Oman Broadband Company (OBC) recently expanded its fibre optic network to Jebel Akhdar as part of its efforts to provide high-speed Internet to residents and visitors of the region.
So far, the company has covered 54 per cent of urban areas and will cover 95 per cent by 2030 to achieve the national broadband strategy.
The project was implemented in conjunction with the extension of the water network in Jebel Akhdar by the Public Authority for Water to unify efforts and reduce cost and time. “The efforts are still ongoing to cover new areas in the last quarter this year. Some areas in North Batinah governorate will be covered this year.
Approximately 8,438 housing units will be covered. Some parts will also be covered in Muscat and Dhofar governorates with an average of 39,586 housing units in Muscat and 29,931 in Dhofar,” said Eng Said bin Abdullah al Mantheri, CEO of Oman Broadband Company.
The company has covered 4,581 residential units throughout the region, which are now ready to request service through one of the licensed service providers in the sultanate (Omantel, Ooredoo and Awasr). The project was implemented in ten months due to the nature of the area and the difficulty of its topography.
This project is one of the most important achievements of the company because the network in Jebel Akhdar was also connected to Muscat. This is to link the establishments in Muscat with those in Jebel Akhdar - a popular tourist destination for Omanis, residents and foreigners.
Large parts of the sultanate’s governorates are covered by the service at around 400,000 housing units with connections to around 86,300 such units.
Approximately 81,600 housing units were also connected in Muscat, 2,500 in North and South Batinah governorates, 1,800 in Dhofar and 400 in Dakhliyah.
The company also signed several agreements with some real estate developers to spread the network, such as WUJHA Real Estate Company, Dar al Zain, ASAAS and Bahwan Engineering Company.