It’s The Fan School telecoms version. With the publication of Arcep’s annual survey assessing the quality of service of mobile operators, the sector regulator, Free, SFR, Orange and Bouygues issued a press release to claim first place in the different categories or at least a strong progression in the ranking.
In fact, the Arcep investigation is unavoidable. Comprising 278 indicators, it is based on more than a million measurements carried out in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G, carried out in all departments of mainland France, from mid-May to mid-August 2023 and in different locations of life, inside and outside buildings or in transport (roads, metros and trains).
For this 2023 edition, Arcep has evolved its indicators by trying to get as close as possible to the reality of uses. The supervisory authority has retained three types of download speed: 3 Mbit/s corresponds to the least demanding uses such as mobile web browsing, 8 Mbit/s for video viewing and 30 Mbit/s for the use of tools. collaborative in a professional setting.
All residential areas combined, Orange comes out on top regardless of the use case chosen (see infographic). Behind, Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile and SFR are neck and neck. In dense areas, i.e. urban areas, Orange remains ahead but Bouygues Telecom is challenging its leadership.
Regarding video streaming in these dense areas, the four operators display an excellent rate of 97% of videos viewed in perfect quality. In rural areas, Orange stands out (89%) ahead of SFR (85%), Free Mobile (84%) and Bouygues Telecom (82%). When it comes to web browsing, Orange still comes out on top with 97% of pages displayed in less than ten seconds, followed closely by Bouygues Telecom (96%), SFR (94%) and Free Mobile (93%). In rural areas, Orange (84%) is ahead of Free Mobile (78%) and SFR (77%) then Bouygues Telecom (75%).
Voice quality improves
Another reason for satisfaction: voice quality is improving in 2023. To measure it, Arcep used as an indicator the rate of calls maintained for two minutes and without audible disturbances. On this criterion, Orange (96%) and Bouygues Telecom (95%) are very close in dense areas, ahead of SFR and Free Mobile (92%). In rural areas, the situation is less good with a rate of 85% for Orange, 78% for SFR and Free Mobile, and 76% for Bouygues Telecom.
Arcep also assessed for the first time the voice quality of telephone calls made via a WhatsApp-type instant messaging application. For calls with perfect quality, Orange has a success rate of 92%, ahead of SFR (86%), and Bouygues Telecom (82%). On this indicator, Free is significantly behind (54%).
Regarding SMS, all operators allow you to receive a short message in less than ten seconds. In this area, Free and Orange are tied for first (97%), followed by Bouygues Telecom and SFR (95%).
Minimum quality on trains
Finally, Arcep was interested in connectivity in means of transport. The quality of service remains at a good level of performance on the main roads with nearly 92% of web pages displayed in less than ten seconds. Navigation is also fluid on the RER and Transiliens (85%) and metros (96%). On the other hand, quality is at an average level in the TGVs, in the Intercity network trains and in the Regional Express Trains (TER) with a score of only 70%.
If we focus this time by operator, SFR (92%), Bouygues Telecom and Free Mobile (91%) are all three close behind Orange (95%) on the main roads. In TGVs, Orange displays the best performance (79%), ahead of Free Mobile (73%), SFR (65%) and Bouygues Telecom (64%). In the trains of the Intercités networks and in the TER, Orange remains first with a score of 77%, followed by Free (70%) then SFR and Bouygues Telecom (66%).
On the Ile-de-France rail routes (RER and Transiliens), Bouygues Telecom (84%), SFR and Free Mobile (83%) are still behind Orange (90%). In the metros, all operators display a very good level of performance, whether Orange (98%), SFR and Bouygues Telecom (97%) or Free Mobile (94%).
Now let’s look at the call quality. On the roads, Orange, with 95% of calls successfully held for two minutes, is ahead of SFR (92%), Bouygues Telecom (90%) and Free Mobile (85%). In trains, Orange also presents the best performance in TGVs, in Intercity network trains and in TER. In TGVs, it obtains 78% of communications maintained compared to 68% for Bouygues Telecom and 65% for SFR and Free Mobile.
On the RER and Transiliens network, Orange with 86% and Bouygues Telecom with 84% are ahead of SFR (80%) and Free Mobile (78%). In the metros, Bouygues Telecom, Orange (98%) and SFR (97%) come first in maintained communications followed by Free Mobile with 95%.
Orange, undisputed number one
Considering all of these results, Orange undoubtedly presents itself as the best mobile network in France for the thirteenth consecutive edition. The historic operator comes first or tied for first on all 278 performance criteria measured by Arcep.
In a press release, Bouygues Telecom “ confirms its number two position for the second consecutive year » and is pleased to rank tied for first on mobile internet in dense areas. A second place contested by his rivals. “ SFR continues its progress », estimates the subsidiary of the Altice group. “ SFR is tied for first or second place on 228 of the 278 criteria in the survey, i.e. 82% of the criteria versus 72% in 2022. »
Likewise, Free says it has recorded clear progress on the majority of indicators used by Arcep. “ All areas and uses combined, out of 278 indicators, Free ranks 1st or 1st tied out of 119 indicators and 2nd or 2nd tied out of 82 indicators. » Arcep’s investigation will therefore only have made people happy. To find out the performance of the four operators in your city, you can refer to its interactive map.