Oman Telecom News Omantel plans "sizeable" Pakistan telecom investment (April 20, 2008) MUSCAT (Reuters) - Oman Telecommunications Co (Omantel) said it plans to invest a "sizeable" amount expanding its Pakistan Worldcall Telecom unit, whose $200 million purchase it has completed. "Focus of roll-out will principally target broadband segment with sustained growth of voice centric services," Omantel said in a statement on the Omani bourse website on Sunday. "This planned expansion coupled with initial investment would see a sizable inflow of capital into Pakistan." Omantel bought 488.8 million shares of Worldcall, equivalent to 65 percent of the company, of which 60 percentage points came from the founders and the remainder from holders of publicly held stock, Omantel said. "Through this acquisition, Omantel has acquired direct access to a market of 170 million with immense potential for growth in core telecom and broadband service offerings," Omantel said. Omantel said in February it agreed to pay $193 million for Worldcall. It was not clear whether that was for 60 percent or 65 percent of the company. Omantel bids $204m for 65% stake in Pakistan firm (From Gulf News, November 11, 2007) Muscat - Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) has offered $204 million to acquire a 65 per cent stake in Pakistani firm World Call Telecom. "We have decided to invest in World Call Telecom as we are keen to increase our annual profits as well as share earnings," said a statement issued by Omantel on Saturday. Omantel plans to purchase 60 per cent of the stake from the major owners of the Pakistani company and five per cent from other shareholders through the securities market. Omantel said this investment - the first of its kind outside Oman - is expected to boost the company's revenues in the medium-term by 19-25 per cent and increase its net profits by 3-14 per cent. Omantel told the Capital Market Authority it would provide more details on the deal after completing legal formalities. Oman Telecom shares surge on HSBC rating, sale plan (October 11, 2007) DUBAI (Reuters) - Shares of Oman Telecommunications Co (Omantel) surged almost 7 percent on Thursday to a 20-month high after HSBC recommended its clients buy the stock and the government moved to sell a stake to an investor. The rally brings to more than 23 percent the gain in six trading days since the government said on Oct. 3 it was retroactively cutting royalties Omantel pays and preparing to sell shares to a long-term investor. "There has been hectic international buying," said Sankar Kailasam, head of research at Gulf Investment Services in Muscat, Oman, which manages about $110 million of assets in Arab markets. "The reduction in royalties has given a boost to the company," said Kailasam. HSBC started coverage of Omantel with an "overweight" rating and a price target of 2.26 rials ($5.87). The stock was up 6.7 percent at 1.59 rials at 1054 GMT. It could rise to 1.70 by the end of next week, Kailasam said. Oman is an under-penetrated market compared with its five Gulf Arab oil-producing peers, HSBC said. New management or a potential strategic partner may act as a catalyst for growth and margin enhancement, it said. Omantel said on Wednesday it appointed a new chairman and other board members. The cut in royalties to 7 percent on fixed-line and mobile phone revenue from 10 percent and 12 percent respectively will probably add about 14 million rials to Omantel profit this year, said a company official last week. The company made 80.7 million rials in net profit last year, an increase of 19 percent, according to Reuters data. Omantel eyes regional markets for expansion (From Gulf News, March 27, 2007) Muscat - Oman Telecommunication (Omantel) is looking at all markets in the region to expand, according to the company's top executive. "We are keeping an eye on all markets in the region for expansion - not only in the Arab region but also in North African and South Asian countries," Omantel CEO Dr Mohammad Ali Al Wohaibi said on the sidelines of the 17th edition of Comex at the Oman Exhibition Centre yesterday. Oman's Minister of Transport and Communications, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Abdullah Bin Eisa Al Harthi, declared open the annual five-day event, which has attracted over 100 international and local exhibitors. Dr Al Woahibi said that the Omani company was interested in bidding for a mobile service provider's license in Qatar. But he added that the company will have to wait for the new network to get ready. Dr Al Wohaibi said the company was getting ready for competition in the internet service sector. The competition was on the way, said Colonel Mohsin Bin Alawi Al Hafeedh, Board member of Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. But he ruled out opening of the fixed phone line sector. Oman to open up fixed-line and internet markets (From itp.net, May 28, 2006) - The Oman government has announced that the country’s telecommunications sector is to be completely liberalized. The move will see non-government entities allowed to enter the countries fixed-line and internet markets. State-owned Omantel currently holds the monopoly license in these sectors, while the mobile sector currently has two license holders, Oman Mobile and Nawras, a joint venture between Qtel of Qatar and Denmark’s TDC. “There are other steps to allow a new operator of fixed line and the internet services in the near future. This is part of the Sultanate's strategy to fully liberalize the sector," said Oman’s transport and telecommunications minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah al Harthy. Since launching in March 2006, second mobile license holder Nawras has snatched a 20% share of the Omani mobile market, adding over 300,000 new subscribers. According to the minister, the Arab world must attempt to keep up with the growth and developments in the telecoms and internet industries. “Our objective is to narrow the gap in digital knowledge between the East and West which is affecting several other fields.” No date has been publicly identified for full liberalization of the telecommunications sector in Oman. Omantel profit up 9.6 pc to $55.6m (April 25, 2006) Muscat (Reuters) - Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) said its net profit for the first quarter of 2006 rose by 9.6 per cent to RO21.41 million ($55.62 million). 'We have achieved a better growth in mobile and broadband telecommunication services during the first quarter,' said a senior official of the majority state-owned telecommunications firm. 'We expect a better growth in net earnings for the entire year,' added the official. The company's total revenue soared by 22.6 per cent to RO77.97 million in the period from RO63.58 million, while total expenditure grew by 25.8 per cent to RO53.21 million, Omantel said in a statement. The company's share fell by 7.14 per cent to close at RO1.170. Omantel last week said it had won a RO12 million contract from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) to build a transmission network and fiber optic cable links. Omantel signs accord with Pakistan network operator (From Gulf News, December 12, 2005) Muscat - Omantel has signed a landing party agreement with Trans World Associates (TWA) of Pakistan to lay a submarine cable from Seeb station in Oman to Pakistani city of Karachi, said a press release from the country's only telephone service provider on Sunday. The total outlay of the project has been put at $1.2 million. A source in Omantel said by signing this agreement, Seeb Landing Station will be upgraded to a multiple link hub and a main station for Falcon, FLAG and TWA. This will help elevate Omantel's status as a regional multi-cable operator and will open up new business horizons within Oman and within the region. The project will start in February and agreement validity is for 15 years, the source confirmed. The source said: "TWA has shown an interest to purchase a capacity from Omantel either on Falcon, FLAG and SMW3 for their utilization." The deal will benefit Omantel in leasing such capacities either to TWA or to any other potential operators, the source said. It said Omantel would be an access to the Pakistani market with 150 million potential customers for telecommunications services. The source added that Omantel and TWA were undertaking a feasibility study to leverage Omantel's internet facilities to provide services such as e-government, e-business, and data warehouse solutions to Pakistani ministries and its banking and corporate sectors. Kamran Malak, chief operations officer of TWA, said the agreement was a good opportunity for Pakistan's telecom sector to work with Omantel and boost cooperation with between the two countries. TWA is the a telecommunication network operator in Pakistan and is owned by Pakistan's Saif Group and Mobilink, the largest mobile operator in Pakistan. The deal will benefit Omantel in leasing capacities either to TWA or to any other potential operators. Siemens signs US$20 million deal for Oman Mobile GSM network upgrade (From Menareport.com, November 27, 2005) - Siemens Communications, one of the world’s largest communications providers, has signed an OR 7.8 million (US $20.2M) deal with Oman Mobile to extend GSM radio capacity and coverage in Oman’s Sharqiya, Dakhliya, Dharia and Wusta regions. The deal represents the third phase of Oman Mobile’s GSM network upgrade through Siemens, which now boasts one million subscribers across the Sultanate. The upgrade will enable Oman Mobile to serve a significantly higher number of subscribers and extend network coverage to include previously unreachable areas. “Siemens has a long history in Oman, dating back to 1860, and established a fully fledged project office in the Sultanate in 1982,” said Soenke Peters, VP Siemens Communications Mobile Networks Middle East. “In 1996, Siemens launched the country’s first ever GSM service and today several strategic parts of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure are powered by Siemens technology. “With such longstanding interests in the Sultanate, Siemens remains committed to working with partners like Oman Mobile to provide the country with a world-class GSM network and give the people of Oman access to the latest mobile services.” Siemens Communications is the sole supplier of Intelligent Networking (IN) technology to Oman Mobile and recently completed the expansion of its IN network. In addition to Siemens’ comprehensive business interests in the Sultanate, the German company is also one of the leading corporate advocates of Omanisation, supporting a wide range of government-led initiatives and establishing the Omantel-Siemens Development Centre for Telecom Solutions at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat. Omantel share lock-in period nears end (From Gulf