Exploring 4G and 5G Mobile Network Coverage in the UAE

You need a SIM card that pro­vides a strong sig­nal to stay con­nect­ed in remote areas of the UAE or any­where you live. There are cur­rent­ly two major net­works offer­ing their ser­vices in Dubai, one being Eti­salat and the oth­er being DU. Do you know which net­work has the best sig­nals and cov­er­age in your area in the Unit­ed Arab Emi­rates?

With the help of many friends and some users, we tried to check whether Eti­salat and DU pro­vide good ser­vices and where not. It took us more than a month and a half to do this, but we suc­ceed­ed to some extent, which infor­ma­tion we are shar­ing with you.

Right now, most peo­ple in the UAE pre­fer to vis­it Dubai. In Dubai, you can see DU and Eti­salat com­pet­ing with each oth­er. When it comes to SIM card prices for these two net­works, they are the same. Their plans are slight­ly dif­fer­ent, but 80% of them are sim­i­lar.

Etisalat and Du Coverage Comparison

Cov­er­age	Du	Eti­salat
2G	98%	99%
3G	97%	98%
4G	98%	97%
5G	93%	95%

Now we will list all the areas and cities which will show the qual­i­ty of the net­work where their ser­vices are best.

In the map, you can check the cov­er­age of both net­works. DU has spread its net­work exten­sive­ly and cov­ers around 85% of the area, which is an esti­mate. Sim­i­lar­ly, Eti­salat has bet­ter 5G cov­er­age com­pared to DU.

Etisalat 5G Coverage:

In Dubai, Shar­jah, Ajman, Old Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, Dib­ba Khor Fakkan, Fujairah, Al Dhaid, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Mir­fa Al Jadeedah, Eti­salat pro­vide 5G cov­er­age. Addi­tion­al­ly, many high­ways and towns are cov­ered by Eti­salat 5G.

Du 5G Coverage:

DU also cov­ers the fol­low­ing areas: Shar­jah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Old Town Area, Old Ras Al Khaimah, Jazeer­ah Al Ham­ra (Free Zone 1), Fujairah, Al Ain, Al Dhafra, Liwa, and Mir­fa.

Coverage by Cities:

The table lists loca­tions with good cov­er­age of 4G, and 5G. We won’t include the name of the cov­er­age if any net­work has less than 30% cov­er­age in a loca­tion. As Eti­salat improves net­work qual­i­ty, Du is expand­ing its ser­vices every­where.

City	Du Cov­er­age		Eti­salat Cov­er­age
Abu Dhabi	Full 4G	Full 5G	Full 4G	4G Weak
Dubai	Full 4G	Full 5G	Full 4G	Full 5G
Shar­jah	Full 4G	Full 5G	Full 4G	Full 5G
Ajman	Full 4G	5G Weak	Full 4G	Full 5G
Umm Al-Quwain	Full 4G	5G Weak	Full 4G	Full 5G
Ras Al Khaimah	Full 4G	5G Weak	Full 4G	Full 5G
Fujairah	Full 4G	Full 5G	Full 4G	5G Weak
Al Ain	Full 4G	5G Weak	Full 4G	Full 5G

As Eti­salat is ramp­ing up 5G ser­vices at a fast pace, it should focus on 4G ser­vices as well. There are some areas in many cities where there is no 4G cov­er­age, even if there is some sig­nal, it makes the inter­net very slow.

The num­ber of 4G cus­tomers is much more than 5G cus­tomers, so both net­works should focus on 4G as well. Eti­salat’s 3G cov­er­age is much bet­ter than DU’s, but both net­works have over­looked it.

It’s a fact that very few users will use 3G soon. Every com­pa­ny is now focus­ing on new tech­nol­o­gy, such as 6G. Con­sumers should always use a good device that meets their needs.

Which is the best SIM in UAE for Travel?

While trav­el­ling, use the same SIM card that pro­vides sig­nals in each area, whether it cov­ers 4G or 5G.DU pro­vides 4G cov­er­age in most areas of the UAE, and their sig­nals are avail­able every­where when con­sid­er­ing total sig­nal cov­er­age. In most areas where Eti­salat sig­nals are avail­able, you can use both 5G and 4G.

If you are stay­ing in one place or city, choose a SIM card that pro­vides good cov­er­age in that area. This will save you both time and mon­ey. When trav­el­ling, make sure to check the sig­nal cov­er­age at your des­ti­na­tion.

If you are expe­ri­enc­ing any net­work prob­lems in your area, please let us know below. We will keep updat­ing this post as need­ed so you can stay informed about the cov­er­age of all net­works.

Dis­claimer: Cov­er­age per­cent­ages are approx­i­mate and may vary by loca­tion. For accu­rate, up-to-date infor­ma­tion, please con­tact your ser­vice providers.