Fifty Years Young: How etisalat Turned Connectivity Into a Record-Breaking Payday

etisalat today announced its Q3 2026 consolidated financial results, and they're impressive. Consolidated revenue hit AED 19.5 billion, growing 6.9 per cent YoY. Moreover, the first nine months reached AED 57.6 billion, up 10.0 per cent.

Meanwhile, consolidated net profit for 9M 2026 climbed to AED 17.2 billion, up 45.9 per cent YoY. EBITDA reached AED 26.7 billion, with a margin of 46.4 per cent.

Subscribers are flocking to etisalat. The total base reached 254.8 million, representing 29.4 per cent YoY growth. In the UAE, subscribers rose 5.2 per cent to 16.5 million.

Why the surge? Strong demand for advanced digital services and intelligent connectivity drives it.

Additionally, etisalat completed the sale of its entire Vodafone Group stake, generating AED 21.9 billion in total consideration. The gain of roughly AED 8.0 billion boosted results. Net profit adjusted for it was AED 9.2 billion for 9M.

As etisalat marks its 50th anniversary, it has set a bold vision to become a leading AI-powered telco. Furthermore, it plans to expand international connectivity capacity to over 500 Tbps by 2030.

As Group CEO Masood M. Sharif Mahmood said, connectivity now means enabling the modern digital economy. So, the next fifty years look promising.

Trucks, Clouds, and Code: TruKKer's Big Digital Leap

TruKKer Middle East, the MENA region's largest digital freight network, is modernizing its technology. First, it is migrating workloads to Tencent Cloud's local infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, announced the move today.

TruKKer already connects over 75,000 trucks with 1,200 enterprise customers. Therefore, a scalable foundation matters more than ever.

Moreover, the migration should reduce latency and boost application responsiveness. It will also strengthen reliability while supporting Saudi data residency requirements.

As a result, TruKKer can run real-time matching, dispatch, tracking, and settlement around the clock.

Meanwhile, TruKKer's engineers now use CodeBuddy, Tencent Cloud's AI-powered development assistant. It generates code, reviews pull requests, and optimizes CI/CD workflows.

Additionally, it automates test generation, deployment validation, and incident troubleshooting. Consequently, teams spend less time on routine work.

Rachel Xie of Tencent Cloud highlighted the growing demand for reliable local infrastructure and AI innovation. Likewise, TruKKer CTO Pradeep Mallavarapu said the partnership strengthens the company's technology foundation.

Ultimately, this collaboration helps TruKKer innovate faster and serve customers better across the region.

Setting Sail on Smarter Seas: Qatar's Autonomous Fleet Gets a Brain

Big news came out of Day 2 of Milipol Qatar 2026. Shield AI, a leader in AI-powered mission autonomy, and Barzan Holdings Joint Venture RBAT signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Together, they will explore integrating Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy software into Qatari-designed maritime defense and security solutions.

Mimi Shalash, senior director for Hivemind at Shield AI, and Dr. Sinan Al-Obaidi, CEO of Rheinmetall Barzan Advanced Technologies (RBAT), signed the agreement.

This partnership builds on Qatar's established maritime capabilities. RBAT's indigenous engineering expertise meets Shield AI's autonomy solutions, and both flow into Barzan Holdings solutions.

Moreover, both companies will work closely to leverage their combined expertise and Qatar's technological strengths.

Dr. Al-Obaidi explained that autonomy delivers its full value only within a wider operational picture. Therefore, Hivemind will move Qatar beyond individual unmanned platforms toward coordinated teams of vessels protecting coastal waters and critical infrastructure.

Shalash echoed this, noting that Hivemind will enable coordinated autonomous operations across multiple vessels while optimizing efficiency and effectiveness.

Qatar keeps demonstrating leadership in maritime defense. Consequently, this MoU signals a bold step toward next-generation maritime autonomy.

Finally, with skilled engineers and proven software joining forces, the future of Qatari waters looks smarter than ever.