Bulgaria
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.
Bulgaria
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
A1 shines as the fastest network in Bulgaria
A1 wins or jointly wins all of the Overall Experience and 5G Experience awards – but performs particularly strongly in network speeds, taking three out of four speed categories as an outright winner with fastest experience across our users.
Yettel excels in Time on Network and Reliability
Yettel is the sole winner of the Time on Network, 5G Availability and Reliability Experience awards. In the previous report, it shared the Reliability Experience award with A1, but in this report it takes the lead by four percentage points.
Vivacom dominates Coverage Experience
Vivacom retains both the Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience awards from the previous report and adds the Time on 5G award outright this time. The latter result indicates that Vivacom users spend a greater share of their mobile experience connected to 5G, compared with other networks, with Vivacom leading A1 by two percentage points.
A1 keeps hold of Consistent Quality
A1 continues to be the sole winner of the Consistent Quality award, with a lead of three percentage points over second-placed Yettel. Consistent Quality measures whether the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to complete typical everyday tasks.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
In this report on the mobile network experience in Bulgaria, A1 takes home the most awards, securing four outright wins and jointly sharing five additional awards. Yettel follows closely in second place with three sole wins and five shared awards with A1.While Vivacom claims three outright Coverage awards.
Bulgaria features among the best performing 5G networks in the region, being recognised in our recent 5G Global Awards, in which two operators — A1 and Yettel — received a 5G Global Leader recognition each, for 5G Download Speed and 5G Reliability, respectively, among the small-land area group (markets with land-area less than 200,000 km2).
Bulgaria’s leading telecommunications operators invest heavily in the development of networks and services, with total investments exceeding €327 million, making the investment intensity nearly three times the national average. These investments provide critical infrastructure for the market and help position Bulgaria among Europe’s most advanced countries in digital infrastructure. Operators have played a key role in narrowing the rural–urban connectivity gap, helping ensure reliable connectivity for everyone.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the three main mobile network operators in Bulgaria — A1, Vivacom and Yettel — over a period of 90 days starting on October 1, 2025, and ending on December 29, 2025, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
A1 and Yettel continue to share the Video Experience award, as they did in the previous report, and in this report they remain statistically tied with scores of 72.3-73.3 points on a 100-point scale, holding a lead of around three points over third-placed Vivacom on 70.1 points. Scores for A1, Vivacom and Yettel have not changed significantly since the last report, and all operators place in the Very Good (68-78) category, meaning that users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
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
In the previous report, A1 and Yettel jointly won the Games Experience award, and in this report they retain the award together with statistically tied scores of 79.9-80.2 points on a 100-point scale, leading third-placed Vivacom by around four points (75.7).
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
After winning the Download Speed Experience award in the previous report, A1 retains the award in this report, taking it outright with a score of 113.9Mbps and a 17Mbps lead over second-placed Vivacom on 96.4Mbps, while Yettel ranks third with 89.6Mbps.
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
In the previous report, A1 and Yettel jointly won the Upload Speed Experience award, and they retain it in this report with statistically tied scores of 17.5-18.1Mbps, leading third-placed Vivacom by around 1Mbps (16.7Mbps).
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
As in the previous report, A1 and Yettel share the 5G Video Experience award, and in this report they remain joint winners with statistically tied scores of 77.5-77.7 points on a 100-point scale.
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
In the previous report, Yettel won the 5G Games Experience award, but in this report A1 and Yettel share the award with statistically tied scores of 84.3-85.3 points on a 100-point scale.
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
After winning the 5G Download Speed award in the previous report, A1 retains the title in this report, taking the award outright with 343.9Mbps.
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
After winning the 5G Upload Speed award in the previous report, A1 retains the award in this report, taking it outright with a score of 35.8Mbps.
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
Vivacom retains the Coverage Experience award outright with a score of 7.5 points on a 10-point scale, leading Yettel and A1 by less than one point. Since the previous report, Yettel’s and A1’s scores have each increased by less than one point, while Vivacom’s score has not changed.
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.
National Analysis
Vivacom wins the 5G Coverage Experience award again,with a score of 3.8 points on a 10-point scale, leading second-placed Yettel by less than one point (3.5 points), while A1 ranks third with 3.3 points. Since the last report, all three operators have improved by one point, with A1, Yettel, and Vivacom each increasing their scores by one point.
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
Yettel wins the Time on Network award outright with a score of 99.6%, leading by around one percentage point over second-placed A1 and Vivacom.
Definitions
Our time on network and availability metrics are not measures 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 time on network 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 time on network and availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Time on Network shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
National Analysis
Vivacom wins the Time on 5G award outright with a score of 26.3%, leading second-placed A1 by two percentage points.
Definitions
Our time on network and availability metrics are not measures 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 time on network 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 time on network and availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Time on 5G shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription utilised an active 5G connection.
National Analysis
Yettel wins the 5G Availability award outright with a score of 86%, leading by around four percentage points over second-placed A1 and Vivacom.
Definitions
Our time on network and availability metrics are not measures 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 time on network 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 time on network and 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 a 5G connection, whether or not it was used.
Consistency
National Analysis
After winning the Consistent Quality award in the previous report, A1 retains the title in this report, taking the award outright with a score of 87.7%.
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
In the previous report, A1 and Yettel jointly won the Reliability Experience award, but in this report Yettel takes the award outright with a score of 957 points on a 100-1000 point scale.
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.
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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