Like every year, Arcep published the results of its survey on the quality of mobile services at the end of October. To establish its ranking of the best operators, the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and Press Distribution analyzes 505 performance criteria, from the quality of speeds to the quality of calls, the exchange of SMS etc
So which of SFR, Orange, Free or Bouygues Telecom is the best operator in 2022?
Orange, best mobile network for the 12th consecutive time
For market players, this is not a surprise. “For the 12th time in a row, Orange is number 1 for the quality of mobile networks” says Fabienne Dulac, new CEO of Orange France and Deputy CEO of Orange. And to continue:
This 12th star illustrates Orange’s continued leadership in the networks and in terms of customer experience. It testifies to the expertise and the permanent commitment of the teams who work daily for more efficient and more responsible networks, in all territories. It is an immense collective pride!
Orange teams can indeed boast of Arcep’s results. SOut of a total of 505 criteria analysed, Orange comes in 1st or joint 1st out of 476 criteria. In rural areas, on the voice, sms and data criteria, the operator is positioned 92 times 1st or tied for 1st out of 94 measured criteria.
According to Arcep, Orange also offers the best mobile internet experience in 4G and 5G throughout the territory. Users of 5G devices benefit from the best download speeds with an average of 143 Mbit/s in mainland France and 217 Mbit/s in dense areas. And at a time when our transport habits are changing, Orange is also establishing itself as the best operator in rail (RER, TGV, trains) and road transport.
And the others ?
All of Orange’s competitors also go there with their press release. At Bouygues, we are delighted to be the “first alternative mobile operator”. Free Mobile is pleased to be the “first alternative operator for real data use”. Everyone is happy, except SFR which has not yet communicated on the results of Arcep.
Concretely, Orange’s competitors are having a hard time competing. However, on certain criteria, they manage to rub shoulders with the market leader. For example, in tests for displaying web pages in less than 10 seconds, Bouygues displays a success score of 97% in dense areas, against 98% for Orange. Behind Free Mobile shows a score of 95% and SFR 94%.
On the other hand, in terms of download speeds, the differences are widening. When Orange displays an average speed of 143 Mbit/s over the whole territory and 217 Mbit/s in dense areas, Bouygues and SFR display 84 Mbit/s and 167 Mbit/s (163 Mbit/s for SFR). Free, lagging behind, shows an average of 64 Mbit/s.
This trend can be observed for most criteria. Orange dominates, Bouygues Telecom is on the heels. Free Mobile and SFR are lagging behind and are fighting for third place.
So of course, the quality of an operator does not only depend on the quality of its network. Quality of service, advice and support are also important criteria for consumers. And in this little game, Orange and Bouygues Telecom are also good students.
