High-speed Wi-Fi has become essential for guest satisfaction in luxury hospitality to attract more tourists and business travelers, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Whether you’re a leisure traveler trying to find your next home away from home or a digital nomad looking for the ideal remote work location, this article offers insights into Wi-Fi performance in MENA’s luxury hospitality market. It also discusses how hotels can improve their Wi-Fi network and use it as a differentiator to attract and retain guests.

Key Takeaways:

• Luxury hotels in Riyadh and Dubai offer some of the fastest Wi-Fi in MENA. Only three of the 22 properties and resorts reviewed achieved a median download speed of over 100 Mbps between October 2023 and October 2024. They include Four Seasons in Riyad, with a median speed of 154.75 Mbps, Raffles The Palm, and Jumeirah Mina Al Salam, both in Dubai, with 122.82 Mbps and 121.35 Mbps, respectively. 
• Just over half of the reviewed hotels provided Wi-Fi with a median download speed of at least 50 Mbps. 41% of the properties provided a speed between 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps; these include iconic hotels, such as Burj Al Arab and the Royal Atlantis in Dubai. The remaining 45% of hotels offered a speed below 50 Mbps, including those in the Gulf region, suggesting that the issue is with the Wi-Fi network and not with the capacity of the broadband connection.
• Hotels should actively monitor and improve their Wi-Fi to remain competitive. Hotels can enhance Wi-Fi performance by increasing bandwidth, upgrading modern networking equipment, optimizing access point placement, performing regular maintenance, and gathering guest feedback to inform improvements.

Fast and reliable Wi-Fi is critical to the experience of tourists, business travelers, and remote workers

Fast and reliable Wi-Fi is essential for the hospitality industry, particularly in the MENA region, where tourists and business travelers expect seamless internet access to stream their favorite TV shows, have virtual meetings, and stay in touch. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend, making remote work the new normal. Some cities, such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, rolled out the red carpet to digital nomads and professionals, offering special visas and incentives to attract them. Even holidaygoers and families require more bandwidth to enjoy premium video streaming services and connect multiple devices simultaneously. 

As the luxury hospitality sector is booming in the region, the quality of Wi-Fi can be a decisive factor in travelers’ decision to select a property over another in a highly competitive market. According to a survey conducted in the USA, 74% of panelists believe that Wi-Fi quality is important to attract guests and maintain their loyalty. Poor Wi-Fi can negatively impact guest experiences, review scores, and occupancy rates.

Luxury hotels in Riyadh and Dubai have among the fastest Wi-Fi networks in MENA

Using Speedtest Intelligence® data, we analyzed Wi-Fi performance across 22 top-rated five-star hotels and resorts shortlisted based on desk research for the most popular properties and recent recommendations from Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and Business Traveller Middle East. We also aimed to have representation from the Gulf region, Middle East, and North Africa. 

The map below shows the city distribution of the hotels selected. The U.A.E. is most represented, with nine properties and resorts spread across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Riyadh, Doha, and Marrakesh contributed three hotels each, followed by Muscat in Oman and  Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, with two hotels each.

We benchmarked median download speeds inside and around the properties over one year (October 2023 and October 2024). This period helps us gauge the performance and stability of the Wi-Fi network with different levels of hotel occupancy and guest profiles. We excluded hotels with low measurement sample counts and considered only the most common Wi-Fi network name in each hotel, which is usually freely accessible to guests. To this end, we excluded Wi-Fi networks set up specifically for special events like sporting competitions.

Data analysis revealed three groups of hotels based on Wi-Fi download speed:

• Top performers include hotels with a median download speed exceeding 100Mbps. These speeds facilitate multiple 4K streams, ultra-fast downloads, and lag-free video conferencing, catering to the most demanding digital needs.
• Good performers include hotels with a median download speed between 50Mbps and 100Mbps. These represent 41% of the properties reviewed. This group comprises iconic hotels such as Burj Al Arab and the Royal Atlantis in Dubai.
• Performance laggards include hotels with a median download speed below 50 Mbps, representing more than 45% of the properties reviewed.  This speed may be suitable for single high-definition to 4K  streaming but struggles with more data-intensive activities at busy times.

Four Seasons in Riyadh, Raffles The Palm, and Jumeirah Mina Al Salam, both in Dubai, top the list with a median download speed of 154.75 Mbps, 122.82 Mbps, and 121.35 Mbps, respectively. The download speeds of good-performing hotels range from just over 50 Mbps for Raffles and Fairmont, colocated in Doha’s Katara Towers, to 93.70 Mbps for Rixos Sharm El Sheikh. The other hotels in this category are located in Dubai, Muscat, and Marrakesh. 

