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.
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.
au keeps a firm grip on the Reliability Experience award, winning it for the third consecutive time with a score of 954 points on a 100–1000 point scale. SoftBank comes second, just five points behind. Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete basic tasks on operators’ networks.
au takes first place for Consistent Quality with a score of 84.8%, while SoftBank follows closely, around one percentage point behind. This metric measures whether the network can consistently support common mobile applications at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to perform typical demanding tasks on their devices.
Rakuten Mobile maintains a strong lead in both upload speed categories, winning Upload Speed Experience and 5G Upload Speed outright with scores of 15.3 Mbps and 24 Mbps, respectively — commanding sizable leads over runner-up SoftBank in both cases.
Thanks to a 2Mbps increase since the previous report, SoftBank pulls ahead of the previous outright winner, au, to claim the Download Speed Experience award with a score of 55.7Mbps — narrowly beating au by 1Mbps.
NTT docomo remains the sole winner for both Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience, boasting the widest and most extensive geographic coverage footprint in populated areas among Japan’s mobile operators across both overall and 5G networks.
au leads the regional award count in Japan — 42 outright and 45 shared across eight Japanese regions. It achieves a clean sweep in both Games Experience and 5G Games Experience. Rakuten Mobile secures 20 sole and 12 shared wins, leading regionally for Upload Speed Experience and 5G Upload Speed. It also wins four awards outright for 5G Download Speed, the most out of all Japanese operators. SoftBank wins 16 awards outright and 32 jointly, while NTT docomo takes home three sole and 15 shared wins.
In Opensignal's latest Japan Mobile Network Experience report, au leads the national award count with nine outright and two shared wins. NTT Docomo retains all of its awards from the previous report — three outright and one shared. SoftBank increases its tally from one outright win in the previous report to two sole and one shared victories, edging out the competition for the Download Speed Experience award. Traditionally, Rakuten Mobile wins both the Upload Speed Experience and 5G Upload Speed categories.
Japanese operators performed strongly in Opensignal’s recent 5G Global Awards report. au was named a 5G Global Winner for 5G Games Experience, 5G Reliability, and 5G Voice App Experience, while SoftBank secured 5G Global Leader titles in these categories. NTT Docomo was recognized as a 5G Global Leader for 5G Voice App Experience, while au also earned the same recognition for 5G Video Experience.
The rural-urban digital divide remains an issue in Japan, especially as rural users rely more on mobile networks than their urban counterparts — yet they spend nearly 1% of their time with no signal, and overall mobile network performance in rural areas remains inferior to that in cities. The Japanese government is working to close this gap through initiatives such as the Digital Garden City Nation project, which focuses on subsidizing the deployment of base stations in underserved areas.
Japanese operators are also actively investing in NTN technologies — including satellite and High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) systems — to deploy hybrid mobile infrastructure and reduce the high costs of network expansion in remote regions. For example, the au Starlink Direct service provides nationwide coverage by connecting standard smartphones to satellites, even in mountainous areas. It currently supports SMS, emergency alerts, and essential applications such as maps and weather.
Meanwhile, SoftBank aims to launch pre-commercial HAPS stratospheric telecom services in Japan in 2026. It has also formed a partnership with Cubic3 to develop a ubiquitous network integrating satellite and terrestrial systems for software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and other connected assets. Rakuten Mobile has also been experimenting with NTN technologies — in partnership with AST SpaceMobile, it successfully completed Japan’s first-ever broadband video call between standard smartphones using a low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite.
Japan has also been at the forefront of 5G Standalone (SA) deployments. As demonstrated in our insight, our users in Japan enjoy a superior mobile experience on 5G SA networks compared to Non-Standalone (NSA) ones. Rakuten Mobile will soon launch its own 5G SA network, having already selected partners for the rollout. Additionally, JTower’s Open RAN shared radio equipment — compatible with the 5G Sub-6 band — could enable operators to share not only physical infrastructure but also 5G radio equipment itself, potentially boosting 5G SA coverage and performance nationwide.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the four main mobile network operators in Japan — NTT docomo, Rakuten Mobile, SoftBank and au — over a period of 90 days starting on July 11, 2025, and ending on October 08, 2025, to see how they fared.
