Omantel fully geared for first auction of special numbers

The General Manager of Regulatory Affairs at Omantel, Engineer Ahmed al Riyami, has confirmed that Omantel is fully geared for the launch of the first auction of diamond and gold numbers in the Sultanate for individuals and institutions as per TRA resolution number 1/2018.

The registration period for the auction will last three days, starting February 5, 2018 and any registration after this period will not be accepted.

Following the close of registration, the offers would last two days, starting February 8, 2018. Omantel could consider requests for an extension of the auction period if required.

Al Riyami said: “Aligned with our vision of enabling a digital society and promoting fairness and equality as well as transparency, the auction will be open for all Omani and non-Omani individuals, institutions and companies who want to have special numbers. All that is required is for the bidder to have a local number so that he or she can register for the bidding.”

The registration process is easy and only requires the entry of personal data, a mobile number and an email address on a dedicated page on Omantel’s website and payment is a non-refundable amount of RO 20.

A confirmation SMS will be sent confirming the registration whereby the receiver will be able to participate in the auction once opened.

Once the auction closes, Omantel will communicate with the winners either on the phone or via email for three days, to complete the transfer of ownership of the number to the highest bidder.

Al Riyami added: “Omantel is committed to implementing the regulatory decisions issued by the TRA that are in the public interest.

The decision to regulate the allocation of the numbers is one of the most important decisions that will drive equality, fairness and transparency in the telecommunications sector. This is one of the core values of Omantel’s 3.0 Transformation Strategy.

The auction on the special numbers will benefit the community, individuals and social institutions as the revenues from the auction will be allocated to charities to support their social and charitable activities and programmes.”

“We appreciate this initiative launched by the TRA, which complements our efforts to develop the telecommunications sector in the Sultanate by identifying alternative solutions to expand the scope of telecommunications services and positively affect the national economy,” he concluded.