Dhiraagu wins at Asian Telecom Awards 2026 for nationwide fibre broadband coverage
A nationwide fibre roll-out programme connected communities across one of the world’s most dispersed island nations.
Dhiraagu won Broadband Telecom Company of the Year - Maldives at the Asian Telecom Awards 2026, reflecting the national milestone of achieving 100% high-speed fibre broadband access to every household on every island in the Maldives.
Operating in a nation spread across vast ocean distances, the Maldives comprises 1,192 islands grouped across multiple atolls, with communities separated by wide stretches of sea. Dhiraagu focused on building a resilient digital backbone to enrich lives, supporting individuals and businesses across 188 inhabited islands and tourist resorts nationwide. Delivering consistent connectivity across this challenging terrain required long-term planning, engineering coordination, and sustained capital commitment.
Dhiraagu addressed these geographic challenges through a long-term, infrastructure-led nationwide mobile and fibre rollout programme across every inhabited island in the Maldives. Full 4G mobile broadband coverage was achieved on all inhabited islands in 2015, whilst 5G services expanded to cover 73% of the population as of 2025. Dhiraagu’s network supports everyday communication needs as well as data-intensive activities such as remote work, online learning, and digital public services.
Alongside mobile expansion, fibre deployment formed a central pillar of the strategy. Fibre-to-the-Home connectivity extended access to every household across all inhabited islands, placing the Maldives amongst a small group of countries with complete nationwide fibre coverage. This ensured that residents and businesses could access stable, high-speed broadband regardless of geographic isolation.
Unlimited, or “limitehneh,” fibre broadband plans for homes and businesses further strengthened digital participation. Residential customers benefitted from uninterrupted speeds for entertainment, education, and work, whilst business offerings supported operational continuity and growth across sectors such as tourism, logistics, and professional services. The fibre network also provided a strong foundation for cloud services and enterprise-grade connectivity requirements.
Dhiraagu operates a fibre submarine cable backbone that delivers high-speed data and connects the Maldives to international gateways via two submarine cable systems. By strengthening both domestic and international connectivity, the country’s overall digital resilience has improved, accelerating the Maldives’ digital transformation journey.
The Asian Telecom Awards is a premier awards programme that recognises telecom companies across the Asia Pacific for their contributions to industry advancement, technological innovation, and digital infrastructure development.
The Asian Telecom Awards is presented by Asian Telecom Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2027 awards programme and be acclaimed for delivering cutting-edge, award-winning telco products and services to customers, please contact Julie Anne Nunez - Difuntorum at +(65) 3158 1386 ext. 242. You may also reach out via [email protected].
