The GSM Association (GSMA) has revealed that United Arab Emirates UAE) operator Etisalat has achieved 98% High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) mobile broadband coverage, bringing high speed mobile Internet to both urban and remote regions. The GSMA notes that in a country that is 80% desert, mobile broadband has made access to rich mobile content possible for the vast majority of the population, that would have otherwise remained cut off from high speed Internet services.
The coverage includes every large city, town and major road network, with peak download speeds of 7.2Mbps, and upload speeds of 1.9Mbps. Services available include Mobile TV and video calling
Population-wide HSPA coverage means that the whole of the UAE can be connected to a wide range of mobile content including music, video, gaming, sports and news outside the major cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, bringing the benefits of the countrys accelerating economic and technological development to the wider population.