Summary

One of the six GCC countries, Oman has a GDP per capita at a similar level to that of Saudi Arabia but with a much smaller population. Its mobile penetration is also very similar to that of Saudi Arabia. The telecoms market as a whole has been much less competitive but things are about to get more interesting.
Incumbent Omantel has had a monopoly of all fixed-line and Internet access services. In November 2008 alternative mobile operator Nawras, 55.6% owned by Qtel of Qatar, won a 25-year licence to build and operate domestic and international services, together with submarine cables and transmission stations. The licence also includes spectrum rights, valid for 15 years and possibly renewable for a further 10 years, to provide wireless broadband. Nawras will pay the same 7% royalties as does Omantel and was required to pay a one-time fee of OMR500,000.
Nawras has said it plans to build a latest generation fibre optic backbone across the country, in conjunction with WiMAX networks, and a new international gateway. However, its first priority for the two years to 2010 is to roll out its wireless broadband services.
Possibly linked to the lack of competition in the market, fixed-line penetration is low, even by regional standards, at only 10%. Internet user penetration is also low and ADSL broadband penetration is less than 2%.
The mobile sector is more exciting. Omantel and Nawras have roughly equal shares of the market but may find the ongoing environment challenging. Oman is the first country in the region to launch MVNOs. Five licences were awarded in June 2008 and in April 2009 Connect Arabia's FRiENDI became the first operating MVNO in the Middle East. It was closely followed in May 2009 by Majan Telecom's Renna. Both operators are targeted at the expatriate population with low recharge amounts and competitive international rates. Connect Arabia also partnered two radio stations to launch a second brand,'Halafoni', in July 2009, this time targeted at young nationals and other Arabic speakers, with an emphasis on downloadable content. All MVNOs operate on Omantel's network.
Oman was also earlier than most countries in the region to introduce mobile number portability, in August 2006.
The more competitive mobile market and the low broadband penetration rates may provide an opening for mobile broadband services through HSPA. Both mobile operators have launched services and have marketed them strongly with numerous special offers.
Researcher:-Tine Lewis

Table of Contents

1. Executive summary
2. Key statistics
3. Telecommunications market
3.1 Overview of Oman's telecom market
4. Regulatory environment
4.1 Background
4.2 Regulatory authority
4.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Oman
4.3.1 ISP licences
4.3.2 Royalties
4.3.3 Second fixed-line licence
4.4 Privatisation
4.4.1 Omantel restructure
4.4.2 IPO sale 2005
4.4.3 Share sale 2008
4.5 Interconnect
4.6 Number Portability (NP)
4.7 VoIP
5. Fixed network operator in Oman
5.1 Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel)
6. Telecommunications infrastructure
6.1 National telecom network
6.1.1 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
6.1.2 Alternative infrastructure
6.2 International infrastructure
6.2.1 Submarine cable networks
6.2.2 Satellite networks
7. Fixed Line services
7.1 Prepaid and postpaid fixed-line services
8. Broadband and Internet market
8.1 Internet overview
8.1.1 Internet statistics
8.2 Leased lines
8.3 Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
8.4 Wireless broadband
8.4.1 WiFi
8.4.2 Mobile broadband
9. Digital economy
9.1 Overview
9.1.1 Knowledge Oasis Muscat
9.1.2 Telemedicine centre
9.1.3 E-learning
9.1.4 E-commerce
9.1.5 E-government
9.2 Overview of broadcasting market
10. Mobile communications
10.1 Overview of Oman's mobile market
10.1.1 Mobile statistics
10.2 Regulatory issues
10.2.1 Second mobile licence
10.2.2 Reseller/MVNO licences
10.3 Mobile technologies
10.3.1 Analogue
10.3.2 Digital
10.3.3 Third generation (3G)
10.4 Major mobile operators
10.4.1 Oman Mobile Telecommunications (OMTC)
10.4.2-Nawras Telecom (Omani-Qatari Telecommunications Company)
10.5 MVNO operators
10.5.1 Connect Arabia/FRiENDi Teleco/Halafoni
10.5.2 Majan Telecom/Renna
10.6 Mobile voice services
10.6.1 Prepaid
10.6.2 Satellite mobile
10.7 Mobile data services
10.7.1 Short Message Service (SMS)
10.7.2 Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)
10.7.3 Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
10.7.4 General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
10.7.5 Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE)
10.7.6 High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA)
10.7.7 Push-to-talk
10.7.8 BlackBerry
11. Related reports
Table 1Country statistics Oman2008
Table 2Telephone network statisticsMay 2009
Table 3Internet user statisticsMay 2009
Table 4Broadband statisticsMay 2009
Table 5Mobile statisticsMay 2009
Table 6National telecommunications authority
Table 7Omantel fixed-line ARPU2003-2008
Table 8Omantel financial data2003-2008
Table 9Fixed lines in service and teledensity-1995-2009
Table 10Postpaid and prepaid fixed-line subscribers2005-2009
Table 11Internet users and penetration estimates-1998-2009
Table 12Internet subscribers20002009
Table 13Internet sector ARPU2005-2009
Table 14Leased line subscribers2004-2009
Table 15ADSL subscribers2005-2009
Table 16Mobile subscribers and penetration-1994-2009
Table 17Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change-2008
Table 18Subscribers and market share by mobile operator2005-2008
Table 19Mobile sector total revenues and ARPU2005-2009
Table 203G subscribers as a percentage of total subscribers2007-2008
Table 21Omantel mobile ARPU2002-2003; 2005-2008
Table 22Nawras pre and postpaid ARPU and annual revenue2007-2009
Table 23Total prepaid and postpaid subscribers2005-2009
Table 24Nawras prepaid and postpaid subscribers2007-2009
Table 25SMS messages sent2006-2009