United Arab Emirates - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Publication Date: June 2026

Report Pages: 143

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Summary
Table Of Contents

UAE advances with full government AI capability

The UAE has a strong mobile market, dominated by Etisalat and du. Both are majority-owned by the government. In a bid to attract additional foreign investment, it was resolved in early 2021 that the stake held by foreigners in the two companies could be increased.

Etisalat and du have deployed extensive 5G networks while the 5G penetration rate is among the highest globally. This has underpinned growth in the mobile broadband sector, and has enabled the strong development in the take-up of rich content and applications, as well as m-commerce. To help increase the capacity of 5G networks in coming years, and so keep up with data demand, the government allowed the GSM networks to be closed down in 2022 and for spectrum and other assets to be re-purposed for 5G. During 2025, the two MNOs have also been able to make use of spectrum in the 6GHz and 600MHz bands for 5G.

The fixed-broadband network in the UAE is dominated by fibre, with DSL having a minor and declining presence. This focus on a fully fibred infrastructure has also facilitated growth in e-commerce, and has supported the government’s long-term aim of transitioning the economy from its dependence on oil to being knowledge-based and supported by digital services.

Key developments:

Ministry of Finance issues revised royalty payments on telcos through to 2026.
Abu Dhabi government aims to be fully automated with AI by 2027 under a strategy outlined by the Digital Strategy 2025-2027 program.
UAE achieves 99.5% fibre coverage.
Report update includes the regulator’s market data to December 2024, telcos’ financial and operating data to Q1 2025, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report include:

Etisalat, du, Thuraya, Yahsat, Virgin Mobile, Swyp

Key statistics

Market characteristics
Market Leaders
Market Challengers
Market Emergents
TMI versus GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed and mobile broadband penetration

Country overview
Telecommunications market

Historical overview
Market analysis

Regulatory environment

Historic overview
Regulatory authority
Royalty payments
Censorship
VoIP
Fixed line developments

Telecom sector liberalisation
Interconnect and access
Fibre access

Mobile market developments

Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Roaming tariff reduction
SIM card registration

Mobile market

Market analysis
Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

5G
LTE
GSM, 3G

Mobile broadband
Major mobile operators

e& UAE
du (Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company)
MVNOs

Mobile content and applications

M-commerce
M-payments

Fixed broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Market analysis

Broadband statistics
Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
Other fixed broadband services

Fixed wireless (Wi-Fi, WiMAX)

Fixed network operators

Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (e& UAE)
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company/du
Yahsat

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
International infrastructure

