Fibre optic data cables connected to 5G servers. Abu Dhabi became the first capital in the world to be fully covered by a fibre optic network in 2011. Bloomberg
Fibre optic data cables connected to 5G servers. Abu Dhabi became the first capital in the world to be fully covered by a fibre optic network in 2011. Bloomberg
Fibre optic data cables connected to 5G servers. Abu Dhabi became the first capital in the world to be fully covered by a fibre optic network in 2011. Bloomberg
Fibre optic data cables connected to 5G servers. Abu Dhabi became the first capital in the world to be fully covered by a fibre optic network in 2011. Bloomberg

News

UAE

UAE sets global record in fibre optic coverage

Emirates retains top position in rankings it has led since 2016

The National

April 07, 2025

  • English
  • Arabic

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.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

On Women's Day
What went into the film

25 visual effects (VFX) studios

2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots

1,000 VFX artists

3,000 technicians

10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers

New sound technology, named 4D SRL

 

Company profile

Company name: Dharma

Date started: 2018

Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: TravelTech

Funding stage: Pre-series A 

Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs

Trump v Khan

2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US

2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks

2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit

2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”

2022:  Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency

July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”

Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.

Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”

Tank warfare

Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks. 

“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.

“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”

While you're here
Updated: April 07, 2025, 12:36 PM
UAE