G Upload Speed after drawing with Zain in the last report.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In Opensignal's latest analysis of Kuwait’s mobile network experience, Ooredoo emerges as the leading operator, winning Best Network with seven out of 13 awards won outright and sharing two others. This is in stark contrast to the previous report, when Zain scooped five awards outright and shared six others. Most notably, Ooredoo takes the Reliability Experience and 5G Video Experience awards from Zain – although the latter has managed to hold onto the Coverage Experience award.
The latest figures from Kuwait reveal a slight slowdown in both 5G Download and 5G Upload Speed metrics – but this is likely to be a result of a migration of increasing numbers of customers to 5G networks. Zain has identified a decrease in mobile pre-paid subscribers and a resultant increase in post-paid mobile customers – and larger data buckets and unlimited deals are also contributing to the increased data load on 5G. Ooredoo has also recently announced the launch of fresh new bundles, offering multiple mobile SIMs and 5G FWA router deals at lower prices – all of which is encouraging migration to 5G networks.
Kuwait was among the early adopters of 5G in the region, with strong government support for spectrum allocation and rapid network deployments by operators. Kuwait’s operators all have access to at least 100MHz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band — known for its balance between coverage and capacity, it allows high-speed connections. This focus on 3.5GHz aligns with best practices in leading 5G markets like South Korea, Malaysia, and New Zealand, where 5G is also deployed primarily on this band, underscoring its central role in delivering high-speed and reliable 5G connectivity.
Kuwait, along with many of its GCC neighbours, has been at the forefront of transitioning to 4G and 5G networks. Regulators in Kuwait, Oman and Qatar have further supported this transition by restricting imports of 2G/3G-only devices. As a result, our users in Kuwait spend the lowest amount of time on 2G and 3G networks in the region. Kuwait now plans to shut down 3G services completely by June 2025, redirecting mobile spectrum and network capacity to 5G.
Kuwait’s operators garnered a couple of mentions in Opensignal’s recent Global Mobile Network Experience Awards 2025, where Ooredoo gained an award as a global leader for Upload Speed Experience in the small land area group. Elsewhere, stc was named as a Global Rising Star for Download Speed Experience in the small land area group, having shown the best relative improvement in this metric. Omani operators earned recognition several times in the same report in the large land area group in the Global Mobile Network Experience Awards, reflecting the success of the 4G/5G migration strategy in the region.
These wins can be attributed to a mutually beneficial working environment in the region, where regulators have been working closely with operators to ensure the availability of spectrum, licences and encouraging competition to ensure these telecoms markets are flourishing.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the three main mobile network operators in Kuwait — Zain, Ooredoo and stc — over a period of 90 days starting on January 01, 2025, and ending on March 31, 2025, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
stc and Ooredoo share the Video Experience award with statistically tied scores of 69.1-69.2 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of around 13 points over third-placed Zain. In the previous report, the award was jointly won by Zain and stc.
Ooredoo's score has increased by one point. Zain's score has decreased by 13 points. stc's score hasn't changed significantly since the previous report.
Ooredoo and stc place in the Very Good (68-78) category, while Zain places two categories lower, in Fair (48-58).
A Very Good (68-78) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling. A Fair (48-58) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and substantial stalling.
Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
Ooredoo wins the Games Experience award outright with a score of 77.2 points on a 100 point scale — a lead of two points over second-placed stc. Zain comes third with a score of 73.8 points. In the previous report, the award was shared by Zain and Ooredoo.
stc's score has increased by three points, Ooredoo's score has risen by two points, while Zain's score has decreased by one point.
Ooredoo and stc place in the Good (75-85) category, while Zain places one category lower, in Fair (65-75).
A Good (75-85) rating means that most users deem the experience acceptable. The gameplay experience is generally controllable and the user receives immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game. A Fair (65-75) rating means that users find the experience to be ‘average’. In most cases the game is responsive to the actions of the player with most users feeling like they have control over the game. The majority of players notice a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Ooredoo continues to win the Download Speed Experience award outright, doing so this time with a score of 85Mbps. This gives it a lead of around 9Mbps over Zain and stc, which tie for second place.
Zain’s and stc’s scores have increased by around 3Mbps, while Ooredoo's score hasn't statistically changed since the previous report.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
Ooredoo keeps the Upload Speed Experience award with a score of 16.6Mbps — a lead of 2Mbps over second-placed Zain's 14.8Mbps. stc comes third with a score of 14.1Mbps.
Ooredoo's score has decreased by 3Mbps, while Zain's score has decreased by 2Mbps. stc's score hasn't statistically changed since the previous report.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
5G Experience
National Analysis
Ooredoo wins the 5G Video Experience award outright with a score of 76.1 points on a 100 point scale — a lead of two points over second-placed stc's 74.4 points. Zain comes third with a score of 65.8 points. In the previous report, the award was won by Zain.
