The UAE has set a global record in fibre optic network coverage of 99.5 per cent, a leading industry body said.
According to the report by the FTTH Council Europe, based on data from last year, the Emirates outperformed South Korea, which ranked second with 96.6 per cent, followed by China in third place at 93.6 per cent, while Hong Kong ranked fifth at 89.9 per cent. It means the UAE has maintained its position at the top of the global rankings since 2016.
The biggest player in the country’s telecoms sector is e& UAE, state news agency Wam reported, with fibre optic infrastructure spanning more than 14.5 million kilometres.
The achievement is the result of consistent efforts that began in 1986 and adds to the UAE’s long history of being a world leader in this sector, said Masood Mahmood, chief executive of e& UAE. Abu Dhabi, for example, became the first capital in the world to be fully covered by a fibre optic network in 2011.
Fibre optic connections are a method of transmitting a near-unlimited amount of digital data using pulses of light and is a technology. It has largely replaced traditional copper wiring for broadband internet networks.
It comes as Amazon prepares to launch the first 27 internet satellites of its Project Kuiper constellation, marking a new phase of rivalry between two of the world’s richest men, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
The launch, set to take place aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on April 9, will mark Amazon’s entry into the satellite broadband market, currently dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink.
While Starlink has already placed more than 8,000 satellites into orbit and serves more than 4.6 million people globally, Amazon’s long-awaited debut brings serious competition, backed by its $10 billion investment and the power of its global logistics, e-commerce and cloud services ecosystem.
