DUBAI: The UAE has been ranked number one for the highest Fiber to the Home (FTTH) penetration, according to industry body FTTH Council.
For a second year in a row, the UAE came ahead of Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan in the fiber internet stakes. Globally, according to the OECD, high-speed fiber still only accounts for 21.2 per cent of fixed broadband subscriptions across 35 countries.
In terms of actual affordability and speed of the current broadband network, the UAE ranks only 55th worldwide for affordability according to the International Telecommunication Union, and 53rd in the world for broadband speed, with countries such as Romania, Lithuania, and China all significantly faster than the Emirates.
According to the Speedtest Global Index January 2018 edition, the UAE offered a download speed of 27.82 Mbps, whereas Singapore, the number one country, offered a speed of 166.44 Mbps.
Nevertheless, the UAE has invested heavily in fiber, with Etisalat spending over Dh31 billion on its network infrastructure.
Saleh Abdullah Al Abdooli, CEO of Etisalat Group, said in a statement: “Our network is a backbone to our long-term strategy as a company to enable and drive digital transformation across our network.”
