United Arab Emirates
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
United Arab Emirates
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
e& retains the Best Network award for the third time in a row
e& keeps hold of the Best Network award, topping the rankings with 12 of 13 awards outright — sweeping the Overall Experience category and leading across all measured 5G Experience categories.
e& leads on Consistent Quality and Reliability
e& wins both the Reliability Experience and Consistent Quality awards outright, scoring 877 points (on a 100–1000 scale) for Reliability Experience and 68.8% for Consistent Quality. e&’s lead in these metrics indicates its users are most likely to connect and successfully complete everyday tasks — and that they most often see ‘good enough’ performance for more demanding mobile app use.
e& excels in both Coverage Experience awards
e& remains the sole winner for both Coverage Experience and 5G Coverage Experience, reflecting the widest and most extensive geographic coverage footprint in populated areas across both overall and 5G networks.
du retains the Time on Network award
du wins the Time on Network award with 99.3%, but the gap to e& UAE (99.0%) is small (0.3 percentage points, well under half a point), meaning users are likely to see broadly comparable availability on both networks.
e& sweeps the 5G Experience awards
e& continues its 5G dominance, sweeping all four 5G Experience awards, maintaining its lead in 5G Video and 5G Games. It also holds a clear speed edge, with 5G Download Speed at 276.1 Mbps (47 Mbps ahead of du) and 5G Upload Speed at 33 Mbps (8 Mbps ahead).
e& wins on-demand streaming and gaming
e& retains the Video Experience and Games Experience awards, keeping it on top for on-demand video streaming and real-time multiplayer mobile gaming, both overall and on 5G networks.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
Since the previous UAE mobile network experience report in August 2025, the telecommunications market has continued to evolve. Operators’ focus is shifting towards enabling 5G Standalone (SA) features and early 5G-Advanced activity. In parallel, operators and the wider ecosystem are expanding AI-related digital infrastructure, including sovereign cloud capabilities, large-scale compute, and improved interconnection.
At the strategic level, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has anchored the UAE’s transition from 5G leadership to early 6G planning. TDRA began preparing for the 5G journey in 2015, culminating in the UAE’s commercial 5G launch in 2019, and as of November 2025, points to 5G coverage exceeding 99.5%of populated areas, supported by more than 23,000 sites serving over 10 million subscribers. Building on this foundation, TDRA launched the 6th Generation (6G) Initiative at the inaugural 6G Committee meeting to coordinate government entities, operators, academia and global technology partners on a national 6G roadmap — positioning 6G as a strategic step toward a hyper-connected smart society by integrating digital and cognitive worlds, including the use of artificial intelligence, quantum computing and satellite networks.
e& is advancing its 5G SA roadmap to unlock new capabilities. A key step in this evolution is the enablement of 5G RedCap, which opens the network to a vast ecosystem of low-power devices beyond just smartphones. Our latest insight ’Beyond 5G: e&’s Standalone Success and the Road to 5G-Advanced’ reveals that e&’s 5G SA adoption is steadily climbing, rising from 20% in Q2 2025 to 24% in Q3, demonstrating consistent progress toward broader SA rollout across the network. To support the heavy bandwidth demands of 5G-Advanced, e& has significantly upgraded both its radio and transport networks. On the access side, it reported a regional first by deploying four-carrier aggregation (FDD/TDD) on their live 5.5G network. To ensure that traffic moves efficiently, they also completed an IP+DWDM dual-800GE trial, which successfully reduced latency and improved energy efficiency across their carrier-grade platform.
du is following a similar trajectory, advancing 5G-Advanced while broadening its digital infrastructure footprint. In September 2025, the operator introduced 5G+, describing it as an upgrade built on its 5G-Advanced architecture. At GITEX Global 2025, du set out a further expansion in AI and cloud services, launching National Hybrid AI initiatives aimed at supporting organisations that want to develop and deploy AI applications in a sovereign environment. At the same time, du and Sharjah International Airport announced the deployment of 5G+ indoor system across airport facilities.
In this report we examine the mobile network experience of the two main mobile network operators in United Arab Emirates — du and e& UAE — over a period of 90 days starting on October 1, 2025, and ending on December 29, 2025, to see how they fared.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
e& UAE retains the Video Experience award from the previous report, winning outright with 63.5 points on a 100-point scale and leading second-placed du by 1.7 points (61.8). Compared with the previous report, e& UAE’s score has decreased by 0.8 points, while du’s score has not changed by a significant amount. Both operators are rated Good (58-68), meaning that our users are, on average, able to stream video at 720p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling. Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
e& UAE wins the Games Experience award outright with a score of 76.3 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of two points over second-placed du (74.3). e& UAE places in the Good (75-85) category, while du places one category lower, in Fair (65-75). A Good (75-85) rating means that most users deem the experience acceptable — gameplay is generally controllable and users receive immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game, with most not experiencing a delay. A Fair (65-75) rating means that users find the experience ‘average’; in most cases the game is responsive and most users feel in control, but the majority of players notice a delay between their actions and the outcomes in the game.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
Following a 10.8Mbps increase since the previous report, e& UAE retains the Download Speed Experience award outright with a score of 67Mbps — beating second-placed du by 14Mbps (53Mbps).
