Safaricom Takes Lead in Median Speed Performance: Speed Test Report

Apr 24 , 2023

Safaricom has recorded a 32.81Mbps median downloading speed doubling down on the performance of Ethiotelecom which stood at 13.76 Mbps according to a speed test report of Ookla, a worldwide data provider. The report has also ranked Safaricom first on consistency measurements which stood at 89.4pc while Ethiotelecom's performance lowered to 68.2pc. Ookla, part of the Ziff Davis portfolio, works in the network and connectivity intelligence ranks mobile and fixed broadband speeds worldwide on a monthly basis. The speed test global index depicts the multi-server latency which records the time it takes to compute a block of data to rotate on a read-and-write head over the year showing Safaricom's edge over its sole rival Ethio-telecom by a fine margin recording 94ms. Safaricom entered the Ethiopian telecom sector in October 2022 being the sole competitor of the state-owned Ethiotelecom established in 1892. Hawassa showed the fastest median mobile download speed at 53.93 Mbps followed by Gonder at 49.69 Mbps while the populous metropolitan capital city Addis Abeba took third place at 17.87 Mbps in the first quarter of 2023. According to the report, the highest average mobile download speed recorded last year is 21.36Mbps in October while the lowest average was recorded in June at 12.18Mbps. The average mobile upload speed has shown a steady decline from last year's March recorded 17.52Mbps to the lowest average recorded last month at 11.56Mbps. The figures put Ethiopia 119th out of 140 countries below neighbouring states Kenya and Sudan which stood 100th and 106th respectively. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Norway take the lead with 178.25Mbps, 174.56Mbps and 143.55Mbps respectively.