Analysis: Spain is Europe’s most congested mobile market
May 4, 2026
Ookla has published its latest analysis on mobile network quality across 30 European markets. Research by Luke Kehoe, Lead Industry Analyst at Ookla, reveals a significant ‘hidden; performance gap during peak hours that aggregate national metrics often mask.
Key takeaways include:
- Spain is Europe’s most congested mobile market at evening peak, with a framework value of 62. Median download speed fell from 161.20 Mbps off-peak to 54.10 Mbps during peak hours in Q1 2026, a 66 per cent drop, while loaded latency increased 60 per cent to 724 ms.
- Six markets maintained near-flat daily performance. Luxembourg (~0), Belgium (2), Norway (8), Slovakia (8), France (11), and the Netherlands (12) sit in the resilient tier, each with distinct structural characteristics across data-usage intensity, population mobility, and network density that help mitigate congestion.
- Switzerland is the clearest example of why headline metrics alone are insufficient. Despite having Europe’s highest mobile ARPU at €50.90 ($59.58) per subscriber and a 74 per cent 5G connection share, Switzerland has the third-highest congestion value in the analysis at 47. Its median speed drop is moderate, but loaded latency rises 46 per cent and the bottom 10 per cent of users see download speeds fall 81 per cent, from 25.50 Mbps to 4.80 Mbps.
- Investment intensity and network management explain more than wealth, spectrum holdings, or market concentration. Capex as a share of revenue shows the strongest relationship with congestion resilience among the structural variables tested, although it is a moderate relationship rather than a deterministic rule. Operator gaps reinforce the point: in Poland, the evening-peak gap between T-Mobile and Plus is 4.1x, compared with 2.2x off-peak, meaning peak load can amplify rather than merely reflect baseline differences.
- 5G improves the experience under load, but it does not remove congestion. Across 10 high-5G European markets, the average speed drop at peak is 32 per cent for 4G and 27 per cent for 5G. The more consistent 5G advantage is latency: 5G loaded latency at peak is 12 per cent to 44 per cent lower than 4G in every market tested.
- Seasonality materially changes the congestion picture. Spain and Croatia show repeated summer pressure linked to tourism, Nordic markets show a summer shift toward rural and holiday-home locations, while Switzerland and Austria see congestion ease in summer, pointing to winter demand concentration at ski resorts as the sharper stress pattern.