Ooredoo's score has increased by one point, while Zain's score has dropped by 12 points. stc's score hasn't changed a significant amount since the previous report.
Ooredoo and stc place in the Very Good (68-78) category, while Zain places one category lower, in Good (58-68).
A Very Good (68-78) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling when connected to 5G. A Good (58-68) rating means that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
5G Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
Ooredoo wins the 5G Games Experience award outright with a score of 82.8 points on a 100 point scale — giving it a lead of three points over second-placed Zain's 80.2 points. stc comes third with a score of 78.3 points. In the previous report, the award was won by Zain and Ooredoo jointly.
stc's and Ooredoo’s scores have increased by four and two points, respectively. In contrast, Zain's score remains statistically the same since the previous report.
All operators place in the Good (75-85) category.
A Good (75-85) rating means that most users deem their 5G experience acceptable. The gameplay experience is generally controllable and the user receives immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game.
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
Zain wins the 5G Download Speed award with a score of 295Mbps — giving it a lead of 55Mbps over second-placed Ooredoo. stc comes third with a score of 202.7Mbps. In the previous report, the award was won by Zain.
All three operators’ scores have dropped from those seen in the last report. Zain's score has fallen the most, a decline of 23Mbps, while Ooredoo's and stc’s scores have dropped by 17Mbps and 16Mbps, respectively.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
Ooredoo wins the 5G Upload Speed award with a score of 29.3Mbps. This gives it- a lead of 5Mbps over second-placed Zain. stc comes third with a score of 23Mbps. In the previous report, the award was shared by Zain and Ooredoo.
As is the case with 5G Download Speed, all three operators’ scores are down from those seen last time around. Zain's score has fallen the most — a decline of 7Mbps, while both Ooredoo's and stc’s scores have dropped by 2Mbps.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Coverage
National Analysis
Zain keeps hold of the Coverage Experience award with a score of 7.9 points, giving it a lead of one point over second-placed Ooredoo. stc comes third with a score of 6.4 points. Ooredoo's score has increased by less than one point, while Zain's and stc's scores haven't statistically changed since the previous report.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
5G Coverage Experience shows the proportion of places Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
National Analysis
All three of Kuwait’s operators share the Availability award with statistically tied scores of around the 98% mark — unchanged from the last report. In addition, the operators’ scores are statistically unchanged.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
Consistency
National Analysis
Zain continues to be the outright winner of the Consistent Quality award. It wins this time with a score of 70.1%, giving a lead of one percentage point over second-placed Ooredoo. stc is in third place with a score of 53.3%.
Ooredoo's score has increased by six percentage points, while Zain's score has decreased by seven percentage points and stc's score fell by one percentage point.
This metric measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical demanding tasks on their devices. It assesses a number of experience indicators such as download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, and time to first byte.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical tasks on their devices.
We combine different experience indicators such as download throughput, upload throughput, latency, jitter, packet discard, and time to first byte to calculate Consistent Quality. These components are evaluated against thresholds recommended by various more demanding common applications used for a range of common tasks.
To calculate the metric value, the proportion of tests that pass the requirements of Consistent Quality is multiplied by the test success ratio, which is the proportion of completed tests to all tests conducted. Tests that pass indicate that activities such as video calling, uploading an image to social media, or using smart home applications will be possible without noticeable lag or slowdown.
National Analysis
Ooredoo wins the Reliability Experience award outright with a score of 897 points and a lead of 33 points over second-placed Zain. stc comes third with a score of 832 points. In the previous report, the award was won by Zain.
Ooredoo's score has increased by 21 points, Zain's score has decreased by 40 points, while stc's score hasn't statistically changed since the previous report.
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on operators’ networks. It consists of the following components:
% time connected — The proportion of time Opensignal users can successfully connect to a mobile network
Data Connectivity — the proportion of time when the network is available and the device can connect to the internet
Task completion — whether tasks initiated by the user’s device are completed
Sufficiency — The probability that (basic) tasks will be executed sufficiently well for the user
Definitions
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of Opensignal users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on communication service providers’ (CSP) networks. It analyzes how much Opensignal users’ experience is affected by the radio access and core network, along with issues that prevent them from connecting to the internet even if they have a connection to their CSP’s network. It also factors in users’ ability to successfully use lower performance applications including SD video, over-the-top voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
Check how your internet connection impacts your favorite apps with the Meteor App
Journalists, please retain the Opensignal logo and copyright
(© Opensignal Limited) information when using this image.
This image may not be used for any commercial purpose, including use in advertisements or other promotional content, without prior written consent.
Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience