Page 76 - SAMENA Trends - January-February 2023

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

building of a robust digital infrastructure, by
creating an attractive environment for these
investments – for example, by establishing
special economic zones that are tailored
to particular industries such as cloud
computing and digital transformation.”
As part of the MoU, Oracle will also work
with MCIT and the Communications and
Information Technology Commission (CITC)
to establish a commercial and operational
model for an additional cloud region in
Saudi Arabia that is aligned with Saudi
government requirements and local data
residency regulations. Oracle will also work OCI distributed cloud includes its public Richard Smith, Executive Vice President,
with MCIT to help foster the development regions, Dedicated Region, Oracle Exadata Technology – EMEA, Oracle. “Oracle
of Saudi Arabia’s cloud industry. Unique Cloud@Customer, multicloud offerings, Cloud delivers pioneering innovation in
among hyperscale providers, Oracle Cloud and recently-announced Oracle Alloy. technologies like AI, Machine Learning,
Infrastructure (OCI) offers customer “Oracle’s investment will rapidly accelerate and IoT, and it will help fuel the economic
choice to deploy OCI based on regulations, the cloud transformation across Saudi growth and digital transformation that is an
data residency, or latency requirements. Arabia’s business and public sector,” said integral part of the Saudi Vision 2030.”

Oman Tops GCC in Telecommunication Services

The results of a study comparing the prices place for the 10 and 25 Mbps packages. In in employing applications of the fourth
of retail telecom services with the GCC and retail prices for fixed telecom services for industrial revolution and services of
Arab countries for the year 2021 revealed the year 2021 for enterprises, the Sultanate emerging technologies, and innovation
that the Sultanate of Oman ranked first in of Oman came the cheapest in the Gulf in providing communication services
the Arab world in the cheapest retail prices for the packages of 100 and 0.25 Mbps, in a way that leads to stimulating the
for fixed telecommunication services for and ranked fifth for the 10 and 25 Mbps increase in subscriptions. To ensure
the year 2021. Oman recorded a significant packages, while it came in the eighth and an increase in government revenues
decrease in the prices of mobile telecom eleventh place in the Arab world for the 100 from the sector with lower prices, the
services packages compared to previous Mbps packages. second and 0.25 Mbps, study recommended the issuance of
years, and the continued decline in the respectively, and ranked sixth for the 10 a law regulating communications and
prices of mobile data packages “5-50 GB”, Mbps package, and ninth for the 25 Mbps information technology in order to enable
while it increased the monthly average package. The results of the study showed attracting global investments and regional
of data usage volume per beneficiary is that fixed broadband services witnessed a centers in data and applications of the
17%. Oman ranked first in the Gulf as the decrease in the prices of high-speed Internet fourth industrial revolution, and aligning
cheapest price in mobile telecom services packages "100 and 1000" Mbps during urban planning and population strategy
for individuals, in voice baskets with data the year 2021, which contributed to an to meet the requirements of the sector in
of “5, 10 and 20” GB, which represent more increase in the average monthly data usage increasing investment in the deployment
than 80% of the total subscriptions, while volume by 20%, and subscriptions to high- of communication networks. Promoting
the Sultanate of Oman came from the speed packages and their market shares the digital industry within the digital
countries The most expensive in the Gulf increased during the year 2021. The study economy initiatives, such as the digital
in terms of high data usage packages, recommended that to ensure an increase in transformation of government services,
in the “20 and 50” GB data packages, revenues in the telecommunications sector the manufacture of digital content, and the
which represent less than 20% of the total and usage in light of low prices, companies increase in the number of service platforms.
subscriptions. Oman ranked first in the should raise the quality of communication It also recommended stimulating tourism,
Arab world in the cheapest retail prices for services to enable higher usage, and enable which leads to attracting more tourists
fixed telecommunications services for the subscribers to move from third generation from outside the Sultanate of Oman.
year 2021 for individuals with fixed telecom technologies and internet services via The study was prepared by a specialized
services packages for a package of 1000 copper cables to high-speed broadband international house of expertise, and under
megabits / second, while it ranked seventh services, and expand the deployment of the supervision of the Telecommunications
in the Arab world and second in the Gulf for infrastructure networks for technologies Regulatory Authority, Kingdom of Bahrain,
a package of 100 megabits / second, and which supports high speeds such as fiber on behalf of the Arab Network for
ranked 14th in the Arab world and third in optics and the fifth generation, and also Regulatory Authorities for Communications
the Gulf for a package 0.25 Mbps, and tenth recommended that companies invest and Information Technology.
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