Ultra-Fast FTTH Accelerates in the Arab World as Average Monthly Fees Plunge Across Three Regions Between 2020 and 2026

Arab Advisors Group has released its latest telecom research series examining how Fiber-to-the-Home (“FTTH”) fees and affordability evolved across four Arab regions: GCC & Yemen, the Levant, the Maghreb, and Egypt & Sudan, at three distinct time intervals: March 2020, October 2024, and February 2026. The series analyze FTTH offerings by major ISPs in each region, tracking changes in monthly subscription fees, fees gaps within individual markets, connection/ installation fees, and available download speeds. Additionally, each report benchmarks the relative pricing status of residential FTTH in its respective region, assesses affordability against GDP per capita and GDP per household across the three studied periods, and delivers a comprehensive, data-driven view of how the economics of fiber connectivity shifted.

Key Stats

FTTH download speeds transformed across all four Arab regions between March 2020 and February 2026; the GCC & Yemen alone saw plans above 500 Mbps growing by over 500%, while low-speed plans nearly vanished
Average monthly fees for 100 Mbps FTTH dropped in the Maghreb, the Levant, and the GCC & Yemen in 6 years, with drops exceeding 40% in all three; Egypt & Sudan bucked the trend
Fees gaps between the lowest and highest 100 Mbps FTTH plans in MENA varied strikingly with Lebanon recording the widest gap at ~US$ 80, while Oman recorded the narrowest at US$ 2.73
Connection/installation fees declined across the Maghreb region, the Levant, the GCC and Yemen between March 2020 and February 2026, with the Levant recording the steepest drop of nearly two-thirds
In February 2026, 16 countries achieved a fair or low FTTH relative pricing status; Yemen, Sudan, and Syria remained the exception

Who is the “FTTH Fees and Affordability: A Comprehensive Comparison 2020, 2024, 2026 Series” For:

Telecom operators and ISPs who need more than a snapshot; tracking how fees, speed tiers, competitive dynamics, and affordability shifted across three periods to understand whether their pricing trajectories are aligned with regional trends or diverging from them, and to identify the structural drivers behind fee changes in their markets

Telecom regulators monitoring how monthly FTTH fees and affordability evolved across four Arab regions, assessing pricing fairness relative to GDP per capita and GDP per household, evaluating whether policies delivered measurable results, and designing evidence-based interventions that improve residential FTTH affordability, encourage wider household adoption, and support the expansion of high-speed Internet broadband connectivity

Infrastructure and network equipment assessing the maturity and growth trajectory of FTTH markets across four Arab regions, using data on ISP expansion, speed-tier evolution, and competitive dynamics to identify markets where demand for fiber infrastructure is accelerating and where future deployment opportunities are emerging

Consultancies and investors who require historical depth to evaluate market trajectories; understanding where prices stand today and how they moved, what reversed, and which markets demonstrated sustained improvement versus short-lived gains between March 2020 and February 2026

Academic researchers studying broadband economics, digital equity, and ICT development across the Arab World, who need a rigorous, independently validated multi-period dataset spanning 19 countries across four distinct Arab regions

Game developers, content and digital service providers assessing the availability and affordability of ultra-high-speed residential FTTH across four Arab regions, using the data to identify markets where the infrastructure can support high bandwidth services, and where growing fiber penetration creates new opportunities to expand their subscriber base and deliver high-quality digital experiences

The series comprised four individual reports, each covering one specific region: the GCC & Yemen, the Levant, the Maghreb, and Egypt & Sudan. Using a standardized methodology across March 2020, October 2024, and February 2026, each report not only tracked residential FTTH monthly fees, connection/installation fees, fee gaps, and available download speeds, but also benchmarked affordability using GDP per capita and GDP per household, assigned each country a relative pricing status, and examined how pricing structures, speed offerings, and operator competitiveness evolved over time at both the country and operator levels.

“Our analysis paints a compelling picture of the Arab FTTH market’s transformation. Between 2020 and 2026, fiber broadband has become both faster and across most of the region, significantly more affordable, with average 100 Mbps monthly fees declining by more than 40% in the Maghreb, the Levant, and the GCC & Yemen. Yet the story does not end there. The wide variation in pricing between countries, from a gap of just US$ 2.73 in some markets to more than US$ 80 in others, demonstrates that the customer experience remains far from uniform,” said Hiba Rabadi, Managing Director of Arab Advisors Group. “As fiber networks continue to expand and higher-speed plans become the new standard, sustaining affordability will be just as important as increasing network performance.”

Developed by Arab Advisors Group, the region’s market research leader for over 20 years, this series combines deep expertise with a long-standing reputation for data accuracy, methodological rigor, and research reliability, making it a trusted reference for decision-makers across the telecom and digital ecosystem. What distinguishes it, is its breadth and analytical depth: the reports offer comprehensive benchmarking across residential FTTH monthly subscription fees, connection/installation fees, available download speeds, and GDP-adjusted affordability metrics, all within ready-to-use reports that eliminate the need for lengthy custom studies. Importantly, the analysis goes beyond conventional fee comparisons by incorporating a multi-period affordability framework: tracking relative pricing status, calculating annual FTTH fees as a percentage of both GDP per capita and GDP per household, and mapping fee trajectories at both the country and operator level. With transparent methodology, consistently validated datasets, and more than a decade of FTTH research experience behind it, this series stands out as a reliable and actionable intelligence resource for organizations seeking structured, comparable, and strategy-ready insights into fiber market evolution across the Arab regions.

Our reports: “FTTH Fees and Affordability in the Levant: A Comprehensive Comparison 2020, 2024, 2026”, “FTTH Fees and Affordability in the Maghreb Region: A Comprehensive Comparison 2020, 2024, 2026”, “FTTH Fees and Affordability in the GCC and Yemen: A Comprehensive Comparison 2020, 2024, 2026”, “FTTH Fees and Affordability in Egypt and Sudan: A Comprehensive Comparison 2020, 2024, 2026” which were released in May and June 2026 to Arab Advisors Group’s communication research subscribers, answer the below questions:

What were the major ISPs’ residential FTTH offerings across each region in 2020, 2024 and 2026?
On country and operator levels, how did subscription fees of the residential FTTH services change during the years under study?
Which ISPs imposed connection/installation fees on their residential FTTH services? And how much did these fees vary across the years under study?
What were the available residential FTTH download speeds across each region in 2020, 2024 and 2026?
What was the relative pricing status and how did residential FTTH affordability vary in each region during the years under study?

To access the full insights and detailed benchmarks, contact Arab Advisors Group today or request the full Table of Contents.

The reports were released to Arab Advisors Group’s subscribers and can be purchased individually for US$ 6,000 for each report.

Arab Advisors Group’s team of analysts in the region produced over 6,100 reports on the Arab World’s communications, media, and financial markets. The reports can be purchased individually or received through an annual subscription to Arab Advisors Group’s (www.arabadvisors.com) Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecom).

To date, Arab Advisors Group serves over 1,000 global and regional companies by providing reliable research analysis and forecasts of Arab communications markets to these clients. Some of our clients can be viewed on https://arabadvisors.com/client-list