MONTHLY DATA REPORT: CARRIERSApril 2016

© Apteligent 2016

IntroductionThis month’s data report focuses on the performance roadblocks present in global network infrastructure. We dive into carrier performance, the impact of natural disasters, and even how seasonality can impact the latency of an app.

Use this information to craft your global mobile strategy and to harden your app against

slow app launch times and sluggish in-app performance. For example, as you launch an app

in new regions, your app needs to account for local network conditions or you risk delivering

a poor user experience. A high fidelity video streaming app may work great in New York City

where the average latency is 302 ms, but what is the effect on user experience in cities like

Mexico City, where networks are 83% slower with an average of 554 ms?

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THE SLOWEST CARRIERS in the WorldOur last data report, focusing on iOS 9.3, previewed the top five worst carriers globally by

HTTP error rate. As promised, the table below lists the top five slowest carriers globally:

Country Carrier Avg Latency Latency Rank Req > 500ms

Thailand DTAC 760.61 50 76%

Thailand Truemove H 736.6 49 79%

Brazil Vivo (Telefônica Brasil) 685.07 48 72%

Thailand AIS 661.57 47 72%

Russia Beeline 656.94 46 57%

Calculated by the top 50 carriers globally by request volume, sorted by latency

The fastest carriers are located in France (Orange, Free Mobile, and Bouygues Telecom)

and South Korea (SK Telecom, Olleh, LG Uplus). On average, these operators are about

3-4x faster than the top five listed above.

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T-MOBILE IS THE Fastest Carrier in the USThe data shows that T-Mobile edges out Verizon for the top spot as fastest carrier

in the US with an average latency of 299 ms. Among the top 5 in the US, T-Mobile also

had the most predictable network performance. We calculated lack of predictability

as the number of requests above 500 ms as a percentage of all requests. T-Mobile was

the most predictable with only 16% of requests taking above 500 ms to complete.

US Cellular is the Slowest Carrier in the USIf you look at the top five carriers, US Cellular was the slowest, with the highest average

latency of 337 ms. It was also the least predictable in terms of network performance with

22% of requests coming in above 500 ms. If you include mobile virtual network operators

(MVNOs) then Boost Mobile is actually the slowest in the top five at 331 ms, although this

is more of a reflection of Sprint’s CDMA network.

There are several strategies to deal with slow network performance. If you have a content-

heavy app, consider deploying a content delivery network (CDN) in regions with high

latency. An app can also be designed to “hide” slow downloads by bundling content with

the app download and intelligently downloading content ahead of when the app needs it.

Another common mistake is to misuse or abuse cloud service APIs. A good practice

to reduce data transfer is to add parameters to your API calls that restrict the results

based on time or location.

Boost Mobile Device Demographics vs VerizonWe thought it would be interesting to to compare the device demographics of

an inexpensive prepaid MVNO, in this case Boost Mobile, with that of the most expensive

carrier in the US, Verizon Wireless. The data shows what you would expect. Specifically,

cheap, lower-end Android devices are popular on Boost Mobile, whereas Verizon users

can afford the higher-end, flagship devices. One surprising result is that Verizon customers

are still holding on to their previous Galaxy devices, a reflection of the diminishing

technology gaps with the release of each new generation of the device. Another surprise

is the prevalence of the latest iPhone models in the Boost Mobile rankings.

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Boost MobileAndroid Device iOS Device

1 Samsung Galaxy Core Prime iPhone 5S

2 Samsung Galaxy S3 iPhone 6

3 N9130 iPhone 6S

4 LG G Stylo iPhone 5C

5 LG Volt iPhone 6 Plus

Verizon WirelessAndroid Device iOS Device

1 Samsung Galaxy S5 iPhone 6

2 Motorola Droid Ultra iPhone 5S

3 Samsung Galaxy S4 iPhone 6S

4 Samsung Galaxy Note 3 iPhone 6 Plus

5 Samsung Galaxy S6 iPhone 6S Plus

For more information on device usage, see our global directory:

https://data.apteligent.com/android/devices/

© Apteligent 2016

ECUADOR: The Impact of Natural Disasters on Network InfrastructureOn April 16th, at approximately 18:58 ECT, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck about 27

km southeast of the town of Muisne. Over 650 people have died and almost 17,000 are

injured. Widespread destruction occurred, including network infrastructure. Cell service

was disrupted as far away as Quito, 170 km away, and the airport in Manta was shut down

as the communications tower collapsed.

