YOUSEF AL ARABI (DUBAI)
Abu Dhabi topped the world’s cities in fixed broadband speed after advancing one place during 12 months, according to Ookla’s global average Internet speed index for February 2024.
The fixed broadband network in the capital recorded an average speed for downloading data of 300.12 Megabits per second (Mbps), and 161.36Mbps for uploading data. The average speed of downloading data over the fibre optic network improved by approximately 16.1% during the month of February, compared to the same month of 2023, while the average speed of uploading data increased by 36.8%.
The Ookla index shows that the average speed of downloading files on the broadband network in Abu Dhabi is 225.2% higher than the global average of 92.26Mbps, while the speed of uploading data across the network is 261.38% higher than the global average of 44.65Mbps.
The Chinese capital, Beijing, ranked second in the world with an average data download speed of 299.9Mbps and 38.57Mbps for data upload, followed by the city of Valparaíso in Chile with an average data download speed of 296.59Mbps and 197.28Mbps.
The Chinese city of Shanghai ranked fourth in the world after falling two places to record a data download speed of 291.95Mbps, and 58.97Mbps for uploading data, while the French city of Lyon ranked fifth in the world with an average data download speed of 278.66Mbps, and 207.25Mbps for uploading data.
Government vision, investments of the &e Group and the Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du), in addition to the strategy of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority have been the main contributors to enhancing the UAE’s global leadership in high Internet speed.
According to data from the FTTH Council Europe, the penetration rate of the fibre optic network in the UAE reached 97%, moving the country up to the top of the world list.