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
e& UAE triumphs in Upload Speed Experience with a score of 13.2Mbps — 1.7Mbps ahead of second-placed du (11.5Mbps). Since the previous report, both operators have seen increases in their Upload Speed Experience scores, with e& up 1.5Mbps and du up 1.3Mbps.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: United Arab Emirates, Mobile Network Experience Report, March 2026
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5G Experience
National Analysis
e& successfully defends the 5G Video Experience award outright with a score of 69.9 points on a 100-point scale. du comes second, trailing by 1.3 points (68.6).
Both UAE operators rate as Very Good (68–78). This means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and minimal stalling when connected to 5G.
5G Video Experience scores account for adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR), a technology that allows Opensignal to accurately represent users' real video experience including video streams up to 4K quality.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
e& wins the 5G Games Experience award outright with a score of 84.6 points on a 100-point scale and a lead of two points over second-placed du (82.6).
Compared with the previous report, e&’s score has not changed by a significant amount, while du’s score has increased.
Both operators place in the Good (75-85) category.
A Good (75-85) rating means that most users deem the experience acceptable — gameplay is generally controllable and users receive immediate feedback between their actions and the outcomes in the game. Most users do not experience a delay between their actions and the game.
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
Our users on e&’s 5G network continue to experience the fastest 5G connections in the UAE. As a result, e& wins the 5G Download Speed award outright with a score of 276.1Mbps and a lead of 47Mbps over second-placed du’s 228.9Mbps.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
After winning the 5G Upload Speed award in the previous report, e& takes the award outright in this report with a score of 33Mbps, leading second-placed du (25.5Mbps) by 8Mbps.
Both e&’s and du’s scores have not changed significantly since the previous report.
Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: United Arab Emirates, Mobile Network Experience Report, March 2026
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Coverage
National Analysis
After winning the Coverage Experience award in the previous report, e& retains the award in this report, winning outright with 9.0 points on a 10-point scale and leading second-placed du by 1.7 points (du scores 7.3 points).
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
National Analysis
e& retains the 5G Coverage Experience award with a score of 5.7 points on a 10-point scale, one point ahead of second-placed du (4.7 points). Both operators have improved their 5G Coverage Experience since the previous report, reflecting the ongoing expansion of their 5G footprints across the UAE’s populated areas.
Definitions
The Opensignal Coverage Experience metric measures the extent of mobile networks in the places people live, work and travel. The metric represents the experience users receive as they travel around areas where they would reasonably expect to find coverage.
Traditional coverage metrics typically estimate either a percentage of land area covered, or a percentage of population covered; often neither will be an accurate measurement of the true user expectation and experience. In many markets there are areas where neither population density nor geographic area reflect the importance of coverage to users. For example, in a large mountain range most users will not expect coverage in the wilderness, but poor coverage in the relatively small area of a ski resort is critical for the enjoyment of a holiday. Estimates based purely on population give undue significance to coverage in the most densely populated areas.
Coverage Experience measures geographic coverage of populated areas and therefore more accurately reflects the coverage expectations and experience of typical users. It can give a result that is somewhat different to traditional estimates based on either geographic or population measures. The metric uses a scale from 0 to 10.
5G Coverage Experience shows the proportion of places Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
National Analysis
In the previous report, du won the Time on Network award, and in this report it wins outright again with a score of 99.3%, leading second-placed e& UAE on 99.0% by 0.3 percentage points. Both e& UAE’s and du’s scores have not changed significantly since the previous report. Prior to Q4 2025, Time on Network was referred to as Availability in Opensignal reports.
Definitions
Our time on network and availability metrics are not measures of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our time on network data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our time on network and availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Time on Network shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: United Arab Emirates, Mobile Network Experience Report, March 2026
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Consistency
National Analysis
e& wins the Consistent Quality award outright with a score of 68.8% and a lead of 10.7 percentage points over second-placed du (58.1%). Since the previous report, both operators’ scores have increased, with du recording the larger improvement.
This metric measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is 'good enough' for users to maintain (or complete) various typical demanding tasks on their devices. It assesses a number of experience indicators such as download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, and time to first byte.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures if the network is sufficient to support common mobile application requirements at a level that is ‘good enough’ for users to maintain (or complete) various typical tasks on their devices.
We combine different experience indicators such as download throughput, upload throughput, latency, jitter, packet discard, and time to first byte to calculate Consistent Quality. These components are evaluated against thresholds recommended by various more demanding common applications used for a range of common tasks.
To calculate the metric value, the proportion of tests that pass the requirements of Consistent Quality is multiplied by the test success ratio, which is the proportion of completed tests to all tests conducted. Tests that pass indicate that activities such as video calling, uploading an image to social media, or using smart home applications will be possible without noticeable lag or slowdown.
National Analysis
e&, which won the Reliability Experience award in the previous report, wins it again in this report outright with a score of 877 points on a 100-1000 point scale, leading second-placed du (851) by 26 points.
Compared with the previous report, e&’s score has not changed significantly, while du’s score has increased markedly.
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of our users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on operators’ networks, based on % time connected, Data Connectivity, Task completion and Sufficiency.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Reliability Experience measures the ability of Opensignal users to connect to and successfully complete (basic) tasks on communication service providers’ (CSP) networks. It analyzes how much Opensignal users’ experience is affected by the radio access and core network, along with issues that prevent them from connecting to the internet even if they have a connection to their CSP’s network. It also factors in users’ ability to successfully use lower performance applications including SD video, over-the-top voice calls and web browsing.
Regional Analysis
Regional Analysis Summary: United Arab Emirates, Mobile Network Experience Report, March 2026
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in Umm Al Qaywayn
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience