Emirati Arabi Uniti: la copertura

Cosa vogliono dire i numeri di Emirati Arabi Uniti

Contano due numeri e solo uno è quello che citano tutti. La velocità tipica, 96 Mbps, dice com'è un buon momento.

Il decimo percentile, 31 Mbps, è quello che vale la pena leggere. È la velocità nel decimo peggiore della giornata, quando la cella sopra la stazione è piena e tutti intorno a te ci sono dentro. Un paese con mediana alta e pavimento basso funziona benissimo, fino al momento in cui ti serve davvero.

Se il viaggio dipende da videochiamate o hotspot, pianifica sul dato delle ore di punta e non su quello tipico.

Cosa succede in Emirati Arabi Uniti quando la rete è congestionata

La congestione non è un guasto, è un martedì sera. La domanda è cosa può farci la tua eSIM, e per quasi tutte le eSIM da viaggio la risposta è niente: un accordo all'ingrosso per paese, una rete, e nessuna via d'uscita se non comprare una seconda eSIM da qualcun altro mentre sei in mezzo alla strada.

Qui il traffico Orbislo passa da Etisalat e du. Quando la rete su cui sei peggiora ti spostiamo su un'altra, a metà viaggio, senza che tu lo chieda, e te lo diciamo dopo invece di interromperti sul momento.

Emirati Arabi Uniti: operatori mobili

• e&: e& UAE had 16.5 million subscribers at the end of June 2026, up 6.4 percent in a year, after adding almost one million mobile customers over twelve months.
• du: du had 9.3 million mobile customers in the second quarter of 2026: 2.1 million postpaid and 7.2 million prepaid. The company tied the slip in prepaid to a significant decline in tourism over the quarter.
• Virgin Mobile: The UAE has two licensed network operators, e& and du. Virgin Mobile also sells mobile service but as a virtual operator, not a third network.
• e& and du: The regulator renewed the public telecoms licences of e& and du for 20 years, from 9 August 2026 to 8 August 2046, replacing the licences issued in 2006.

Emirati Arabi Uniti: reti più vecchie

• The regulator announced in August 2021 that 2G-only devices would no longer be sold in the UAE from June 2022, as part of retiring 2G, which the country had used since 1994.
• e& set the end of 2023 as the date to finish shutting down its 2G network and listed feature phones such as the Nokia 105, Nokia 3310 2G and Samsung Guru that stop working on it. A 3G or newer phone left on a 2G setting must be switched over.

Emirati Arabi Uniti: il 5G

• In the n78 band e& holds 300 MHz, from 3,300 to 3,600 MHz, and du 200 MHz, from 3,600 to 3,800 MHz. In n41 du holds 2,496 to 2,596 MHz and e& 2,596 to 2,690 MHz.
• The regulator began allocating millimetre wave frequencies between 24.25 and 27.5 GHz for 5G in phases from September 2020, under the UAE Strategy for 5G and Beyond covering 2020 to 2025.
• In 2021 e& and du were each allocated 1 GHz of millimetre wave spectrum in the 25.5 to 27.5 GHz range. The regulator assigns spectrum on operator request under its national plan rather than through auctions.
• e& commercially enabled 5G standalone in 2023 and is rolling out 5.5G, also called 5G-Advanced, on it nationwide, starting with major cities, busy areas and key venues. Phones gain 5.5G through firmware support, and very old SIMs may need replacing.
• du launched 5G standalone in 2023 and installed hundreds of 5G-Advanced base stations after trials in October 2023. The regulator has also trialled 5G-Advanced in the 6 GHz range using 400 MHz of bandwidth.
• Both operators have rolled out standalone 5G since 2023. du reports 98.5 percent 5G population coverage, and e& is reported at a similar level, with virtually all significant towns and major transport routes covered.

Emirati Arabi Uniti: note sulla rete

• The renewed licences require e& and du to spread international connectivity across multiple land routes and submarine cables, remove single points of failure, and run disaster recovery plans that are tested regularly.
• In September 2025 failures on the SMW4 and IMEWE submarine cables in the Red Sea near Jeddah slowed mobile and home broadband on both Etisalat and du significantly on the Saturday night, with complaints still coming in on the Monday.