News, October 24, 2005) Muscat - The three-month lock-in period on the Omantel scrip will end on October 27 when the country's largest traded share on the Muscat Securities Market will be open to all investors in the country. The Omantel shares were listed on the MSM on July 28, with a three-month lock-in period during which trading was restricted to Omani investors. Mohammad Bin Ali Al Wohaibi, Omantel executive president, confirmed yesterday that non-Omani individuals, companies, establishments, funds and other Omani juristic entities would be free to trade in the company shares once the ban ends. "With the wrapping up of this period, the door will be opened for all investors to trade in the company shares effective from Thursday, October 27, 2005," Al Wohaibi added. He said the shares should receive a strong response from investors, particularly strategic investors who recognize the significance of the telecom sector and its constant growth. Despite the fact only Omani individual investors were allowed to trade in Omantel shares, trading was brisk and the company topped the trading list on the MSM. Al Wohaibi said that opening the trading door would add value to Omantel shares and expand the share base. "Omantel will continue working towards enhancing various services and introducing new value added services inspiring the advanced technologies in fixed and mobile phones," he said. Omantel completes fiber optic link project in Dhofar (From Times of Oman, October 9, 2005) MUSCAT - Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) has completed the fiber optic link project connecting Thumrait with Al Maziyouna from one side and Thumrait-Salalah from another side, at a total length of 300km. A source from Omantel said Dhofar Governorate boasts many vital projects in the context of modernizing and developing the telecom infrastructure in the governorate. “Omantel, in cooperation with the International Telecom Company, extended a 180km-length fiber optic cable from Thumrait to Al Maziyouna through ‘Madha’ alongside the highway”, the source added. The source further said: “The project will activate the international telecom traffic between the Sultanate and Yemen. Yemen, in turn, will extend another cable from its side in the bordering area of Al Maziyouna. The link also provides various telecom services to Al Maziyouna which is seen as a strategic location.” The source added: “Omantel and Al Zubair Company completed in August 2005 the 120-km fiber optic link project connecting the wilayat of Thumrait and the wilayat of Salalah (which passes through Mashila, Aioun, Titam, Ghadu and Al Awqadeen). The link will provide various telecom services including fixed, mobile and Internet services. The link, which provides the capacity required for the telecom traffic, will also be a standby for existing cable linking the two areas through Qairoon Hairiti. The Omantel source said the company was currently implementing expansion project to the transmission network in Salalah city to provide more capacity that cater to the needs and requirements for the on-going and future expansion projects. In this context, Omantel signed two agreements with Huwei of China and Zubair Telecom under which the two firms would provide transmission equipment and replace the PDH system with modern SDH system across the exchanges in the Salalah and extend a fiber optic cable in Salalah City. The source added that the cable (of 2.5 giga byte capacities) connects the exchanges of (Sha’a, Al Saada, Salalah, Al Dahariz, Salalah Port) and provides greater telecom traffic. It also links the two main loops of capacity (STM-4 PP) and (STM-1 PP) to provide telecom traffic to Taqa, Mirbat, Maghsail and the commercial area and industrial area. The source said the low-speed old PDH system is no longer used and has been discontinued and occupies greater space in the exchange while the new SDH system does not require a big place to house the equipment and provides higher capacity. Oman delays telecom sell-off to June (May 10, 2005) MUSCAT (AFP) - The Gulf sultanate of Oman has put off until early June the partial privatization of its telecom service provider, which had been scheduled for May 24. The sale by the finance ministry of 30 percent of the equity capital in Omantel will now open in the first week of June, with the exact date to be announced "shortly", the state-run Oman Daily Observer said Tuesday. The initial public offering of 225 million shares is expected to raise some 760 million dollars at the projected offer price of around 3.3 dollars per share. The paper said subscriptions would be restricted to Omani nationals, who will be allocated 21 percent of the company's shares, while the remaining nine percent has been reserved for pension funds and charities. "A number of investors have started liquidating their shares (on the stock market) as they want funds for applying to the Omantel issue, the largest in Oman's history," it added. Omantel was created in August 1999 to replace the government-controlled General Telecommunications Organization and pave the way for the privatization of the telecom industry in line with the state's overall policy of liberalization and deregulation. Omantel and MCA to offer IP VSAT service (From The Gulf News, March 30, 2005) Muscat- Oman Telecommunications Company, in partnership with MCA, has launched its IP VSAT service, to provide all-digital global connectivity for overseas