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Wed, Jan 21, 2026 | Shaban 3, 1447 | Fajr 05:45 | DXB 
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UAE internet users report outages; e& and du say ‘working to resolve the issue’
According to Downdetector, most of the reported problems were related to landline internet, TV streaming, and mobile internet
The UAE’s two telecom services providers e& and du on Sunday said their customers may experience slowdown in services due to cable outages in the Red Sea as many residents in the country reported outage or slowdown in telecom services over the weekend.
“You may experience some slowness in our data services due to an international submarine cable cut. Our technical teams are working to resolve the issue,” the company said in a statement on social media platform X.
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The telecom services provider said it will keep its customers updated about the latest development with regard to restoration of the services.
UAE’s du also stated that customers may experience some slowness in data services due to an international submarine cable cut. “Our technical teams are working with international providers to resolve the issue. We will keep you updated with the latest developments,” it said.
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People in the country and region took to social media to report challenges in accessing websites and apps and TV streaming.
According to Downdetector, reported locations include Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Jebel Ali, and Umm Al Quwain.
Most of the reported problems were related to landline internet, TV streaming, and mobile internet, it said.
“Internet is stuttering, gaming is impossible, YouTube videos don’t run smoothly,” said a resident Muhammad Yousuf, on Downdetector.
“Extremely slow internet today all across Dubai. Multiple friends have this issue in their homes,” said another Dubai resident.
“I called my mother in my home country on Saturday evening, but I couldn’t. I came to know later on that there was some cable outage issue in the Red Sea,” said Waseem Ahmed, a Sharjah resident.
“What is happening with the internet today!? It’s extremely slow. Happening across the whole of Dubai!”, said Magaluf, an X user.
In addition to the UAE, Internet users in other Middle Eastern countries also reported outage due to the cable.
According to Downdetector, users of the social media platform X reported outages throughout Saturday.
“Huge packet losses. Goodbye streaming or gaming or anything like that :) Maybe it’s time to read some books,” said KuniMaster69, a Reddit user.
NetBlocks, a watchdog organisation that monitors cybersecurity and Internet, added that internet disruption were observed on UAE telecom networks, resulting in slow speeds and intermittent access.
It added that engineers are working to resolve the issue which is impacting many countries.
Meanwhile, Microsoft said its cloud computing platform Azure is witnessing increased network latency on traffic routes across the Middle East.
“Starting 05.45 UTC (9.45am UAE time) on September 6, 2025, network traffic traversing through the Middle East may experience increased latency due to undersea fiber cuts in the Red Sea. Network traffic is not interrupted as Microsoft has rerouted traffic through alternate network paths,” the US technology giant said.
“We do expect higher latency on some traffic that previously traversed through the Middle East. Network traffic that does not traverse through the Middle East is not impacted. We’ll continue to provide daily updates, or sooner if conditions change,” it said in a statement on its website.
Khaleej Times has reached out to local telecom services providers for a statement about the restoration of services.
Waheed Abbas
Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.
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