Opensignal reports include main brand experience only, sub-brands are not included. However, NTT docomo's other price plans (eximo, ahamo & irumo) are included in its scores. Our metrics include all user measurements reported across all mobile technologies including when users have exceeded their data allowance — and NTT docomo’s data included 3G.
SoftBank joins au on the winners’ podium for the Video Experience award, as both operators share statistically tied scores of 71.7–71.9 points on a 100-point scale.
They both rate as Very Good (68–78) for the overall video streaming experience on mobile devices. This means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better, with satisfactory loading times and minimal 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.
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:
The Live Video Experience award goes once again to au, which wins outright with a score of 66.6 points on a 100-point scale, beating SoftBank by one point.
All operators place in the Excellent (58 or above) category — meaning our users are, on average, able to stream video at least at 1080p, with low loading times, minimal stalling, and satisfactory live offset.
Operators’ Live Video Experience scores are determined using a range of measures that impact users’ perceived live streaming viewing experience, including picture quality, video loading time, and stall rate, but also live playback offset — the time difference between real-time and the current playback position a viewer sees.
Unlike Video Experience, which represents on-demand video streams, Live Video Experience quantifies live video streaming used for current events. For example when users watch live sports, game streams, music concerts, or news where the event is happening at that moment in time.
Opensignal’s Live Video Experience quantifies the quality of real-time video streamed to mobile devices by measuring video streams over an operator's network. The metric extends the existing International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach used for Opensignal's on-demand Video Experience metric, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including live playback offset, picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived live video experience as reported by real people. To calculate live video experience, we are directly measuring live video streams from end-user devices and using this extension of ITU's approach to quantify the overall live video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
au retains the lead for Games Experience, winning the award with a score of 84.7 points on a 100-point scale, commanding a three-point lead over second-placed SoftBank.
All operators place in the Good (75–85) category. This means most users find the experience acceptable. Gameplay is generally controllable, and users receive immediate feedback between their actions and in-game outcomes. Most players do not experience a noticeable delay between their actions and the game’s response.
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:
Once again, au wins the Voice App Experience award outright with a score of 82.9 points on a 100-point scale, beating SoftBank by one point.
All operators place in the Good (80–87) category. This means many users are satisfied, though some experience minor quality impairments — for example, occasional clicking sounds or slight distortion.
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
Thanks to a 2Mbps increase, SoftBank pulls ahead of the previous outright winner, au, and claims the Download Speed Experience award for itself with a score of 55.7 Mbps — narrowly beating au by 1Mbps.
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:
Rakuten Mobile reaffirms its dominance in Upload Speed Experience, winning once again with a score of 15.3 Mbps and an impressive 7 Mbps lead over runner-up SoftBank (8.5 Mbps).
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:
au successfully defends the 5G Video Experience award outright with a score of 76.3 points on a 100-point scale. SoftBank comes second, trailing by less than one point.
All Japanese operators rate as Very Good (68–78). This means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and minimal stalling when connected to 5G.
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.
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.
au remains the sole winner of the 5G Live Video Experience award, with a score of 72.2 points on a 100-point scale — one point ahead of SoftBank.
Regardless of operator, our Japanese users enjoy an Excellent (58 or above) 5G Live Video Experience. On average, they can stream video at least at 1080p, with low loading times, minimal stalling, and a satisfactory live offset when connected to 5G.
Operators’ 5G Live Video Experience scores are determined using a range of measures that impact users’ perceived live streaming viewing experience, including picture quality, video loading time, and stall rate, but also live playback offset — the time difference between real-time and the current playback position a viewer sees.