customers, company representatives said. "The partnership with MCA for this particular IP-based VSAT service was intended to ensure customer access to reliable and cost effective service. [We want to combine this] with a high speed digital network with regional coverage [throughout] the Middle East and Africa," said Mohammad Ali Al Wohaibi, Oman Telecommunications Company's (Omantel) executive president. The system uses MCA's proprietary IP solution and is designed to offer affordable service for small to large enterprise users covering the Middle East and Africa. The system supports a range of communications solutions, including voice-over-internet protocol [VoIP], video, database, internet, business services data, internet access and e-mail, company representatives said. "The IP VSAT terminals provide transmission speeds of up to 360 mbps, making it an attractive solution for a wide range of customers," Al Wohaibi said. "MCA specialises in providing enterprise customers operating in remote locations with a variety of superior satellite based IP, data, and voice solutions," said said Hassan Parwizie, president and chief executive of MCA. "We are excited to be working with Omantel," Parwizie said. "By using MCA's state-of-the-art IP VSAT technology, Omantel/MCA can offer VoIP capabilities via satellite," Parwizie said. Omantel rings in broadband ADSL Internet service (From Times of Oman, December 19, 2004) MUSCAT - Government-owned Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) yesterday officially launched a high-speed broadband Internet-service called ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), which will make Internet surfing more comfortable. ADSL, the super fast internet service, based on a broadband xDSL (Digital Subscriber Line) network infrastructure solution from the German IT major Siemens, was launched at gala ceremony presided over by Dr Mohammed bin Hamad bin Saif Al Romhi, minister of oil and gas, at the Al Bustan Palace Hotel here yesterday. An 'x' prefix (xDSL), globally indicates any flavor of DSL, means super. The glamorous launch ceremony of Omantel ADSL service, branded as 'Oman PowerNet', has demonstrated a live demo of 'speed' as a car with Omantel and PowerNet logo raced past in the blink of an eye before the chief guest and the audience to exhibit the high speed of ADSL service. The service has been available in Oman for sometime on a trial basis. "Customer will find that he/she starts to use the Internet in a new and different way," Mohammed bin Ali Al Wohaibi, executive president of Omantel told the Times of Oman. No waiting to 'log on' to the Internet as the broadband ADSL connection from Omantel — the Oman PowerNet — is always on. Just sit down at the computer and the Internet is there — like electricity or tap water. That's what ADSL broadband high-speed Internet is all about. 'Oman PowerNet' ADSL service package has been divided into four categories. For households (speed: 128/384Kbps), the new package costs a minimum monthly rent of RO12 with a price cap of RO39. More precisely, by spending RO39, an ADSL household subscriber can enjoy unlimited time online. The installation charge is RO25. Broadband ADSL means a subscriber can make and receive normal telephone calls, and use the Internet, all at the same time and over the same telephone line. For corporate use (speed: 128/1024Kbps), the service costs a monthly rent of RO120 and installation charges of RO25. For additional usage, the charge per GB is RO1. There is no cap for corporations, and will depend on the time they use the service. For CyberCafé (speed: 128/1024Kbps), the package costs a monthly rent of RO75 with a price cap of RO250. Discounted category such as government schools (speed: 128/512Kbps) will pay a flat monthly rate of RO20. This is aimed at supporting the efforts of the Ministry of Education to promote digital culture in schools. The service is expected to take ADSL to more households and small-offices at a significantly reasonable rate. To upgrade from dial-up Internet, a customer has to pay RO15 as installation charges, and to upgrade from ISDN, a customer has to pay RO10 as installation charges. "The new service will enable Omantel subscribers to get into the Internet network with high speed. It can perform multi-Internet functions and receive telephone calls simultaneously," Al Wohaibi said. It is expected that with broadband 'Oman PowerNet ADSL', once a user is online, he/she can move swiftly from website to website, page to page, and all in a fraction of the time. Omantel chief said: "The strategy endorsed by the National Committee for Information Technology is based on many factors. Establishing a sophisticated and secured telecommunications infrastructure, building capabilities to make use of the information society through complete integration of IT and communications with learning and training are the main aspects." The strategy also includes creating awareness by highlighting the importance of IT and communications for the knowledge-based economy and its role in the information industries. The launch of ADSL service is in line with the implementation of the national strategy for IT and the declaration of principles and the action plan approved by the International Summit for Information Society held in Geneva in December 2003. Omantel is also offering SURPASS Home Entertainment solution — a wide-ranging selection of online entertainment