Arabian Post Staff -Dubai
The results, announced on Tuesday, cover measurements gathered from January 1 to June 29, 2026, and place the operator ahead of rival du across network performance, connection quality, coverage and application experience. Unlike the previous assessment, in which du secured one category, etisalat took every award outright.
Opensignal’s findings show etisalat delivering overall download speeds 45 per cent faster than du, while its upload speeds were 19 per cent higher. The difference narrowed on fifth-generation networks, where etisalat led by 26 per cent for downloads and 20 per cent for uploads.
The distinction between overall and 5G-only speeds is significant because overall measurements reflect users’ experiences across different mobile technologies. The time customers spend connected to 5G can therefore influence the average performance they encounter, alongside the speeds available when they are using that technology.
Etisalat also recorded a substantial advantage in Opensignal’s Consistent Quality measure, which assesses whether mobile connections meet performance requirements for commonly used applications. Its overall score exceeded du’s by 14.8 percentage points, while the lead on 5G connections was more than 11 percentage points.
The company led both reliability measures included in the assessment, although the announcement did not provide the underlying scores. These indicators examine aspects of connection dependability rather than simply the maximum speeds available to customers, offering a separate perspective on everyday network performance.
Coverage measurements likewise favoured etisalat. Its overall Coverage Experience score was 1.5 points ahead of du, while its 5G Coverage Experience advantage was one point. Such scores assess the network experience available in places where users travel; they should not be interpreted as direct percentages of geographic or population coverage.
Opensignal found that etisalat’s 5G customers spent 3.8 percentage points more of their connected time using 5G than du customers. That represented approximately 16 per cent more time on the newer network technology, a difference the analytics company identified as one factor behind etisalat’s stronger overall download performance.
The operator also retained the awards for video and gaming experience. Etisalat achieved a Video Experience score of 61.3 against du’s 60.0, and a Games Experience score of 73.5 compared with 71.8 for its competitor. The narrower margins in these categories contrast with the larger differences recorded for overall download speed and connection consistency.
Video Experience assesses how mobile networks support video streaming, while Games Experience considers the responsiveness of multiplayer mobile gaming. Both measures address performance that users may notice when using particular services, rather than relying exclusively on speed tests.
Shawn Heidel, Opensignal’s president of Network Experience, congratulated etisalat on its fourth successive title and linked the achievement to sustained network investment and engineering. The assessment is based on observed mobile network use, rather than a consumer satisfaction survey or an examination of tariffs and customer service.
The latest sweep follows Opensignal’s earlier 2026 assessment, when etisalat won 12 of 13 national awards. The latest findings therefore indicate an improvement in the distribution of awards, although a comparison of individual performance scores across the two measurement periods would be needed to establish how much each network’s service changed.
Separate testing by network analytics company nPerf, covering April 2025 to March 2026, also placed etisalat first in overall mobile internet performance. That assessment nevertheless identified strong gains by du, including a 43 per cent improvement in overall download speeds, illustrating that relative rankings can coexist with performance improvements at both operators.
The figures are not a guarantee that subscribers will experience identical speeds at every location or time. Performance can vary with handset capability, network congestion, indoor reception and the availability of 5G coverage. They also do not determine which provider offers the lowest charges or the most suitable package for an individual customer.
For customers comparing the two operators, the assessment supplies measures for speed, coverage, reliability and application performance. The results describe network experience during the specified period, rather than future service levels or the quality of customer support, billing and retail operations.
Opensignal’s announcement identifies four broad pillars for its 13 awards. Its measurements cover both standard mobile connections and 5G services, with the results reflecting the conditions experienced by participating devices during the six-month observation window.
Follow Arabian Post
Select Arabian Post as your preferred source on Google and MSN News for trusted business news and Arab politics and updates.
