UAE renews e& and du telecom licences

The United Arab Emirates — Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) of the United Arab Emirates renewed the public telecommunications licences of Emirates Telecommunications Group Company (e&) and EITC (du) for another 20 years, effective from 9 August 2026 to 8 August 2046, replacing the licences issued in 2006. The renewal is based on the Federal Decree-Law on the Regulation of the Telecommunications Sector and provides a long-term regulatory framework to sustain investment in digital infrastructure and future technologies. The new licences include enhanced obligations covering network resilience, backup capacity, international connectivity, quality of service, interconnection, national roaming, universal service, subscriber protection, and prevention of anti-competitive practices. TDRA officials, including Chairman Talal Belhoul, Director General Majed Sultan Al Mesmar, and Deputy Director General Mohammed Al Ramsi, highlighted the strategic importance of the renewal in supporting the UAE's Digital Economy Strategy, which aims to double the digital economy's contribution to GDP from 9.7% in 2022 to 19.4% over the next ten years. The UAE ranks first globally in fibre-optic household penetration for the tenth consecutive year at 99.7%. The renewal is expected to facilitate the transition from connected networks to intelligent, autonomous networks with integrated artificial intelligence.