Submarine cable networks
Terrestrial cable networks
Satellites

Smart infrastructure

Smart cities
Connected homes
Data centres, cloud computing
Smart grids

Appendix – Historic Data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – United Arab Emirates – 2025 (e)
Table 2 – GDP and inflation in the UAE – 2012 – 2025
Table 3 – Change in UAE’s telecom revenue by service (AED billion) – 2012 – 2019
Table 4 – Growth in the number of mobile number portings – 2014 – 2023
Table 5 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 6 – Change in the number of prepaid and contract mobile subscribers (million) – 2012 – 2024
Table 7 – Change in the proportion of prepaid and contract mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Table 8 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 9 – Change in the market share of mobile subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2025
Table 10 – Development of e& UAE’s mobile revenue and blended ARPU – 2016 – 2025
Table 11 – Change in the number of e& UAE’s domestic mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 12 – Change in the number of e& UAE’s mobile subscribers by type (million) – 2012 – 2025
Table 13 – Development of du’s mobile revenue – 2017 – 2025
Table 14 – Change in the number of du’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 15 – Change in the number of du’s prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers (million) – 2020 – 2025
Table 16 – Development of du’s mobile ARPU – 2012 – 2025
Table 17 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 18 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Table 19 – UAE - Fibre broadband market share by operator – 2015 – 2018
Table 20 – Decline in the number of DSL subscriptions – 2012 – 2019
Table 21 – Increase in the number of e& UAE’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Table 22 – Change in the number of e& UAE’s bundle subscribers by type – 2016 – 2025
Table 23 – Increase in the number of du’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2018 – 2025
Table 24 – Development of du’s fixed broadband revenue (AED billion) – 2018 – 2025
Table 25 – Development of e& Group’s revenue and net profit (AED billion) – 2012 – 2025
Table 26 – Development of e& UAE’s financial data (AED billion) – 2012 – 2025
Table 27 – Decline in the number of e& UAE’s fixed line subscribers – 2018 – 2025
Table 28 – Development of du’s revenue by sector (AED billion) – 2017 – 2025
Table 29 – Development of du’s financial data (AED billion) – 2012 – 2025
Table 30 – Growth in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2012 – 2027
Table 31 – Increase in international internet bandwidth capacity and usage (Mb/s) – 2012 – 2023
Table 32 – Historic - UAE - fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1995 – 2011
Table 33 – Historic - UAE - internet users and penetration – 1998 – 2011
Table 34 – Historic - UAE - fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2001 – 2011
Table 35 – Historic - UAE - domestic and international voice revenue (AED billion) – 2008 – 2015
Table 36 – Historic - UAE - international telephone revenues (AED million) – 2008 – 2015
Table 37 – Historic - UAE - monthly fixed-line ARPU and MOU – 2007 – 2015
Table 38 – Historic - UAE - mobile revenue and ARPU – 2008 – 2015
Table 39 – Historic - UAE - mobile subscribers and penetration rate - 1995 - 2011
Table 40 – Historic - UAE - prepaid vs postpaid revenue (AED billion) – 2008 – 2015
Table 41 – Historic - UAE - prepaid subscribers – 2005 – 2011
Table 42 – Historic - UAE - SMS and MMS sent (million messages) – 2007 – 2015
Table 43 – Historic – e& Group revenue and net profit (AED billion) – 2005 – 2011
Table 44 – Historic - du mobile minutes of use (MOU) – 2010 – 2014
Table 45 – Historic - du mobile revenue – 2008 – 2011
Table 46 – Historic - Decline in the number of DSL subscriptions – 2008 – 2011
Table 47 – Historic - Development of du’s revenue by sector (AED billion) – 2008 – 2011
Table 48 – Historic - Etisalat group revenue and net profit (AED billion) – 2009 – 2011
Table 49 – Historic - Change in UAE’s telecom revenue by service (AED billion) – 2008 – 2011

List of Charts

Chart 7 – Change in UAE’s telecom revenue by service – 2012 – 2019
Chart 8 – Growth in the number of mobile number portings – 2014 – 2023
Chart 9 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 10 – Change in the number of prepaid and contract mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 11 – Change in the proportion of prepaid and contract mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2024
Chart 12 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 13 – Change in the market share of mobile subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2025
Chart 14 – Change in the number of e& UAE’s domestic mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 15 – Change in the number of e& UAE’s mobile subscribers by type – 2012 – 2025
Chart 16 – Development of du’s mobile revenue – 2017 – 2025
Chart 17 – Change in the number of du’s mobile subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 18 – Change in the number of du’s prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers – 2020 – 2025
Chart 19 – Development of du’s mobile ARPU – 2012 – 2025
Chart 20 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 21 – Increase in the number of e& UAE’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2025
Chart 22 – Change in the number of e& UAE’s bundle subscribers by type – 2016 – 2025
Chart 23 – Increase in the number of du’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2018 – 2025
Chart 24 – Development of du’s fixed broadband revenue – 2018 – 2025
Chart 25 – Development of e& Group’s revenue and net profit – 2012 – 2025
Chart 26 – Development of e& UAE’s financial data – 2015 – 2025
Chart 27 – Decline in the number of e& UAE’s fixed line subscribers – 2018 – 2025
Chart 28 – Development of du’s revenue by sector – 2017 – 2025
Chart 29 – Development of du’s financial data – 2015 – 2025
Chart 30 – Growth in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2012 – 2027
Chart 31 – Increase in international internet bandwidth capacity and usage – 2012 – 2023

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 5 – UAE – submarine cable networks

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United Arab Emirates - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

UAE advances with full government AI capability

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report include:

Key statistics

Country overview

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed broadband market

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic Data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views