and communications applications centered around home television. A live video conference between Dr. Rumhi and Michael Kutschenreuter, member of the board and chief financial officer of Siemens Com, at Siemens headquarters in Munich, Germany, showed how smoothly the high-speed access technology works. "Using the latest DSLAM technology (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer), which Siemens is supplying and installing as a full turnkey project, Omantel can offer attractive services based on ADSL and SHDSL right across the country. "Both the high-speed broadband internet access and SURPASS hiX access technology from Siemens are optimized to support "triple play" services, in other words voice, data, and video transmission. This opens a whole raft of new applications such as e-gaming, e-learning and video-telephony," Siemens said in a statement. The new systems can also be managed and maintained with the access integrator — a network management tool from Siemens, which is already in operation in Omantel's network. This will save the carrier significant acquisition costs. With the new access technology, which has already been fully installed, Omantel will reach almost 80 per cent of the fixed network customers in the country. SURPASS Home Entertainment offers bundled online applications and services for home TV. These include digital television, digital recording of broadcasts, video-on-demand, TV gaming online, e-shopping and super tele-text. Added to these are further communications options such as messaging via e-mail as well as internet access via the TV set. Today, Omantel is the leading telecommunication service provider and network operator in Oman. It is the only provider of fixed networks and the internet service provider in the country. Omantel is expected to enter the capital market with its initial public offering by March 2005. Siemens Communications is the world's innovation leader in convergent technologies, products and services for wireless, fixed and enterprise networks. It is the largest group within Siemens and operates in more than 160 countries around the world. In fiscal 2004 (September-end), its 60,000-strong workforce posted sales of approximately 18billion euros. There were demonstrations of various audio/visual applications on video conferencing, e-gaming and e-learning followed suit. A life demonstration of video telephony with Michael Kutschenreuter, CEO of Siemens Communications, from Munich, Germany, was also made between Siemens official and the chief guest and Omantel's executive president. Later, another audio/video application on e-gaming was made as two Omani students were shown on e-gaming live demonstration and another two Omani students shown on live demonstration of e-learning with Bruno LeSech and Elias El Hage from Alcatel University in France. Afterwards, the chief guest presented prizes to the winners of 'Omantel Student ADSL Contest'. Eighteen students won prizes from Omantel. The chief guest presented seven winners with laptops. Sheikha bint Nasser Al Khalili from Al Dakhilai region; Abdullah bin Ali Al Barmani from Dhofar Governorate; Laila bint Hassan Al Balushi from Al Batinah region; Saleh bin Omeir Al Mahzori, Ahmed bin Ali Al Lawati and Hussein bin Said Al Riami from Muscat Governorate; and Mawadda bint Hamed Al Yahmadi from Al Sharqiya region were the winners. The Omantel Student ADSL contest was part of Omantel's pre-launch campaign for the PowerNet service. The number of hits counted on Omantel web page during the contest period was 24,225 and around 460 participants sent correct answers. Omantel has launched 16,000 lines of the ADSL broadband service, which is commercially branded as PowerNet. PowerNet service broadens the range of online activities, enriches surfing experience and gives users convenience of carrying out several online tasks simultaneously and enables them to chat, listen to music, view movies, download large files and search for information, all at the same time. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Isa Al Harthi, minister of transportation and communications and chairman Omantel: Shaikh Abdullah bin Salim Al Rowas, minister of regional municipalities, environment and water resources; Hartmut Blankenstein, the German ambassador to the Sultanate, Hamood Sangour Al Zadjali, executive president of the Central Bank of Oman, undersecretaries of various ministries, members of State and Shura Councils and senior officials from the private sector also attended the glittering ceremony. Omantel IPO by March 2005 only (From Times of Oman, November 21, 2004) MUSCAT - The much-publicized initial public offering (IPO) of the government-owned Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) is expected to hit the domestic capital market before the end of March 2005. Of late, it was announced that the company would go public by the end of 2004. Speaking to Times Business, Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, minister of national economy and deputy chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council, said Omantel would go public before the end of March 2005. "The government is divesting 30 per cent stake in Omantel, and the IPO is expected to be launched before the end of March next year. The government has already appointed a consortium made up of BankMuscat, HSBC and Fincorp to advise us on the public issue. Denton Wilde Sapte is the legal advisers