Unlike 5G Video Experience, which represents on-demand video streams, 5G Live Video Experience quantifies live video streaming used for current events. For example when users watch live sports, game streams, music concerts, or news where the event is happening at that moment in time.
Opensignal’s Live Video Experience quantifies the quality of real-time video streamed to mobile devices by measuring video streams over an operator's network. The metric extends the existing International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach used for Opensignal's on-demand Video Experience metric, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including live playback offset, picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived live video experience as reported by real people. To calculate live video experience, we are directly measuring live video streams from end-user devices and using this extension of ITU's approach to quantify the overall live video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
5G Live Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world live video streams when they were connected to 5G.
au retains the 5G Games Experience award with a score of 90.6 points on a 100-point scale, three points ahead of runner-up SoftBank.
SoftBank and au rate as Excellent (85 or above) for 5G Games Experience, while NTT Docomo and Rakuten Mobile place one category lower, in Good (75–85).
An Excellent (85 or above) rating means that the vast majority of users deem this network experience acceptable. Nearly all users feel like they have control over the game and they receive immediate feedback on their actions. There is not a noticeable delay in almost all cases.
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.
Once again, au takes home the 5G Voice App Experience award outright — this time with a score of 84.7 points on a 100-point scale — maintaining a lead of less than one point over second-placed SoftBank.
All operators achieve a Good (80–87) rating for 5G Voice App Experience. This means many users are satisfied, though some experience minor quality impairments — for example, occasional clicking sounds or slight distortion.
5G Voice App Experience quantifies the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. 5G Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
Our NTT docomo users continue to enjoy the fastest average 5G download speeds in Japan. The operator wins the 5G Download Speed award outright for the second consecutive time, with a score of 161.4 Mbps — 5.6% faster than on second-placed au’s network.
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).
Rakuten Mobile remains the sole winner of the 5G Upload Speed award with a score of 24 Mbps — 50% faster than what our users experience on SoftBank’s network.
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).
NTT docomo continues to lead the Coverage Experience award with a score of nine points on a 10-point scale — one point ahead of au. This score indicates that NTT docomo has the widest and most extensive geographic coverage footprint in populated areas among Japan’s mobile operators.
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.
NTT docomo retains the 5G Coverage Experience award with a score of 4.8 points on a 10-point scale, one point ahead of second-placed au. All operators have improved their 5G Coverage Experience since the previous report, reflecting the ongoing expansion of their 5G footprints across Japan’s populated areas.
Rakuten Mobile sees the highest improvement in its score in relative terms — a 25% growth — thanks its ongoing investment in mobile coverage across the country.
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.
NTT docomo and au remain locked in a statistical tie for Availability, with scores of 99.6–99.7%. These figures represent the proportion of time Opensignal users spend with a 5G, 4G, or 3G mobile signal.
Rakuten Mobile is now third for Availability — up from fourth place in the previous report — as it is tied with SoftBank, with identical scores of 99.4%,
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.
SoftBank keeps a firm grip on the 5G Availability award, winning it with a score of 19.9% — three percentage points ahead of au. SoftBank’s score means that our 5G users on its network spend nearly one-fifth of their time connected to 5G.
SoftBank's score has increased by four percentage points since the previous report, while au's has risen by three.
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.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
au takes first place for Consistent Quality with a score of 84.8%, while SoftBank follows closely behind, around one percentage point lower.
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.
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.
au remains the sole winner of the Reliability Experience award, achieving a score of 954 points on a 100–1000 point scale — five points ahead of second-placed SoftBank.
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:
a) Signal Availability — the proportion of time Opensignal users can successfully receive mobile network signal,
b) Data Connectivity — the proportion of time when the network is available and the device can connect to the internet,
c) Task Completion — whether tasks initiated by the user’s device are completed,
d) Sufficiency — the probability that (basic) tasks will be executed sufficiently well for the user.
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.
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.
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.
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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