Mastering the Internet in the Middle East: Build smarter, scale faster
The Middle East has become a region full of opportunity for global enterprises. Its commitment to AI and digitally transforming its infrastructure is making the Middle East a place where global enterprises go to unlock new growth. But Internet connectivity in the Middle East is a complicated combination of infrastructure types and regulatory hurdles. And the rate of transformation there is so fast that you need a network that can adapt and scale in real time, or risk being outpaced.
I know that expanding into new and unfamiliar regions is a complex and stressful process. And the Middle East can seem like fragmented landscape with a lot of red tape and challenges to overcome. But with the right guidance and partner who knows the region, Internet in the Middle East can be a smooth process.
From fiber to failovers, here’s how to build a future-ready network across a fast-changing region.
What does Internet in the Middle East look like?
Ask everyone and you’ll hear the same thing: Internet in the Middle East comes in all shapes and sizes. There’s no one-size-fits-all. Every country in the region has its own infrastructure maturity, government roadmap, and operational quirks.
For example:
Egypt had a copper-based infrastructure for its Internet for years. However, that’s changing rapidly as the government continues to support and invest in fiber rollouts. So far, this transition has improved Internet speed from 6.5 Mbps to 34.8 Mbps but doesn’t cover the entire country. Many enterprises are bridging the copper-fiber gap in remote areas with wireless Internet solutions. It’s a smart play in a market where digital demand is outpacing physical infrastructure. Particularly as wireless plays a crucial role in last-mile delivery and network resilience.
However, in Saudi Arabia, the story is different but equally dynamic. The government’s AI ambitions and a booming ecommerce ecosystem have increased data traffic hugely. Bandwidth needs have steeply increased in recent years and the infrastructure is straining to keep up.
So what’s the lesson? Your business needs tailored network strategies for each market, particularly in regions where terrestrial infrastructure is sparse. This can be a lot to manage on your own, with a lot of complexity, red tape, logistics, and technology considerations.
Considerations to factor into your Middle East network strategy:
I’ve seen a lot of businesses set their sights on the Middle East and come against the same challenges. It’s not like other regions. Scaling networks here has a lot of complexities to navigate. Particularly in terms of vendors to navigate, quality control, and performance. And that’s before you also factor in the technology availability from country to country.
Setting up Internet connectivity in a different region always has its challenges, and the Middle East is no exception. This year’s IDC InfoBrief, sponsored by Expereo, Enterprise Horizons 2025, Technology Leaders Priorities: Achieving Digital Agility, found that 32% of enterprises from outside the Middle East region have significant problems sourcing networks, with particular issues with:
- Outages/reliability (40%)
- Finding the right provider (37%)
- Price/cost (37%)
Explore the other networking challenges and opportunities felt by 650 global technology leaders in Enterprise Horizons 2025.
In my experience, I would also add to this list:
- Regulatory red tape: Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and telecom licensing complexities can impact rollouts in the Middle East.
- Vendor sprawl: Managing multiple ISPs across markets kills visibility, inflates costs, and introduces risk.
- Lack of transparency: Without a single-pane view across providers, services, SLAs, and performance, it’s nearly impossible to track ROI or enforce accountability. Let alone manage network health in granular detail.
Why you need network resilience in the Middle East
Network resilience is particularly important and challenging in the region. To ensure uptime, availability, and performance, your networking strategy should account for:
- Regional choke points & geo-political instability at key sea corridors.
- Last-mile instability as many countries still on race to upgrade from legacy networks to fiber end-to-end.
- Limited international gateway competition. (For example, KSA has four international gateways; UAE only has three.)
Additionally, in 2024, the Red Sea cable cuts were a reminder of the risks of single-route dependencies for many in the region.
Needless to say, setting up route and technology diversity on your own in a region that has varying levels of network technology available from country to country can be hard.
For example, DIA (Dedicated Internet Access), not broadband, dominates enterprise-grade deployments in the region. But when it comes to layering in resilience when setting up Internet in the Middle East, Fixed Wireless Access steps in where fiber is unavailable or unreliable.
While Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is not widely available in the Middle East, many countries have either enabled the technology or are in the final stages of regulatory approvals. As this moves forward, Internet via satellite in the Middle East will add a completely new level of diversity, availability, and unparalleled latency to key global destinations. As an example of latency speeds, LEO provides 60ms to the UK compared to the currently observed 120ms on standard links and 70ms on ultra-low latencies.
Your guide to building Internet networks in the Middle East:
Expereo has been operating in the Middle East since April 2010. And I have personally been working with global customers in the region for 12+ years. I’ve seen the region evolve at an incredible pace and helped many global enterprises establish a foothold in the region with future-ready, resilient and scalable networks.
Expereo cuts through this complexity as a global Managed Network-as-a-Service provider. For enterprises expanding or scaling Internet in the Middle East, we don’t just connect: we simplify, optimize, and future-proof.
Here’s how we help customers get ahead with high-performing, resilient connectivity in the region:
- Future-ready networks: We work with you to understand your needs both today and in the future. We then design, build and run a network that’s resilient, adaptable and scalable to meet your business’s future goals.
- Quick, agile design: Our understanding of the region and its operators mean we know the best providers to support your business based on the specific applications you use. We can quickly quote, specify technology needs and any peering required, and plan out the installation and go-live process for a seamless transition.
- Resilience and flexibility: We architect hybrid connectivity models that match your needs, not just the infrastructure on the ground. Whether it’s DIA over fiber, Fixed Wireless Access as a resilience layer, or LEO satellite Internet (when regulatory approval is finalized in the region), our portfolio of connectivity solutions can be combined to ensure always-on connectivity anywhere in the world. Our Enhanced Internet solution allows you to route your traffic across the best performing path over the Internet backbone for reliable, consistent application performance.
- Carrier Selection: We can select the best local carrier based on your needs and applications. While some carriers have optimal performance to EU locations, some others might struggle to ensure stable links to the same destination but are able to connect to APAC sites.
- Unified visibility: Our expereoOne platform gives you complete control, performance monitoring, and lifecycle management across every site, service, and supplier in one dashboard.
- Local support: With offices in Dubai and on-the-ground support from our Support Centre, we can provide support without delay. You don’t need to worry about time differences or local language considerations, we’re there to take care of it for you.
- Simplified compliance: We handle the regulatory legwork (from KYC to all paperwork) so you don’t waste cycles navigating bureaucracy.
Simplify connectivity and amplify growth with Expereo
When it comes to Internet in the Middle East, high bandwidth and stability are always the challenge. Balancing them is an art that we have mastered. Nevertheless, there are many opportunities for multinational companies.
Yes, the infrastructure is uneven. Yes, regulation can be slow. But the appetite for digital transformation? Off the charts.
But to win here, you need to build smart from day one. You need a connectivity partner who knows how to untangle the complexity, deliver resilience where it matters, and scale with the region’s rapid growth.
That’s what Expereo brings to the table.
Get in touch today to discuss your needs.