Every city has hotels in the laggards’ category, with speeds ranging from  10.21 Mbps to 46.11 Mbps. At the bottom of the list, we find two in Abu Dhabi, Hilton Yas Island and Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, with speeds of 14.88 Mbps and 14.45 Mbps, respectively, and JW Marriott Hotel Muscat, at 10.21 Mbps.

For reference, Netflix recommends a minimum of 15 Mbps for 4K video streaming. More specifically, in the hospitality industry, and based on a survey, 56% of hotel guests in the USA expected hotels to offer Wi-Fi speeds of at least 50 Mbps for the service to be acceptable. Speedtest results show that over half of the reviewed hotels in MENA meet or exceed that threshold.

While Gulf countries top the Speedtest Global Index, we note that many hotels in that region offer sub-50 Mbps, suggesting that the issue is with the Wi-Fi network and not with the capacity of the broadband connection. Conversely, hotels in Sharm El Sheikh and Marrakesh outperformed many of their peers in Gulf countries, suggesting a combination of good internet capacity and optimal Wi-Fi installation.

Deploying modern and well-configured Wi-Fi equipment helps to realize speed gains

The placement and configuration of Wi-Fi access points influence the speed and coverage guests can experience. Speedtest data shows that Wi-Fi 6 standard (802.11ax) and 5 GHz frequency spectrum, which privileges speed over coverage, are more commonly found in top-performing hotels than lower-performing ones. 

Speed gains of Wi-Fi 6 over Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Wi-Fi 5 over Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) are more significant at higher speed ranges (above 75 Mbps). Furthermore, tests that used the 5 GHz frequency consistently outperformed those over 2.4 GHz (which provides better coverage but with lower performance) across a wide range of speeds, with more substantial improvements at higher speeds.

Hotels should actively monitor and improve their Wi-Fi to remain competitive

Delivering high-speed and consistent Wi-Fi across different parts of a hotel is challenging because of the inherent design and structure of the property. The size and layout of the hotel play a crucial role; larger establishments with multiple floors and large common areas can create dead zones where the signal weakens or fails. Additionally, the materials used in construction—such as concrete, metal, and glass—can significantly attenuate Wi-Fi signals, leading to inconsistent connectivity in certain areas. Furthermore, the high density of guests during peak seasons can strain the network, resulting in slower speeds and dropped connections. 

In addition to upgrading networking equipment, including routers and access points that support the latest Wi-Fi standards, hotels can improve network experience by adopting the following steps:

• Increase bandwidth: Ensure sufficient internet bandwidth to accommodate the number of guests and their usage patterns.
• Conduct a site survey to identify dead zones and areas with weak signals and interference. This will help in planning the placement of access points for optimal coverage.
• Optimize placement of access points: Distribute access points throughout the hotel to ensure consistent coverage reduce congestion, and upgrade cables to take advantage of increased bandwidth.
• Regular maintenance and updates: Update firmware and software for networking equipment to ensure security and performance.
• Monitor network performance: Use monitoring tools to track performance metrics like speed and coverage to identify problems and inform future upgrades.
• Gather guest feedback: Include questions about Wi-Fi quality in the checkout surveys to better understand their needs and make necessary adjustments.

As the luxury hospitality sector in the MENA region continues to flourish, hotels must recognize that high-speed and reliable Wi-Fi is no longer just a nice-to-have feature but a critical expectation of their guests. Investing in connectivity and optimizing Wi-Fi infrastructure will not only enhance guest experience and satisfaction but also help stand out in the competitive market in MENA. 

By investing in providing seamless connectivity, hotels can attract a broader range of travelers—including digital nomads and business professionals—and foster loyalty among guests. This will also help local luxury hotels become sought-after destinations for luxury holidays and remote work. 

Ookla can assist hospitality property managers in designing Wi-Fi networks, monitoring their performance, and optimizing them. Please contact us to learn more about Speedtest Intelligence and Ekahau.

In the last three years, generative AI (GenAI) has driven most of the hype around AI. Its ability to understand and respond to queries in a human-like way and produce high-quality programming code, music, and video content raises critical questions about network requirements to support these applications and how best to measure network performance. This article covers current and emerging GenAI use cases and discusses the implications of growing consumer adoption on network performance and measurement strategies.

