Developing Telecoms | Oman’s mobile sector set to take off as Internet penetration remains low

23 May 2012

Regional Trends

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Oman’s mobile sector set to take off as Internet penetration remains low

Wednesday, 23 March 2011 10:48 | James Barton

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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. New information from Research & Markets shows that 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 Omantel does, and was required to pay a one-time fee of OMR500,000.

Nawras is building a latest generation fibre optic backbone across the country, in conjunction with WiMAX networks, and a new international gateway. It launched its first fixed-line services, to corporate customers, in May 2010.

Possibly linked to the lack of competition in the market, fixed-line penetration is low, even by regional standards, at below 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 was 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. Two further MVNO's have launched in 2010, both using Nawras' 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 provide an opening for mobile broadband services through HSPA. Both mobile operators have launched services and have marketed them strongly with numerous special offers. They appear to be winning subscribers from fixed-line broadband and the broadband market is becoming mostly mobile.

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