The graph below shows the impact on network requests in the region of Manabi,

one of the areas hardest hit by the earthquake.

40

0April 8 April 13 April 18 April 23

7.8 Magnitude Earthquake

April 28

200

80

Monitoring Manabi, Ecuador: Moving Average (3 days Window)

120

160

% o

f Mar

ch R

eque

sts

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You can see network requests quickly fall to almost zero after the earthquake and take

about a week to recover.

Our hope was that at least one carrier survived the damage to provide emergency service.

We examined the three major carriers in Ecuador: Claro, Movistar, and Corporación

Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CNT). All three showed major service disruptions after

the earthquake struck.

In the mobile world, events outside of your control can have an impact on your ability

to deliver service. If your mission critical app is used in an area prone to natural disasters

or geopolitical issues -- where governments censor data or shutdown connectivity,

for example -- you should consider strategies to fortify your app. For example, consider

offline app development strategies like caching, proper data syncing and conflict

resolution, and even alternative forms of communication like SMS or Bluetooth to deliver

functionality.

Help the relief effort in Ecuador:

Support UNICEF’s Earthquake Relief Efforts in Ecuador

For information on road conditions and satelite imagery of impacted areas:

http://www.google.org/crisismap/2016-ecuador-earthquake

© Apteligent 2016

MOBILE APPS ARE Slower in the SummerOn average, your apps will run about 15% slower in the summer! The explanation is due to the science behind the propagation of radio waves. Increases

in water vapor cause attenuation of the waves1, especially at higher frequency bands. This

means that the humid summer months will cause degradation in signal strength, and slight

delays in data delivered to the handsets of your customer base. The impact is pronounced

in the data. The chart below compares latency of apps in the summer against the winter.

00 10 20 30 40 50 60

80

160

240

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Latency: Winter vs Summersummer latencywinter latency

Late

ncy

Rate

Days

Mobile Network Experience ScoresThis month, in conjunction with STL Partners, we released a complimentary report that

looks at global operators and the correlation between performance and user satisfaction.

We created a network performance index that benchmarks the network speed and

reliability of global mobile operators by measuring download speeds, average latency,

error rates, and latency consistency. For a country-by-country chart of the top performing

mobile network operators, download the full paper.

1http://www.intechopen.com/books/electromagnetic-waves/atmospheric-attenuation-due-to-humidity

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Monthly Report & Mobile Industry UpdatesDo you like data as much as we do? You can find mobile industry benchmarks

(updated daily!) at data.apteligent.com. In addition, every month we publish a recap

of the trends and movements in the industry. Tune in next month for a focus

on Android as we celebrate Google IO.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Country Averages - Overall MobiNEX Scores/100 (Q4 2015)

France 69

Germany 43

United Kingdom 60

Spain 41

Canada 54

Italy 40

United States 39

ABOUT APTELIGENT If you develop an app, or are responsible for the success of a mobile app, Apteligent’s

lightweight SDK helps you optimize user experience by identifying performance issues,

such as crashes and network failures, that impact user behavior.

The company’s solution provides a real-time global view of apps across iOS, Android, Windows

Phone 10, Hybrid and HTML5. Trusted by three of the top five credit card issuers, three of the

top five media companies, three of the top five retailers, and two of the top three hotel chains

with the success of their strategic mobile app initiatives. Apteligent is leading the drive to the

App Economy.

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