for the issue and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the accounting advisers," the minister said. "As you know, major objectives of privatizing Omantel are to make the entity more competitive and market-oriented. Privatization will provide the company with a free hand to establish a modern management system. It will also help adopt new technologies, promote services and marketing strategies and procedures more competitively. Of course, the national economy will be benefited," Macki added. Macki said the government has been looking at various available options, taking into consideration all factors affecting the local and international telecom markets. Based on the analysis, the government has been taking appropriate decisions with respect to the divestment plan. The public issue is expected to open for subscription in February or March next year. The minister said Omantel was established as a 100 per cent government-owned company and the assets and liabilities of the erstwhile GTO were transferred to former in 1999. A royal decree promulgated the law for regulating the telecom sector on March 12, 2002. Omantel was originally scheduled to go public long ago. Omantel is expected to emerge as the largest entity listed on MSM in terms of market capitalization. The MSM 30 index companies have already achieved a market capitalization of over RO1.9 billion. Asked about the possibility of divestments in Oman Oil Company and Oman LNG, Macki said: "So far the government has no plans to divest stakes in Oman Oil Company and Oman LNG." Analysts feel, "It will be a Herculean task for the consortium to carry out the mission of due diligence of a government-owned company with a capital of RO50 million." The process includes valuation of Omantel, preparation of the prospectus and the floatation strategy for the issue, etc. The consortium is however, expected to complete the mission including due diligence of Omantel, valuation, preparation of the prospectus and floatation strategy of the issue on time. Work in progress to launch Nawras Telecom in early 2005 (From Times of Oman, October 31, 2004) - Nawras Telecom, which was recently chosen as Oman's second mobile operator, is rapidly increasing its staff and acquiring a large number of new sites in preparation for its launch date in early 2005. More than $160 million has already been committed to the start-up of Nawras since its team arrived in the Sultanate four months ago. "At present there are more than 300 people actively involved in the roll-out and start-up of the company. As part of Nawras' recruitment drive, hundreds of interviews have been conducted with potential Omani staff. Of those interviewed, 86 have received job offers within the company and over half of the offers have already been accepted. Around 100 of those already employed by Nawras are Omani nationals, reinforcing Nawras' commitment to the Sultanate's Omanization employment levels," said Ross Cormack, chief executive officer of Nawras Telecom. Successful job applicants will be trained by Nawras which has its own large-scale custom made training scheme for staff, with a European training team flying in specifically to provide the training. Together with their network vendor, Nawras has completed over 200 site surveys to determine the best locations for its service antennas. Many of the potential sites are on rooftops and towers in the Muscat and Batinah area but locations have also been surveyed in Nizwa, Salalah and Sohar. In addition, civil works have begun at over 60 sites in Oman. The Nawras Switch Centre in Al Ghubrah has been fitted with the latest mobile technology including the first mobile switching centre which is the heart of the core network. The switch centre will be manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year by over 40 engineers and technicians, who will work around the clock to ensure the quality of mobile calls and provide customer information. The information technology infrastructure of the IT department of Nawras has been in stable operation since August. The department is responsible for providing the infrastructure needed for the project organization to work effectively, the customer care and billing system and other systems needed for the forthcoming launch. "The implementation of the core IT system is progressing according to plan. The systems architecture is based on Qtel's new customer care and billing system, which has cut implementation time down by several months. The Geneva Customer Care and Billing system delivered by Convergys, the Comptel Mediation System and the Oracle Applications Finance Systems are progressing fast," said Kim Askjaer, IT director, Nawras Telecom. Oman telecom company to start electronic billing system (October 26, 2004) Muscat - Oman Telecommunications Co will introduce the electronic collection system for telephone bills next year. The telecommunication company in Oman has signed two agreements, the first with Oman Arab Bank (OAB) and the second with the Oman National Electricity Co (ONEC), to introduce the electronic billing system. The two agreements are part of several deals Oman Telecommunications Co (Omantel) will soon sign to introduce an electronic collection system. Initially, ten bill payment machines (BPM) will be set up throughout the sultanate to help customers pay their telephone bills at convenient times. Mohammad Bin Ali Al Wohaibi, the company's executive