Key Takeaways:

• The growing adoption of GenAI and its evolution has the potential to disrupt traffic usage patterns significantly. The surge in demand for GenAI and the diversity of the content types it can generate could lead to a significant increase in data traffic and a heightened need for improved bandwidth and latency in the medium to long term. Advancements in data compression and prompting techniques could mitigate demand pressures and lead to less severe outcomes than anticipated.
• GenAI drives the need for new approaches to measure the quality of experience. The evolution of GenAI from chatbots to real-time conversations with richer and more interactive applications will require a new content distribution infrastructure and unlock new use cases. This will prompt a rethink of how we assess network performance and user experience.
• Addressing data misuse, misinformation, and mistrust concerns will be crucial for widespread GenAI adoption. As GenAI content becomes more sophisticated, privacy, security, and trustworthiness issues will grow in importance. Establishing robust regulatory and technical safeguards will be vital to building consumer and business confidence in these technologies.

GenAI has captivated users, businesses, and investors alike

GenAI is a small part of AI that specializes in generating novel content using computer models trained on terabytes of existing digital datasets of text, computer code, images, and videos. Despite the recent decline in overall AI private investment, GenAI continues to attract the most funding. Private funding for GenAI surged to $25.3 billion in 2023, nearly nine times the amount raised in 2022. In October 2024, OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, the leading GenAI chatbot, raised $6.6 billion in new funding, valuing it at $157 billion despite incurring $5 billion in losses that year.

GenAI is not just capturing the attention of investors; it is also a hot topic among Fortune 500 companies. GenAI was the most frequently cited AI theme on earnings calls, appearing in nearly 20% of all earning calls during 2023. This shows that corporate leaders see significant potential in this technology.

GenAI services have also become very popular among consumers. For example, ChatGPT made headlines with its record-breaking growth. After the release of ChatGPT 3.5 in May 2023, the service reached 100 million users in just 64 days – the fastest-growing consumer application to date. Today, the ChatGPT website attracts over 600 million monthly visitors (down from its peak of 2 billion visits a month), and the service has more than 180 million users. While growth has slowed, ChatGPT is expected to capture 75.2% of GenAI users globally, even as its market share dips due to the rise of many proprietary and open-source alternatives. The U.S. is home to the largest ChatGPT user base, expected to increase to 87.9 million users by 2025.

Businesses are eagerly embracing GenAI for its perceived benefits. A CCS Insight survey found that 82% of U.S. and European companies have already deployed GenAI or plan to do so in the next 12 months. GenAI has been mostly used for administrative-type tasks such as generating draft contracts and summarizing notes, content creation, marketing, and customer support.

The telecom industry is increasingly bullish on GenAI. Operators are using the technology to introduce more sophisticated chatbots that offer a more human-like customer service experience. According to a recent GSMA Intelligence survey, 81% of global telecom operators are currently testing GenAI. While the initial focus is on cost reduction and operational efficiency, GenAI could eventually create new revenue streams by enabling new AI-powered consumer and B2B services. A 2023 McKinsey report suggests that GenAI could boost telecom revenue by 2.3% to 3.7% (as a percentage of total industry revenue), corresponding to an additional $60 to $100 billion. 

The rapid evolution of GenAI services could lead to increased network requirements 

GenAI is a broad category of applications that can generate different types of content. Most users are familiar with large language models (LLM), such as GPT-4, which powers ChatGPT. LLMs are a subset of GenAI trained on vast amounts of text to generate responses in natural language. As such, most current interactions with GenAI services are basic text-based conversations. These conversations are latency-tolerant and do not demand a high throughput since most of the delay is on the server side, where data processing and content generation take place.

The evolution of GenAI, from chatbots to real-time conversations with richer and more interactive content, will require more powerful servers that can process complex requests, do it faster, and send back high-resolution images or videos. In this context, minimizing downlink latency is crucial to maintaining natural conversations between users and GenAI agents. Additionally, download speed becomes essential for sending and rendering media content on users’ devices. In the future, the ease of creating realistic images or videos (or enhancing them) will encourage more people to become content creators and editors. This will enable new use cases that combine real and synthetic content generated on the fly and streamed live. In this scenario, good uplink latency and throughput metrics will be essential to provide viewers with a high-resolution and lag-free experience.

