Nawras fails to secure Oman’s second fixed-line licence

Oman’s regulator yesterday announced that the PCCW-Awaser Oman consortium was the winning bidder for the country’s second fixed-line licence, dealing a heavy blow to mobile operator Nawras, which was widely expected to win the concession.

Nawras CEO, Ross Cormack, was keen to gain access to an international gateway, which comes as part of the fixed-line concession

Oman’s TRA stated that the PCCW-Awaser Oman consortium achieved the highest marks in the technical and commercial evaluation, as well as the financial bid, and that the licence award was a milestone in the liberalisation of Oman’s telecommunications sector.

“Naturally we are disappointed,” commented Ross Cormack, CEO of Nawras, after the regulator’s announcement.  “We were very keen to have the opportunity to play a greater part in the bold vision for the development of communication in the sultanate with the fixed licence.”

PCCW is a leading operator in Hong Kong with more than 2.5 million fixed-line connections and the telco was an unsuccessful bidder for Qatar’s second fixed-line licence, where it participated through a consortium in partnership with the Qatar Investment and Project Holding Company (QIPCO).

According to the Oman TRA’s statement, once all the necessary requirements are met by the winning consortium, the regulator’s endorsement will be forwarded to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, while that the winning bidder has 15 working days to honour its obligation.