president, said the introduction of an electronic collection system through the 67 branches of ONEC throughout the sultanate falls within Omantel's ongoing efforts to facilitate bill payment and make the process easier and faster. Al Wohaibi spoke after a signing ceremony and said an initial ten BPMs will be made available, adding that Omantel hopes the new initiative will address payment snags some customers have faced in the past. Omantel, Etisalat discuss cooperation (From The Times of Oman, June 30, 2004) MUSCAT - A session of official talks was held on Omantel premises yesterday between Omantel and the UAE's Etisalat dealing with telecommunications and horizons for future cooperation between the two companies. The Omani side was led by Mohammed bin Ali Al Wahaibi, Omantel executive president, while the UAE side was headed by Mohammed Hassan Omran, Etisalat executive director. Wahaibi said the session discussed cooperation to link border areas such as Buraimi (Al Ain), Khatmat Milaha (Fujairah) Al Ain and Buraimi and other areas. He added in a statement to reporters that the two sides discussed the fiber optic line between the Sultanate and Yemen and how Etisalat could utilize it. They also discussed the world fiber optic project (Falcon) which links Muscat with other Gulf states and some international lines through Egypt. He noted that they also discussed cooperation to prepare for competition in the light of opening up telecommunications sector in the two countries. Omran said his visit was meant to exchange information between the two countries and planned for bilateral cooperation in the future. He said the two sides discussed the topic of introducing the roaming service for pre-paid card subscribers and formed a working team to follow up this topic in preparation to introduce the service during this year. The session was attended by Dr A'mir bin Awadh Al Rowas, executive president of Oman Mobile Telecommunications Company, a number of Omantel officials and the delegation accompanying the guest. Omran's visit to the Sultanate coincides with yesterday's celebration at Al Bustan Palace Hotel for launching the logo of Oman Mobile Telecommunications Company. Nawras to launch 3G services in Oman (From The Peninsula, June 24, 2004) Muscat - Nawras Telecom, in which Qatar Telecom and Tele Denmark Communications (TDC) will hold a nearly 70 per cent stake, plans to offer mobile telephone services that are at par with those available in Qatar, the Qtel Chief Executive Officer, Dr Nasser M Marafih, said here yesterday. Nawras Telecom will also launch Third Generation (3G) services in Oman within the first few years of operations, he added. Speaking to the media, Dr Nasser disclosed that under the initial roll-out plan, Nawras Telecom will install 160 mobile telephony repeater and cell-sites all across the Sultanate, which will be increased to 383 in about 18 months from launch of the service. The initial service offering to Nawras Telecom subscribers would be voice telephony as well as Short Messaging System with national roaming through Omantel's network. Some 110 pre-lease agreements for the 160 sites where Nawras Telecom's infrastructure will be based, have already been inked, he added. Earlier, the Qtel chairman, Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Saud Al Thani, accompanied by Dr Nasser and Ross Cormack, executive director, wireless services at Qtel, arrived at the Seeb International Airport near the Omani capital, where they were received by Sheikh Saif bin Hashil Al Maskeri, the Omani partner of the Qtel-TDC consortium. At a press conference, Sheikh Saif thanked Sultan Qaboos for his confidence in the consortium and granting it the second license to operate mobile services in Oman. Torben Holm, senior vice-president, TDC, said his company would be sending several engineers and technicians to Muscat over the next few months to help in starting up operations of Nawras Telecom. Dr Nasser said that the agreements appointing vendors who will supply Nawras Telecom with equipment such as mobile telephone exchanges and other infrastructure, are expected to be signed soon and the consortium is finalizing the vendors list. He said that the TDC and Qtel-led consortium had won the tender because Qtel, as the first mobile phone operator in the GCC, has immense experience in the field, while TDC has the required expertise. Nawras Telecom will remain committed to Omanization of the company and Qtel will train several of its Omani staff in Doha, while TDC will train them in Copenhagen. Of the $1.8bn that will be invested into the company in 10 years, about $500mn will be for capital expenditure, while the balance $ 1.3bn will be on operational expenses, he disclosed. He said that the Sultanate, which has the lowest rate of mobile phone penetration - only 25 per cent - has a tremendous scope for expansion and the entry of Nawras is expected to increase this rate to between 50 and 72 per cent. Qatar has a mobile proliferation rate of some 53 per cent with 401,000 subscribers. Qtel, TDC win Oman mobile license (June 17, 2004) (MENAFN) - A consortium led by Qatar Telecom (Qtel) and Danish firm TDC Mobile International has won a license to set up and operate a second mobile phone network in Oman, Gulf News daily reported. Qtel said that it had beat 27 international and regional firms to win the license, which would end a monopoly by state-run Omantel. Oman also plans to