Oman: Over $576mln invested in telecom sector last year

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Muscat: Total investments in the telecommunications sector in 2023 stood at OMR221.9 million.

Investments in mobile telecommunications services topped the list and they constituted 53.7 percent of the total, followed by fixed telecommunication services (wired/landline services), which comprised 37 percent, while other services comprised 9.3 percent of the 2023 telecommunications sector investments.

An annual report issued by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) showed that the TRA released 12 "public consultation briefings" during 2023 with the aim of engaging beneficiaries and relevant parties and listening to their views about ideal measures to establish a flexible regulatory environment that keeps pace with modern developments.

The TRA undertook efforts to spread broadband networks in all parts of the Sultanate of Oman in 2023, said the report, which indicated that the number of 5th Generation stations (5G) stood at 5,238 and that the number of residential units covered by fibre-optic networks grew to 773,589.

As many as 377 permits/ licences were endorsed for different types of communications in 2023.

Those included 41 licences in the tracking and geolocation service, 6 licenses in providing the “Internet of Things” services, 267 licences in implementing services in the field of telecommunications, 48 licenses in establishing or operating private networks for personal use, 5 licences in utilising and accessing inactive infrastructure, 3 licences in the regulatory experimental environment for telecommunications services, and 2 licenses in voice or video communications services via the Internet Protocol.

The TRA also authorised 15 new companies to provide postal services, taking the total number of licenced companies in this sector to 63 during 2023.

The step was in response to a steady rise in the volume of incoming messages in the local and international mail. This helped generate more than 1,624 additional employment opportunities under permanent contracts, with Omanis taking 1,223 of the jobs during 2023.