Abu Dhabi Secures $820 Million to Expand Fiber and 5G Networks

Etisalat Group closed an $820 million funding round this week to expand fiber-to-the-home and 5G coverage in Abu Dhabi, with the capital earmarked for new infrastructure in Masdar City and along the Corniche.

The investment arrives as the emirate prepares to meet its 2027 target of 95 percent gigabit broadband availability, a deadline set by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority to support cloud services, remote work hubs and smart-city sensors. Local operators face rising demand from technology firms that relocated to Al Maryah Island after the 2025 corporate tax changes.

Funding flows to specific districts

Of the total, $310 million will go to Masdar City, where e& is laying 12,000 new fiber lines and upgrading 5G small cells near the Masdar Institute campus. Another $240 million targets the Corniche waterfront and Khalifa City, where du plans to complete 8,000 additional connections by December 2026. The remaining funds will support backhaul upgrades linking Yas Island data centers to the mainland.

Etisalat Group reported that average download speeds in covered Abu Dhabi neighbourhoods reached 942 Mbps in the first quarter of 2026, up from 678 Mbps a year earlier. The company added 47,000 fiber subscribers in the emirate during the same period, according to its regulatory filing with the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.

Next steps for residents and businesses

Households in Masdar City and Khalifa City can now book installation appointments through the e& app starting 15 July, with promotional rates of AED 299 per month for 1 Gbps service locked in for 24 months. Companies on Al Maryah Island seeking enterprise circuits should contact du’s dedicated sales desk before the end of August to secure priority provisioning slots ahead of the next capacity wave.