Oman’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has unveiled a number of coverage and service provision targets during a recent meeting discussing telecommunications infrastructure expansion projects for this year.
Among them it has said it aims to for 98% population coverage with mobile networks by the end of 2025. Subscriptions are already higher than this, of course. The actual percentage of mobile phone subscriptions makes penetration close to 140%.
TRA also hopes to ensure that, by 2025, fibre optic infrastructure will cover 75% of buildings, that 85% of buildings will be covered by fixed broadband networks and that 100% of base stations will support 4G and 5G services.
A project is now underway to transfer subscribers from 3G to 4G and 5G services. From 2024, all base stations operating with 3G will be upgraded to base stations operating with 4G and 5G.
The TRA also stated that the number of government schools that have been covered by telecommunication services until 2022 stood at 1,221, of which 1,146 schools were covered by 5G fibre optic networks. This means 94% of the country’s schools are covered. Areas like quality, price and investment measurement were also discussed at the meeting.
A report in the Times of Oman says that, during the meeting, TRA affirmed that its department is keen to establish a sustainable competitive environment for telecommunication services.
