Third telecom operator to cut cost, fibre-optic cable rolling out in Oman

Muscat: With more and more people using mobile technology and fixed line broadband, the Ministry of Transport & Communications is pressing ahead with plans for fibre-optic cabling and 5G services across as much of Oman as possible.
The ministry also announced a series of projects to connect remote areas of the Sultanate to the grid and revealed that a third operator entering the Omani telecoms market could help push down prices by as much as 30 per cent.
Opening up military and security frequencies to the civilian market had a “positive impact on the spread of 3G and 4G services in Oman,” according to a statement, and had “enabled the current operators to increase coverage enhance service quality, especially in remote areas.” The ministry stated in its report that these networks would prove vital to the planned 5G roll-out – already being tested by major telecom providers.
Fibre-optic cabling in the Sultanate is also being rolled out, according to the ministry, thanks to a broadband strategy approved in 2013 by the government.
“The strategy enabled the procurement of fibre-optic network in installing a broadband network for a number of areas in Muscat by three operators in the first phase,” according to the statement. Fixed broadband services saw an increase by 47 per cent and it is expected to increase when a third operator enters the market, the statement added.
A ‘roam from home’ plan has also been announced by the ministry, where it’s hoped to cut the cost of roaming so that it eventually costs the same as home use.
The ministry statement assured customers that steps were being taken to “ensure to all the benefactors that there are ongoing efforts to observe the requirement of increasing coverage, services quality, services prices and customer’s services with the operators.”
Mobile broadband services saw an increase of 85.5% of the total population in September. This increase was triggered by the spreading of the networks that supports broadband as well the increase in the use of smart devices and providing new encouraging packages and offers for subscribing in the service, the ministry statement added. A total of 312 stations covering over 410 villages in Oman governorates have been rolled out across Oman, and a great number of these stations are now completed. The 1Q and 2Q of 2017 will see the completion of the rest of these stations, the statement added.