"Zain Kuwait" Wins Titles for "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 follows Zain’s win of the same three awards during the second half of 2025, reflecting sustained performance and network strength across consecutive testing periods. It embodies a commitment that goes beyond individual accomplishments, focusing instead on consistently delivering a fast, reliable, and high-quality connectivity experience 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 offer 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 limited to reaching advanced performance levels, but to enhance them and transform 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 customer-centric, integrated technology company ready for the future, guided by a clear purpose on its path to leadership.”

For his part, Chip Strang, 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 achievement and look forward to its future contributions to the digital landscape in the region.”

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 transforming technological advancements into a more robust and seamless customer experience.

By consistently achieving advanced performance in speed and overall network performance for its 5G network, alongside excellence in network coverage, Zain continues to place continuity at the core 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 during 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% for download speed, 20% for upload speed, and 10% for response time, providing a more comprehensive performance assessment compared to relying solely on download speed.

Zain also retained its title for the best mobile network coverage in Kuwait, achieving a score of 45.40 under the Coverage Score™ methodology during the first and second quarters of 2026. Ookla analytics documented Zain’s network coverage area at 7,844 square kilometers, based on data from 37,480 devices and more than 43.6 million speed tests, 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 tests. It applies data quality verification standards before dividing results into geographic areas and evaluating 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 on 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™ of 72.77, a Web Browsing Score of 96.25, and a Video Streaming Score of 87.17.

The best 5G network title 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, web browsing, and video streaming.

The index is calculated with a 50% weight for Speed Score, 25% for Web Browsing Score, and 25% for Video Streaming Score, reflecting customer network experience across a variety of daily digital usage scenarios.