Etisalat of the UAE Launches International Digital Infrastructure Expansion Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 5, Etisalat Group launched a new round of digital infrastructure expansion projects, planning to simultaneously enhance network capabilities within the UAE and overseas, and to increase international connectivity capacity from the current approximately 20 Tbps to over 500 Tbps by 2030, an increase of more than 25 times. The project will build more diversified international transmission routes, with low latency and high reliability as the main technical objectives.

This expansion targets the growing demand for AI computing power, cloud services, and cross-border data traffic. The international connectivity capability will serve the UAE's local AI parks, global cloud service providers, and Etisalat's network operations in overseas markets. The project is not a single submarine cable or a single terrestrial network build, but rather a combination of multiple international transmission routes and cross-border infrastructure.

Etisalat currently operates in 38 countries with more than 250 million users. The company has listed this project as the first major infrastructure investment under its new group strategy, which consists of four business segments: telecommunications, AI and enterprise solutions, infrastructure, and fintech. The international network expansion falls under the infrastructure segment.

At this stage, the company has defined its 2030 capacity target and multi-route construction direction, but has not yet announced the total project investment, the specific number of new submarine cables, the list of landing stations, or the phased commissioning schedule for each route. Subsequent construction will advance around international transmission capacity expansion, route diversification, and low-latency network deployment.