TRA dialogue with stakeholders highlights communication issues

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) organised a productive dialogue meeting at its headquarters, focusing on communication topics related to beneficiaries’ requests, complaints procedures, quality of service, and other related matters. Omar bin Hamdan al Ismaili, CEO of the Authority, graced the occasion.

During the meeting, Hassan bin Ahmed Baamar delivered a comprehensive visual presentation on the quality of communication services and prices in the Sultanate of Oman. He addressed various significant subjects, starting with the demography and geography of Oman, followed by investments in the sector over the past five years. Additionally, he discussed the mechanisms for monitoring service quality and prices, along with highlighting a series of projects implemented by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority during the current year.

The Authority revealed that it had identified 167 violations in the public sector in 2022 pertaining to quality and user rights, with an estimated value of RO 608,576. These violations included noncompliance with Omanisation quotas, allocation of telecom numbers without proper identity verification, unapproved tariffs, and non-compliance with licence conditions. The Authority also emphasised its refusal to transfer Etisalat’s number.

Regarding the telecommunications landscape, Oman boasts a geographical coverage area of 309,500 square kilometres. Mobile phone subscriptions reached 140 per cent of the total population, while fixed broadband coverage extended to 80 per cent of all buildings. Fibre optic services covered approximately 51 per cent of buildings, with a target of reaching 75 per cent by 2025. The population coverage of mobile phone networks reached 97.3 per cent, with a target of 98 per cent. Notably, the total number of fourth and fifth-generation supporting stations reached approximately 95 per cent, with 2,600 5G stations. Omantel and Ooredoo together operated 891 5G stations in the Governorate of Muscat, followed by North Al Batinah with 496 stations. Vodafone deployed approximately 890 stations, with 584 stations in Muscat, 179 in Dhofar, 92 in South Al Batinah, and 35 in North Al Batinah in the previous year.

The CEO said that the Authority’s role is to try to balance the requirements of all sectors with the targets of licensed telecom companies.

Hassan Baamar highlighted that the population of the Sultanate of Oman stands at 5,032,049 people residing in 5,078 residential communities. Of these, over 3,000 communities are inhabited, with 80 per cent of Oman’s population concentrated in 200 residential areas, reflecting the challenges faced in the distribution of telecommunication services due to the unorganised population distribution.

In the education sector, Oman has approximately 1,221 public schools, of which 1,146 schools are covered by the fibre optic network (32 per cent ), while approximately 62 per cent are covered by the fifthgeneration network. Third and fourth-generation networks cover around 3 per cent of schools, while the copper cable network covers 1 per cent.

The Authority conducted 75 field visits, including 33 complaint surveys, 14 visits to city centres, 12 visits to tourist areas, eight visits to main roads, and three visits to economic and free zones.

Regarding fraud cases using Whatsapp, the TRA says Whatsapp is not an official channel, so they have made some awareness campaigns to not respond to these fraud cases. The TRA advises not to provide the OTP in any case to any person in this app.

As part of its strategic initiatives, the Authority made the decision to discontinue the third-generation (3G) services in the Sultanate. This move aims to redirect investments towards technologies with higher speeds, ultimately improving and enhancing the overall service quality. By repurposing the frequency spectrum capacities previously used by 3G, service providers will be able to leverage new technologies such as fourth and fifth-generation networks.