UAE telecommunications company du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), has announced a strategic partnership with STL, a leading optical and digital solutions company, for advanced optical fibre cables.
The agreement, the partners say, demonstrates du's commitment to the fast expansion of fibre-dense mobile and FTTH networks across the UAE to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
The announcement that du Telecom has selected STL as a strategic fibre partner comes hard on the heels of STL signing a new five-year contract for its optical fibre cables with du Telecom.
As a part of this contract, STL, which describes itself as a zero-waste-to-landfill manufacturer, will provide its advanced optical cable designs with bend-resistant fibre to deliver better network performance, especially in FTTH networks. STL adds that its products have enabled du to deploy networks faster and with reduced CapEx and OpEx.
This news came soon after the UAE was once again confirmed as the global leader in fibre to the home (FTTH) penetration – an area in which not just du but also rival e& UAE play a major role in the country.
This marks the eighth consecutive year the country has held this top position, with a penetration rate of 99.3%, as reported by the FTTH Council in its latest annual report.
The report analysed data from 20 countries that have exceeded 50% FTTH availability and compared global statistics on fibre optic network penetration. It placed the UAE above Singapore (97.1%), Hong Kong (95.3 %), China (92.9%), and South Korea (91.5%).
