The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority has renewed the public telecommunications licences of e& and du for a further two decades, securing the regulatory backbone of the UAE's digital economy through to 2046.
The Board of Directors approved the renewal under the Federal Decree-Law on the Regulation of the Telecommunications Sector, with the new licences running from 9th August 2026 to 8th August 2046. They replace the original licences issued in 2006, giving both operators long-term certainty to keep investing in digital infrastructure and emerging technologies.
The move comes as the UAE marks ten consecutive years as the world leader in fibre-to-the-home penetration, now reaching 99.7 percent of the population.
TDRA Chairman Talal Belhoul said telecommunications networks underpin virtually every vital sector, from government services and healthcare to finance, energy and digital commerce. He linked the renewal to the UAE's Digital Economy Strategy, which targets doubling the digital economy's share of GDP from 9.7 percent in 2022 to 19.4 percent within a decade, alongside a shift toward AI-driven, autonomous networks.
Director-General Eng. Majed Sultan Al Mesmar described the renewal as a vote of confidence in a sector that has become a pillar of national development, setting the stage for infrastructure to evolve into a platform for innovation and growth.
Deputy Director-General Eng. Mohammed Al Ramsi said the licences carry stricter obligations around network resilience, including diversified international connectivity through multiple cable systems, disaster recovery testing and homegrown technical talent. They also strengthen requirements on service quality, subscriber protection, national roaming and fair competition.
TDRA said it will continue monitoring compliance as the sector shifts from connectivity leadership toward AI leadership over the next twenty years.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
