·Telefónica’s commercial brand in Spain leads all six categories assessed, with a particularly strong performance in Accessibility, which measures network responsiveness.
·The study also concludes that Movistar customers enjoy the best experience when using the services assessed, including web browsing, social media, video streaming and online gaming.
·For the first time, MedUX measures the experience of using generative artificial intelligence assistants, another area in which Movistar achieves the best results.
·The study uses two measurement sources: field measurements through drive testing and crowdsourced samples from real devices.

Movistar, Telefónica’s commercial brand in Spain, delivers the best nationwide mobile experience among the operators assessed, according to the latest study by MedUX, a company specialising in independent benchmarking of quality of experience on telecommunications networks.

The aim of MedUX’s comparative study of mobile networks in Spain, based on data collected between July and September this year through both field measurements using drive testing and crowdsourced samples from real devices, is to independently assess service quality from the user’s perspective.

As MedUX states, “Movistar achieves the highest combined MedUX Experience Score, at 3.97 out of 5. Under the MedUX methodology and the statistical criteria established for the benchmark, this result supports its recognition as the sole leader of the Q3 2026 national benchmark.” The report, which defines six main categories to assess performance and quality of experience, concludes: “Movistar is identified as the winner in all of them, securing six category leads.”

With a score of 3.97 out of 5, Movistar delivers the best mobile experience, leading the report’s two overall rankings, Best Mobile Experience and Most Reliable Mobile Experience, with scores of 3.97 and 4.20 out of 5, respectively.

Overall mobile experience summarises network performance across all the services assessed,including speed, transmission quality and connection continuity, while reliability measures how consistently the services used by customers are completed successfully.

The report also ranks Movistar first in the four additional categories assessed:

• Accessibility, which refers to the network’s ability to respond and the speed of that response (3.47 points), a category in which Movistar stands out in particular.
• Value for Speed, which measures 4G and 5G download and upload speeds and how those speeds meet data transmission needs to deliver the best services (4.04 points). Notably, 83.2% of Movistar’s field tests assessed in this category were conducted over 5G.
• Data and OTT, which covers data services and connectivity to over-the-top platforms (3.89 points).
• Streaming, which assesses the video playback experience (3.68 points).

Movistar customers also enjoy the best results in the market for the experience of using the services assessed, specifically web browsing, social media interaction, video streaming and online gaming.

For the first time, the study measures the experience of using generative artificial intelligence assistants, a service that depends more on end-to-end latency and transport speed than on bandwidth. Movistar records the best response time across all three percentiles measured.

In voice services, measured by the quality of audio received during real calls, Movistar also outperforms the other operators, scoring 4.59 out of 5.

Juan José Marfil, Director of Network, IT and Infrastructure at Telefónica in Spain, says: “This recognition is particularly meaningful for Telefónica because it endorses our purpose as an operator: to be people’s best gateway to digital technologies. It also recognises our efforts to offer more and better services, supported by the best network for accessing the most innovative technology—a reliable network of the highest quality that turns technological complexity into a distinctive experience.”

Luis Molina, CEO of MedUX, says: “Our aim is not simply to provide a ranking, but to offer conclusions that stand up to rigorous scrutiny. That is why we measure the experience as end users actually live it, through the services they use every day, and validate it using two complementary sources: field measurements and millions of measurements from real mobile devices. With this rigorous approach, applied equally to all operators, Movistar is now the sole leader in mobile experience in Spain.”

Methodology

To produce the report, MedUX travelled 4,480 kilometres across 85 Spanish municipalities between 20 July and 26 September 2026, over 45 days of measurements, using identical probes to measure three operators in parallel, along the same routes and at the same time. This fieldwork generated nearly 180,000 service tests. The campaign was complemented by a nationwide crowdsourced sample collected between 1 July and 30 September from real end-user devices, comprising nearly 9 million measurements over the quarter and extending coverage to a diverse range of devices, locations, times of day and usage conditions.

The final result assigns an 80% weighting to field measurements and 20% to crowdsourcing.

The full MedUX study, including the methodology and the findings presented in this press release, is available here

About Telefónica

Telefónica is one of the world’s leading telecommunications service providers. The company has embraced the clear challenge of being the best gateway to digital technologies for individuals, businesses and public administrations, thereby driving economic and social development in the countries where it operates. Telefónica offers fixed and mobile connectivity services, as well as a wide range of digital solutions for residential and business customers. With 299.8 million accesses, Telefónica focuses its activities on four priority markets: Spain, Brazil, Germany and the United Kingdom.

About MedUX

Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, MedUX operates in more than 30 countries. Trusted by over 50 operators, governments and regulators worldwide, MedUX combines innovative technology and expert analysis to improve end users’ digital experience. MedUX already monitors the quality of telecommunications services and networks in real time in more than 100 countries.