invite foreign firms this year to apply for licenses for a second fixed-line telephone company and for a new Internet service provider. The sultanate is under pressure to end state control of the telecom sector as part of World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. Omantel signs dual landing station agreement with FLAG Telecom (From menareport.com, May 31, 2004) - FLAG Telecom, a leading provider of international wholesale network transport and communications services, Sunday announced that Omantel, the national telecom operator in Oman, has signed a dual landing station agreement for the FALCON cable system. This new high-capacity resilient loop will provide multiple landings throughout the Gulf region, with submarine links stretching to Egypt in the west and to Hong Kong in the east. The Gulf loop and east and west links will interconnect at two landings in Oman. Omantel has also signed a capacity agreement with FLAG Telecom, purchasing international connectivity on the FALCON cable system, providing direct connectivity to any point on the FLAG global network. Engineer Mohammed Bin Ali Al Wohaibi, Omantel Executive President said: “Oman is geographically ideally located at the heart of the FALCON route, providing important communication links from the world’s business centers to India and Asia to the east and to Egypt in the west. We are looking forward to the introduction of FALCON project and anticipate that it will meet the burgeoning broadband demand from the fast growing Gulf and wider Middle East region not just for this decade, but for the decade beyond.” Patrick Gallagher, CEO, FLAG Telecom, said: “FALCON will bring enormous amounts of capacity to a region previously underserved by international connectivity. Oman is now positioned to be a new regional hub for the advanced broadband communication services to be carried on FALCON. The new cable system is designed to unlock the broadband opportunity along the entire route and provide the first direct terabits/s link between the world’s two fastest growing economies – India and China.” Walid Irshaid, President, Middle East and Africa, FLAG Telecom, said: “We are delighted to have concluded this agreement. FALCON will be the only cable system to provide fully protected services within the Gulf and will allow direct international connectivity from the region to the main business centers around the world for the first time. We look forward to gathering again next year in Muscat to celebrate the inauguration of the FALCON landing station.” FALCON will include the Gulf region’s first self-healing submarine network ring providing all countries connected to the high capacity cable with reliable, high quality connectivity. Countries that have the potential to directly access this connectivity include Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Iran. All of these countries have shown interest in joining FALCON and most are in advanced discussions with FLAG Telecom regarding their participation. 8-digit phone numbers (From Times of Oman, May 23, 2004) MUSCAT - The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has announced the implementation of a new numbering plan for various public telecom services provided at present by Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel), namely fixed lines, GSM and prepaid services. The implementation of the new plan will result in changing the numbers used by the subscribers. The numbering plan is a national resource with finite capacity. With the potential for the future introduction of competition into the sector, it is a requirement that all future operators have equivalent access to the numbering resources and that they can receive allocations from within the appropriate plan. The existing national numbering plan is critically short of capacity and requires reform. The changes adopted within the plan to implement eight-digit numbering scheme has been designed to create both additional capacity and to ensure, as far as possible, flexibility to allow unhindered development of the national numbering plan in the future. Therefore, TRA responsibilities are to ensure that adequate numbers are available for all telecommunications services throughout the Sultanate. The existing numbering plan is a six-digit (exceptionally, seven digits) scheme. It is running short of capacity and suffering from a range of problems such as: - The structured allocation of number groups is exhausted - Too many exchanges are sharing same lower levels - Some exchanges are already running out of numbers - There is no spare numbering capacity for the introduction of new operators - There is inadequate spare numbering capacity for the introduction of the new services TRA with the consultation of Omantel and international consultancy companies supports the introduction of the eight digits scheme for the following reasons: l It will allow easy identification of regions l It will offer immediate availability of additional numbers, in particular for mobile services l It will offer the long-term availability of numbers for new services and new operators TRA was established by Royal Decree No. 30/2002 issued on March 12, 2002. The body's key role is to ensure provision of telecommunications services throughout the Sultanate at reasonable prices and encourage the penetration of various telecommunication services as well as laying grounds and setting sound conditions for the competition.