The reduction in the size of the LLM models, the increased optimization of GenAI applications, and the growing power of system-on-chips (SoCs) have given rise to a new generation of GenAI-powered smartphones. Devices such as the iPhone 16 with Apple Intelligence and Samsung Galaxy S24 with Galaxy AI are slowly transforming the way we interact with our phones and consume content, shifting from individual app usage to an ‘app-free’ experience with an intelligent, voice-controlled digital assistant that can draft emails, translate conversations, make a booking, or manage calendars. According to IDC, GenAI smartphones will be the fastest-growing smartphone segment through 2028, with over 234 million units expected to ship in 2024 alone. 

The proliferation of dedicated GenAI applications on smartphones will help to engage more users with GenAI and shift their usage from static to nomadic. While basic tasks will continue to be handled on the device for responsiveness and data privacy, more complex tasks like generating a picture or a video clip will be partially offloaded to a server (similar to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute). In this case, download speed and latency could be paramount to ensuring a good customer experience. Even for offline GenAI usage or when using on a portable processing unit (for example, embedded in a wireless router), mobile users may need to regularly download and update large GenAI models, highlighting the importance of robust cellular download speeds.

There is much uncertainty about GenAI’s overall impact on traffic profiles. The widespread adoption of GenAI media content could significantly disrupt consumer usage patterns, potentially leading to a surge in data traffic that could strain existing network infrastructure. On the other hand, advancements in data compression and prompting techniques could mitigate demand pressures, leading to less severe outcomes than anticipated.

Service providers will need to monitor developments and be prepared to make further investments to upgrade bandwidth and capacity to keep pace with demand and maintain performance levels. If GenAI leads to substantial additional traffic, then operators may ask GenAI service providers to pay their ‘fair share’ use of the infrastructure. 

GenAI drives the need for new service quality metrics and facilitates network optimization for operators

The rise of GenAI is transforming the way we create and consume content. This transformation necessitates new means of collecting network data and methodologies to capture the performance of AI-powered services accurately. Traditional metrics like throughput, packet loss, and jitter remain essential, but new KPIs need to be defined to reflect the ‘perceived quality’ of generated (or enhanced) content. Some aspects that could be considered include the relevance and accuracy of the generated content and the responsiveness of interactive GenAI applications.

The infrastructure required to support the growth of GenAI is likely to be different from traditional content delivery networks (CDNs). Some use cases will support near real-time interaction and require robust data privacy, necessitating edge computing deployment to offload the central cloud-based GenAI servers, reduce latency by processing data closer to the user, and minimize the amount of traffic exchanged between the user and the central server. Therefore, future network measurement approaches should factor in the distributed nature of these edge compute units and redefine latency to include edge processing and content generation time at the edge. 

Operators can use GenAI tools to analyze measurement data, identify patterns, and predict potential issues based on recent incidents. According to a 2023 GSMA Intelligence survey, two-thirds of operators considered troubleshooting and maintenance to be the biggest impact of GenAI. For example, GenAI tools can provide network engineers with automated, tailored network analytics and upgrade recommendations. Ookla is using GenAI in Downdetector Explorer™ to provide network maintenance teams with up-to-date situation reports following service disruptions.

GenAI promises more immersive experiences for consumers while driving network measurement innovation

We are at the beginning of the GenAI revolution, and its potential is undeniable. GenAI promises consumers a more immersive experience, increased engagement, and greater creativity and content sharing. Combining AI-generated text, code, audio, and video could enable highly personalized and hyper-realistic immersive experiences beyond what is currently available. In the medium term, real-time services like video conferencing or gaming could be enhanced with AI-generated content, such as virtual avatars and personalized game characters, pushing network requirements to new heights. This shift will also significantly impact content distribution infrastructure and demand new approaches to moderating content, measuring network performance, and assessing customer quality of experience.

As GenAI content becomes more sophisticated and indistinguishable from human-produced content, concerns around data misuse, the spread of misinformation, and mistrust will grow. Addressing these issues will be crucial for fostering consumer and business confidence, ultimately driving the widespread adoption of AI technologies. In the meantime, GenAI will continue to be deployed with human supervision while we improve their understanding of its risks and limitations and establish regulatory and technical safeguards for its use.

We will continue to follow the development of GenAI and its adoption by consumers and telecom operators to gauge its impact on network performance and optimization. Furthermore, Ookla is actively using GenAI to transform its data into actionable insights and predictive analytics that help providers understand how to deliver better real-world connectivity experiences to consumers.