Nawras invests US$390 million in fixed line services

In a bid to make an aggressive competitive entrance on the Omani fixed line market and grab market share away from incumbent Omantel, Nawras has committed OMR 150 million (US$390 million) in investment in its fixed line services to expand infrastructure across the sultanate and acquire the necessary manpower resources.

Nawras plans to launch its fixed line services including an international gateway during the second half of this year. Fixed broadband will be available to more than 54 per cent of the population at launch, with coverage expected to increase to 81 per cent by the middle of next year. The operator is building WiMAX base stations in addition to laying 5,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable.

According to figures provided by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Oman, there remains plenty of growth potential in the Omani market with very low levels of fixed line and Internet penetration currently. There were 267,317 fixed line subscriptions as of December 2009, representing a penetration rate of 9.3 per cent, while Internet subscribers reached 78,135, a penetration rate of a mere 2.7 per cent.