Opensignal: U Mobile’s ULTRA5G is faster, more consistent and better indoors
Opensignal, an independant connectivity analytics firm, as published a new report on U Mobile’s ULTRA5G network. The firm seems to suggest that ULTRA5G is actually pretty decent—not just in speeds, but in consistency and indoor coverage too.
According to the report, U Mobile’s shift away from the wholesale model run by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) to its own standalone network has made a noticeable difference for the orange telco. Since launching ULTRA5G in August 2025, the telco has deployed its own infrastructure using a mix of low and mid band spectrum, allowing it to better control performance and optimise coverage.
Opensignal’s data shows that U Mobile users are now seeing 5G download speeds that are roughly two-thirds faster than competing networks, alongside improved upload speeds. Over the past year, download speeds increased by 51% while uploads rose by 27%, pointing to significant gains following the transition.
Speed isn’t the only big gain for U Mobile here. Using its 5G Consistent Quality metric, Opensignal found that U Mobile delivered a smoother experience with fewer interruptions such as buffering video calls, slow app loading or failed mobile payments. These gains are attributed to lower latency and faster response times across the network.
U Mobile has also improved its 5G availability, increasing the proportion of time users stay connected to 5G from 57.8% to 60.4% in a 90-day period starting from 1 December 2025.
On top of that, Opensignal claims that U Mobile users are twice as likely to experience strong 5G signal strength inside buildings compared to other networks. Weak or unusable signals are also significantly less common, accounting for just 8% of indoor readings versus around 24% on rival networks.
This advantage isn’t purely down to spectrum. While U Mobile uses the same 700MHz and 3.5GHz bands as DNB, Opensignal credits its improved performance to its rollout of in-building coverage systems.
Opensignal notes that U Mobile records 5G Consistent Quality scores above 90% in major malls like Pavilion KL and Sunway Pyramid, versus the sub-80% scored by other telcos. The same can be seen in transport hubs like KL Sentral and KLIA too.
Incidentally, Opensignal also found that U Mobile users are connecting to WiFi less, with indoor mobile data usage rising from 56% to 59% after the ULTRA5G launch. WiFi usage dropped to 41%, while 5G’s share of indoor mobile data consumption increased from around 28% to 36%. In contrast, usage patterns on other Malaysian networks remained relatively unchanged.
Looking ahead, U Mobile is targeting 80% population coverage by the second half of 2026. The telco has also signed a wholesale agreement with Telekom Malaysia to provide 5G services, which could extend the benefits of its network beyond its own subscriber base.
If you’re interested you can click here to access the full report by Opensignal.
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