The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has renewed the public telecoms licences of e& and du for another 20 years, effective from 9 August 2026 until 8 August 2046. The new licences replace the originals issued in 2006 and come with an expanded set of obligations covering network resilience, international connectivity and AI-readiness.
The UAE has ranked first globally for household fibre-optic penetration for the tenth consecutive year, at 99.7%. The TDRA board described the renewal as a shift from “connectivity leadership to AI leadership” — from building networks to building the infrastructure for the digital economy.
“The infrastructure of the national economy relies on telecommunications networks across all vital sectors, including government services, financial services, healthcare, education, energy, transport, industry and digital commerce. The next phase takes on added importance in light of the 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 sector is also expected to gradually transition from connected networks to intelligent, autonomous networks, where artificial intelligence becomes an integral part of the intelligence of the network itself.”
H.E. Talal Belhoul, Chairman of TDRA
The new licence terms go beyond speed targets. H.E. Eng. Mohammed Al Ramsi, Deputy Director General of the Telecommunications Sector at TDRA, said the licensees must geographically diversify international connectivity through multiple terrestrial systems and submarine cables, eliminate single points of failure, implement regularly tested disaster recovery mechanisms, and develop qualified national talent capable of restoring networks under exceptional circumstances.
“Today, the objective goes beyond developing a faster network to building a smarter, more secure and more resilient one.”
H.E. Eng. Mohammed Al Ramsi, Deputy Director General of the Telecommunications Sector at TDRA
H.E. Eng. Majed Sultan Al Mesmar, Director General of TDRA, described the renewal as a strategic decision reflecting the UAE’s confidence in a sector that is one of the pillars of national development.
“Together, TDRA and the licensees have built one of the world’s most advanced and future-ready digital infrastructures. Today, we are providing the sector with a long-term framework that lays the foundation for a new phase in which connectivity evolves into intelligence, and digital infrastructure becomes a national platform for innovation and sustainable growth.”
H.E. Eng. Majed Sultan Al Mesmar, Director General of TDRA
The 20-year horizon gives the sector a regulatory framework designed to sustain investment through the next generation of network technology. The Digital Economy Strategy targets doubling the sector’s contribution to GDP, and the licence conditions are built around that goal.
The renewal follows a period of rapid expansion in UAE telecoms — du recently launched a Bitcoin mining subscription and e& partnered with AWS to train 30,000 people in AI.
Who are e& and du?
e& is Emirates Telecommunications Group, formerly known as Etisalat. du is Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company. Together they hold the UAE’s two public telecoms licences.
What does the licence renewal mean for customers?
Nothing changes overnight. Plans and prices are set by the operators, not the licences. The renewal sets the regulatory framework for the next 20 years and adds operator obligations on network resilience, backup capacity and international connectivity.
Why 20 years?
The previous licences dated from 2006. A 20-year term gives both operators the certainty to invest in infrastructure that takes years to pay off, such as submarine cables, data centres and AI-ready networks, without the risk of a short regulatory horizon.
