Country: UAE

Global rank: 15

Etisalat, or Emirates Telecommunications Group Co., is a UAE-based multinational telecommunications services provider, currently operating in 16 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

While it dominates second place in terms of brand value, Etisalat is the world’s strongest telecoms brand, and the strongest brand in the Middle East and Africa across all industry sectors with a brand strength score of 89.2 out of 100.

Founded in 1964, Etisalat is the 18th largest mobile network operator in the world by number of subscribers. In 2020, Etisalat claimed the world’s fastest 5G download speed.

Etisalat is one of the internet hubs in the Middle East, providing connectivity to other telecommunications operators in the region. It is also the largest carrier of international voice traffic in the Middle East and Africa and the 12th largest voice carrier in the world.

Since 2008, Etisalat has 510 roaming agreements covering 186 countries and enabling BlackBerry, 3G, GPRS and voice roaming.

Etisalat operates an internet content filtering system that blocks access to web resources considered controversial, offensive or harmful.