Zain... 'Fastest 5G', 'Best 5G Network', and 'Best Coverage'

Zain Kuwait retained its golden triple crown of Ookla® Speedtest® awards for “Fastest 5G Network,” “Best 5G Network,” and “Best Mobile Network Coverage” for the first and second quarters of 2026, marking the second consecutive year based on data from Ookla, one of the world’s leading platforms specializing in network intelligence, testing, and analytics.

This achievement extends Zain’s win of the same three awards during the second half of 2025, reflecting sustained performance and strong network experience across consecutive testing periods. It embodies a commitment that goes beyond individual accomplishments, focusing on consistently delivering fast, reliable, and high-quality connectivity that aligns with evolving customer needs, lifestyles, interactions, and digital service usage.

Commenting on the achievement, Nawaf Al-Gharbali, CEO of Zain Kuwait, said: “For us, network leadership is not measured by achieving outstanding performance for a limited period, but by the ability to maintain and continuously build upon that performance. These achievements reflect our capacity to deliver a reliable, high-quality experience to our customers across their daily digital activities, and they drive us to continue raising the bar to provide the best through Kuwait’s most awarded network.”

He added: “Our customers’ needs and expectations are constantly evolving, so we continue to develop our network to keep pace with this change and anticipate future requirements. Our goal is not only to reach advanced performance levels, but to enhance them by transforming every investment and technological advancement into a better customer experience. This approach lies at the core of our network strategy and supports Zain’s journey under the ‘4WARD – Advancing with Purpose’ strategy to become a future-ready, integrated technology company that is customer-centric and guided by a clear purpose in its path to leadership.”

For his part, Chip Stringer, CEO of Ookla, said: “We are pleased to present Zain with the Speedtest awards for ‘Fastest 5G Network,’ ‘Best 5G Network,’ and ‘Best Coverage’ in Kuwait for the second consecutive year. This prestigious achievement reflects Zain’s commitment to delivering world-class connectivity and setting leading standards for speed and reliability across the sector. We congratulate Zain on this outstanding accomplishment and look forward to its future contributions to the regional digital landscape.”

This achievement comes as Zain continues to develop its network to meet changing customer needs and the rapid growth of digital services. Following the launch of its 5G-Advanced network across Kuwait in 2025, the company continues to enhance its infrastructure, capabilities, and network intelligence, with a clear focus on translating technological advancements into a stronger and smoother experience for customers.

By consistently achieving advanced performance in speed and overall network performance for its 5G network, as well as excelling in network coverage, Zain continues to place continuity at the heart of its network strategy, ensuring that innovation and technological progress translate into tangible value for customers across Kuwait.

According to Ookla’s analysis of the Kuwaiti market for the first and second quarters of 2026, Zain earned the title of Kuwait’s fastest 5G network after recording a Speed Score™ result of 72.77. The results also showed that Zain achieved an average download speed of 514.59 megabits per second and an average upload speed of 34.74 megabits per second, reflecting the network’s strong performance in meeting daily usage requirements.

The award for the fastest 5G network is based on the Speed Score™ methodology, which measures network performance in terms of data transfer speed and responsiveness. This methodology includes download and upload speeds alongside response time, weighted at 70 percent for download speed, 20 percent for upload speed, and 10 percent for response time, providing a more comprehensive performance assessment compared to relying solely on download speed.

Zain also retained its title as the provider with the best mobile network coverage in Kuwait, achieving a score of 45.40 in the Coverage Score™ methodology during the first and second quarters of 2026. Ookla analytics recorded a documented coverage area for Zain’s network of 7,844 square kilometers, based on data from 37,480 devices and more than 43.6 million scans, reflecting the extensive network experience available to customers across Kuwait.

This methodology measures the actual geographic footprint of a service provider’s mobile coverage, using real-world measurements collected from device-based coverage scans. It applies data quality verification standards before dividing results into geographic areas and assessing users’ success in connecting to the cellular network, thereby providing a data-driven view of actual service availability.

Zain also earned the title of best 5G network in Kuwait, recording a score of 82.24 in the Speedtest Connectivity Score™ methodology, the highest in the market during the first and second quarters of 2026.

The results demonstrated strong performance across various elements that shape the overall customer experience on the 5G network, including a Speed Score™ result of 72.77, a Web Browsing Score of 96.25, and a Video Streaming Score of 87.17.

The title of best 5G network is based on Ookla’s Speedtest Connectivity Score™ methodology, which offers a more comprehensive measure of connection experience by integrating real-world metrics including speed, response time, internet browsing, and video streaming.