With 6.944mn mobile subscribers at end of 2017 in Oman, the sultanate averaged 1.5 mobile phones per person and a penetration rate of 152.3 per cent which is among the highest in the world.
According to Statista, a research and information design company based in Hamburg, Germany, the UAE has the highest mobile penetration rate in the world (173 per cent), followed by Greece (171 per cent). Oman is third on the list, followed by Portugal and Estonia (148 per cent).
There were 78,000 more mobile subscriptions in Oman at end of 2017 compared to the previous year, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority's (TRA) 2017 Annual Report.
'The mobile penetration rate per inhabitant increased to 152.3 per cent in 2017 compared to 151 per cent at end of 2016. Prepaid mobile connections represent 90.63 per cent of the total mobile subscriptions with 6.293mn subscriptions. The number of postpaid mobile subscriptions was 651,000 at end of 2017,' the TRA stated.
The year 2017 ended with 509,756 fixed telephone lines, a growth of 21 per cent over the previous year. The fixed line household penetration rate increased as well from 73 per cent in 2016 to 87 per cent in 2017.
More than half (54 per cent) of the total fixed lines are within Muscat, followed by North Batinah, while Al Wusta has the lowest percentage of subscriptions. Residential accounts make up 73 per cent and business 27 per cent of the total fixed lines.
There were 351,335 fixed Internet connections in 2017, an increase of 30 per cent against the previous year, while the fixed Internet subscription penetration in households increased by 13 per cent to reach 60.1 per cent by end of year 2017.
Fixed broadband subscriptions including DSL, fixed wireless, FTTH, Internet leased lines and others, grew by 30.7 per cent (348,924) in 2017 over the previous year (266,983). Fixed broadband penetration per household increased to 59.7 per cent by the end of year 2017.
With smartphones becoming ubiquitous, active mobile broadband subscriptions in Oman increased to 4.352mn in 2017, while mobile broadband penetration per inhabitant increased to 95.4 per cent.
In terms of market share, Ooredoo had 43 per cent subscriptions, while Omantel and other resellers take up 42 and 15 per cent of the pie respectively.
As mobile broadband uptake continues to increase, the technology seems to be the source of the major part of the revenue. According to TRA, 70 per cent of the telecom revenue is from mobile services, 29 per cent from fixed line services, and the remaining one per cent is from other telecom services.
The average revenue per mobile subscription was RO7.2 in 2017, while it was RO27.1 for each fixed Internet subscription and RO4.1 per fixed telephone subscription.
Source: https://menafn.com/1097377411/Oman-is-No-3-globally-in-mobile-penetration-rate