Abu Dhabi is now the first capital city in the world to be entirely covered with a fibre optic network, UAE telecom giant Etisalat has announced.

The completion of this project has contributed to the UAE being ranked amongst the top five countries in the Arab world in the Network Readiness Index (NRI) and ranked 24th in the world according to the Global Information Technology Report 2011 issued by the World Economic Forum, outperforming many countries, an Etisalat statement said.

Fibre-optic networks offer revolutionary services and solutions which can meet subscribers' needs for decades to come.

Etisalat Chairman Mohammed Omran said this milestone has put the country at the forefront of global telecommunications.

"We are proud to announce Abu Dhabi as the first capital city in the world that is entirely connected to the fibre optic network."

Etisalat Acting CEO Nasser Bin Obood said the network is expected to have an impact in all sectors. "Our significant investment in this network, which amounts to approximately 6 billion dirhams, may have somehow impacted the net profits of the corporation in the recent past, but we are confident that this short-term impact will prove to be beneficial for many in decades to come.

"It is an investment that directly impacts the country?s position and its network readiness, supporting the government's guidelines in enhancing and harnessing e-government tools and information automation," Bin Obood added.

Bin Obood said the number of houses connected to the network (Home Pass) has reached 1,125,247, from which 722,582 houses are ready to use the network (Home Ready), whereas 429,801 are activated homes (Activated ONT).

The total length of the fibre optical network that Etisalat currently deploys all over the UAE equates to five times the distance between the earth and the moon, consisting of a total of 2.8 million km of cable being deployed all over the country.

It is expected that Etisalat will complete the deployment of this project all over the country in 2011, to make the UAE the first country that is entirely covered with a fibre optic network in the world.